Exmouth RNLI’s lifeboat medical adviser, Dr. Peter Aitken has been chosen as part of an RNLI team providing safety and medical cover during the Olympic sailing events. The competitive sailing events take place between 29 July and 11 August at Weymouth and Portland....

Exmouth RNLI held their annual Sea Sunday service on 15 July at the boathouse on Queens Drive. Reverend James Hutchings, Priest-in-charge  Littleham-cum-Exmouth with Lympstone Mission Community took the service for his first time, leading prayers and hymns for those who work and live by the sea.

Around 150 people attended the 30 minute service, attracting many beach visitors throughout the duration. Town Mayor, John Humphreys and representatives from the coastguards, coastwatch and paramedics were in attendance. 11 volunteer crew members with their Coxswain, Tim Mock; Chairman of the lifeboat management group, Tim Baker; RNLI lifeguards and volunteers from local RNLI branches joined members of Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton RNLI Fundraising Guild for the occasion.

Exmouth’s all weather lifeboat, Margaret Jean was tasked to assist a yacht in Lyme Bay at 1.53am on Monday 2 July. As volunteers were concluding the rescue nearly four hours later, another radio call from Brixham coast guards suggested another imminent rescue for the volunteers.

A total of seven volunteer crew went to the rescue of two men from Dorset aboard a 36 foot yacht, eight miles off Lyme Regis. They were sailing between Weymouth and Falmouth in south-westerly force six to eight winds and rough sea.

Volunteer Deputy Launching Authority, Dave Ashman said;

‘At first they had engine problems – water in the fuel, but they had managed to cure that problem. The rope over the side from the sheet of the jib had wrapped itself around the propeller. We got out there and towed him back to a mooring in the estuary to safety.’

Contractors installed a number of solar panels to the roof of Exmouth RNLI boathouse on Thursday 14 and Friday 15 June. This addition to the building on Queens Drive has increased the number of ways Exmouth RNLI are working with renewable sources to keep running costs to a minimum.

The 22 photovoltaic cell panels are capable of generating a total of four kilo watts when working at full capacity. They will generate power to contribute to the national grid which the charity will benefit from in the way of reduced energy bill tariffs, therefore saving money.

A hot, sunny day in Exmouth has kept the RNLI lifeboat volunteers in the town busy on Saturday 26 May. In a space of four hours the crew of the D class inshore lifeboat attended to ten incidents. The emergencies alone illustrate the commitment of the station’s volunteers, but the action doesn’t stop there as the launches coincided with a visit to the lifeboat station by a local boat club and by the BBC who were filming for a programme to be aired next January.

As RNLI Coxswain, Tim Mock was being interviewed by the BBC the first call came in for the volunteers of the D class inshore lifeboat George Bearman. They were tasked to a 16 foot speed boat with three people onboard that had broken down. The lifeboat crew towed them in noting that though the people weren’t wearing lifejackets, there were two lifejackets and a buoyancy aid onboard. As Helmsman Dave Preece says, lifejackets are designed for a reason:

‘As our charities sea safety campaign says, lifejackets are useless unless worn and I would urge people going to sea to always use their safety equipment rather than leave it lying around on the boat.’

On Monday 21 May, Exmouth RNLI Volunteer Crewman David Preece visited Little Otters in East Budleigh to talk to the children about beach safety and the work of the lifeboats. David explained how the children should get help in an emergency on the beach and how to spot lifeguards and lifeboat crew.

The children particularly enjoyed timing how long it took David to get into his lifeboat kit and then were thrilled to be able to try on a junior version.

“We were delighted that the RNLI were able to take time out of their busy schedule to come and visit us.” said Michelle Chudley, Pre-School Leader.  “Beach safety is a really important lesson” she added.

Exmouth RNLI Deputy Coxswain Steve Hockings-Thompson was scheduled to take over the Olympic Torch in Torbay at 5.06pm on Sunday 20 May. With only three minutes to go, his crewmates’ pagers sounded indicating the imminent launch of the Exmouth inshore lifeboat, George Bearman.

Portland coastguards had tasked the D-class lifeboat and its three volunteer crew to rescue three adults and a dog from the Exe estuary. They had been walking the West Highland Terrier when they had been caught out by the rising tide and become stuck in the mud. One of the women was heavily pregnant. The walkers were quickly taken to safety to waiting friends and paramedics.

Steve was not on duty at the time and there were no pockets in his Olympic Torchbearer uniform to carry his pager through the streets of Babbacombe. Three of his volunteer crewmates who were also off lifeboat duty, were working in the area at the time in their professional capacity in the police and paramedic services.