Rotary Welcomes Royal National Lifeboat Institute
-
4 (6)
-
5 (6)
-
6 (5)
-
8 (5)
ROYAL LIFE BOAT INSTITUTE
Sam Clow, Coxswain @ Tynemouth Lifeboat Station
It was a pleasure to welcome Sam Clow to the club and for him it was the first time he had completed a presentation, with a free meal thrown in!!
Tynemouth is currently celebrating the two hundredth anniversary since it was first established on the 4th March 1824 and our Rotary Club will shortly be making a presentation to mark this occasion. However, moving on…
During the evening Sam gave us some fascinating insights into the workings of the Tyne Lifeboat Society, which was broadly established as a station in 1790 with the aptly named lifeboat ‘Original’. This was the first lifeboat in the world to be built, although in 1786, a coble was converted into a boat for lifesaving in Bamburgh, further up the Northumberland coast.
It was a pleasure to welcome Sam Clow to the club and for him it was the first time he had completed a presentation, with a free meal thrown in!!
Tynemouth is currently celebrating the two hundredth anniversary since it was first established on the 4th March 1824 and our Rotary Club will shortly be making a presentation to mark this occasion. However, moving on…
During the evening Sam gave us some fascinating insights into the workings of the Tyne Lifeboat Society, which was broadly established as a station in 1790 with the aptly named lifeboat ‘Original’. This was the first lifeboat in the world to be built, although in 1786, a coble was converted into a boat for lifesaving in Bamburgh, further up the Northumberland coast.
However, there were two stations on the Tyne – from 1790, Tyne Lifeboat Society and the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade, who mainly rescued from the land with breeches boys etc, as opposed from a boat. The two societies both based in Tynemouth, remained independent of each other until 1905 when they joined forces after the Institution had established its own station in 1862.
In 1905, the station placed its first experimental motor lifeboat under the supervision of H E Burton RE. However, at the time this was not particularly welcomed when traditionalists preferred to be rowing or sailing with a crew, but Major Burton persevered with motorised lifeboats, developing over the years to the all-weather, self-righting boats and their watertight compartments etc we see today.
In terms of size, the class seven boat at Tynemouth is the largest with a crew of seven to eight, a range of 250mls and a top speed of 25 knots. Built in 2021 at a cost of £1.5 million, it has a hull which should last for 25 years or more, though the electronic contents etc will need replacing long before then!
Smaller and more practical for inshore rescue are the D class rubberised lifeboats known affectionately as ‘Little Susie’s’. They have a crew of 3-4, a speed of 25 knots with the ability to maintain this for three hours. They come into their own for searches and rescues in the surf, shallow water and confined locations - often close to cliffs, among rocks and even inside caves!
Lifebelts and safety equipment have changed a great deal since the early 1850’s when lifejackets were made out of cork blocks to the sophisticated self-inflating, with electronic homing system’s etc they have now.
Broadly speaking the crew kit can now cost from £250 to £850 depending on the type and much of the training take place at the purpose built complex at the RNLI College in Poole, Dorset.
Around the UK coastline including Scotland and Ireland we have 238 stations serving our needs with approximately twelve classes of lifeboats. In 2023 Tynemouth was called out 70 times and a total of 58 successful rescues were made.
This was a fascinating insight into the workings of our local and national recue services – The Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
Vice president John gave a vote of thanks on behalf of the club.
If you are interested in finding out more about Whitley Bay Rotary Club, please contact us either on enquiries@whitleybayrotaryclub.co.uk or by telephoning 07419 736989.
Pictures and some copy support courtesy of RNLI
