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Seahouses
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(Formerly North Sunderland) Established as an RNLI Station on Aug 4th, 1859. |
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Site Content
SECTION 2
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Station Notice Board Seahouses Lifeboat Crew Present Award to local Sailing Club
Seahouses Lifeboats visited Beadnell on Sunday, 2nd August 2009, for the Annual Sailing Regatta held by Beadnell Sailing Club, at Beadnell Bay. Money raised by the event is donated to the RNLI Lifeboat Station at Seahouses. The Sailing Club have supported the RNLI in this way for many years, and this year, representatives of the station presented the Club with a framed Certificate on Vellum, highlighting their magnificent support. The actual money raised this year from various fund raising events, has yet to finalised, but an excellent sunny day helped make the event likely to exceed last year's amount. Cream teas at the Sailing Club House, an RNLI Souvenir Stall, Raffle and a variety of other fund raising events were all well supported.
Photo shows (L to R) John Hanvey (Snr)
Seahouses Lifeboat Management Group Chairman, Ian Fisher Seahouses Lifeboat
Fund Raising Chairman and 3rd Mechanic, presenting the Vellum to Lucy
McGregor Beadnell Sailing Club Commodore, and Tom Clements Past Beadnell
Sailing Club Commodore. The Last Maroons fired at Seahouses ? The RNLI have recently withdrawn the use of maroons (exploding flares), which were fired by most lifeboat stations when their lifeboat(s) were called out on service. Once the initial call-out signal for a lifeboat crew, they were replaced by the radio pager or bleeper as a means of alerting the crew. However, they were still used (albeit in a quieter form) as a signal to local shipping and the local community that a lifeboat was launching "on service", and a backup to the pager system. They generated terrific public interest and support for the RNLI, and the public have complained profusely around the country since they have been withdrawn. The decision was made initially on Health and Safety grounds, due to some issues with their use. Latterly, there have been problems obtaining them from the manufacturers. Seahouses Lifeboat Station are currently researching the possibility of an external Alarm Siren Device, to replace the maroon rockets.
Seahouses Lifeboat Station has traditionally over recent years, fired two firework type rockets, similar to RNLI maroons, at 11am on 11th November, and again at 2 minutes after 11am, to mark the two minute silence for Remembrance Day. This year the local authority could not obtain these fireworks, and asked the RNLI if they could fire two RNLI Maroons in their place. At Seahouses, two maroons which were at the end of their operational shelf life, were available, and the Lifeboat Operations Manager agreed to have these fired as requested by Berwick Borough Council, particularly as this was the 90th Remembrance Ceremony.
For Seahouses, this was probably the very last time the "Maroons" would be fired from the station, marking the end of a Lifeboat Tradition there.
The photos show
Deputy Launch Authority Terry Wainwright, Lifeboat Mechanic John Hanvey (about to fire the first maroon at 11am),
watched by Lifeboat Operations Manager Ian Clayton, then the moment of
firing.
And Whooosh ............BANG !
Photos by kind permission of Local Photographer Bob Huggins of Embleton
Station Internal Alarm Siren
Seahouses Lifeboat Station has today (16/10/08) been fitted with an internal
siren/sounder
with
red strobe light. The unit is
mounted in the main part of the boathouse, beside the Scrolling Board, and is
connected to the Paging System.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Seahouses Lifeboat RNLB "Grace
Darling" joins Amble Relief Lifeboat "Mary Margaret" at Craster for the naming
ceremony of their new IB1 "D" Class Inshore Lifeboat "Joseph Hughes".
BBC ONE SHOW CAMERA
CREW FILM ABOARD SEAHOUSES LIFEBOAT
Left Photo. LOM Ian
Clayton with Dan Snow, on Tues 5th August 2008. Right Photo. Dan Snow and camera crew. Screened on Friday 12th September 2008. Watch again at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00dcydn/b00dcybg/. The feature is about 15 minutes into the programme. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SEAHOUSES NEW INSHORE LIFEBOAT D-686 IS OFFICIALLY NAMED "Peter Downes" BY THE DONOR AND HER FAMILY.
The Seahouses Inshore Lifeboat, RNLB "Peter Downes", which arrived on station in January 2008, was officially named at Seahouses, at a ceremony in front of the boathouse commencing at 11am on Saturday 12th July 2008. With approximately 250 invited guests, and watched by a large crowd, Station Chairman John Hanvey (Snr) officiated over proceedings. Deputy Divisional Inspector of Lifeboats, Gareth Wilson, described the new boat, while RNLI Vice President Dr Cubie accepted the boat on behalf of the RNLI, and passed it over to the Station Operations Manager Ian Clayton, who accepted the boat on behalf of the station, and thanked the donors on behalf of the Station and Crew.
Catering was provided [donated]
for the event by the well known local firm of
TROTTERS BAKERS,
of Seahouses,
and a truly excellent spread it was! RNLI Divisional and Regional Office Fund
Raising and Press Staff served tea and coffee to the guests.
The Station Chaplain, Rev'd Jane Wood, Parish Vicar of St Paul's Church, led the naming service and prayers, assisted by Rev'd Pauline Fellows of Seahouses Methodist Church, and Father Tony Owen of St Aidan's RC Church. A vote of thanks was given by Station Fundraising Chairman and Station 3rd Mechanic, Ian Fisher. The boat then launched, and provided a brief display off the harbour. Representatives from neighbouring Stations Eyemouth, Berwick upon Tweed, Craster and Amble, Local Coastguards, Fire and Rescue, station volunteers and supporters also attended and joined in the celebrations.
Named after the late Peter Downes, who died
in a diving accident in the Channel, this boat was funded by his widow Carolyn
McLaughlin, who has since remarried, from the result of a major fund raising
programme. She comments ..."When my husband Peter died, his
brother Michael came up with the idea of us raising funds for a lifeboat to
commemorate not only Peter, but also their father, Leslie. Leslie had served in
the Royal Navy and Peter had dived for over 20 years, in UK coastal waters and
overseas. Michael dedicated the Leslie and Peter Downes D class lifeboat in
April 2008 and it is based at Pwllheli in Wales. Fundraising and donations
exceeded all expectations and it quickly became apparent that a second lifeboat
would be feasible. Thus was borne the project for a lifeboat in Peter’s sole
name. ___________________________________ JOHN CRAVEN AND THE BBC COUNTRYFILE TEAM FILM ABOARD SEAHOUSES LIFEBOAT On Monday 28th April, 2008 John Craven and his Countryfile Team filmed a feature about Grace Darling and the Farne Islands, aboard Seahouses Lifeboat. Screened on Sunday 4th May 2008. . . . . .Missed it ? To watch again, try BBC iPlayer. Download the programme onto iPlayer for best results. (You will need to download/install iPlayer first)
John Craven with 2nd Cox Glen (Zeddy) Annison
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Seahouses Lifeboat Webmaster - Email info@seahouseslifeboat.org.uk © Copyright - Seahouses Lifeboat Station 2009 |