Eastbourne Lifeboat

The times they are a-changing…
It’s been another busy year on station at Eastbourne. 

Andy Chatton & Alan Simister were invited to take part in the south east’s largest flood response exercise at Ardley Reservoir near Colchester as part of the RNLI’s Flood Rescue Team - the boys expected to put on the backseat but I reckon it was anything but! 

Dan & Mark Sawyer have been out and about exploring England’s coastline while covering at other stations, Paul Rogers has been passed out as deputy second coxswain, Blobs has been getting some practise at his photos gatecrashing a wedding or 2!  Lionel’s been off having the time of his life travelling Down Under, Dave hit the big 4-0 last month, Mark Robinson has been doing some market research, looking for ways to improve our Regatta.  Dave, Mark & Blobs have serviced a total of 60 years on Eastbourne Life, each receiving their Long Service Award for 20 years service.

But the big news has to be that there will be a new lifeboat on station by Spring next year.  The Tamar class lifeboat is the RNLI's latest design and it’s bigger and faster than our current Mersey, reaching speeds of 25 knots.  The boat has the computerised Systems & Information Management System that enables our crew to control many of the lifeboat's functions remotely from the safety of their seats!  It’s got advanced ergonomics so it will reduce the impact on the lads as the lifeboat crashes through waves.  It also has a small RIB, called a Y boat stored behind a transom door which will allow immediate deployment.  The latest news is that it’s being fitted out in Plymouth.

You can keep up to date with everything that’s going on at Eastbourne Lifeboat stations and find out about recent shouts by visiting our website.