A Summary of 2005.

2005 was another busy year with 144 shouts so far, slightly up on last year’s figure.

Inshore lifeboat (ILB) 97
All weather lifeboat (ALB) 47

The services carried out by Poole lifeboat station in 2005 were as diverse as ever. We know sometimes that some of the shouts could be dismissed as just ‘tow jobs’, but we see it differently.
The range of shouts included medical evacuations, There was a lady with chest pains with a suspected heart attack on Brownsea Island we got her ashore to the care of the paramedics, there was a lady whom had stumbled on a yacht and broken her ankle off Christchurch head.

We had boats on fire, boats out of control where the throttle had got jammed and umpteen vessels sinking, during our Open Day in August both lifeboats went out to a sinking boat and had to work fast with the salvage pumps to save them.
We searched for missing children, missing swimmers and windsurfers and sadly for two divers lost just weeks apart both had been diving on the wreck “kiara”.

We were called out to two teenagers stuck in the mud in the Holes bay, to revellers off Bournemouth pier, broken down jet skiers and capsized dinghies, broken masts, fouled propellers and inevitable vessels that have gone aground in the shallow waters around Poole Harbour.

Sadly there were fatalities, like the lady that drove off the Chain Ferry, the local fisherman lost in Holes Bay, from an upturned Poole Canoe; this was quite a traumatic service for the crew as most of them knew this man.

But there were happy outcomes like the lady who had to be air lifted off the back of the ILB with a severe back injury, she has recovered well after a long spell in hospital and some of the crew recently went up to London to her “healing” party, last time they saw her she was in agonising pain, strapped to a spinal board, frightened, and being winched into a helicopter.

The RNLI’S duty is to save life at sea, and when we get called out we go gladly to help as the situation could change and become life threatening. Each service is treated the same, so when something major does happen the crews are ready.

In recent years Poole lifeboat station has been the busiest coastal station around the coast and so being part of a lifeboat crew is a major commitment, which involves not only the rescues, but also training and helping with local fundraising and showing visitors around the station. Being able to make a good cup of tea also helps!

It takes a special kind of person to cope with the risks. At Poole lifeboat station we have one full-time mechanic, 25 crew volunteers (including six girls), and with five probationary crew and one night watchman – our handsome gnome that keeps an eye on both lifeboats in all weathers, except for the time when he fell in!

At many lifeboat stations only 10% of the crew come from a professional maritime background but at Poole over 75% of the crew are employed within a marine trade. The volunteers come from all walks of life including tug skipper, fisherman, sailmaker, diver, boat builders, marine engineers, powerboat school principal, shop owner/manager, HGV fitter, computer technician, sub-editor of a boating magazine, and six crew also work in various roles within the training and technical departments at the RNLI headquarters.