Plymouth lifeboats among the busiest as RNLI sees 24% rise in summer incidents
Prolonged sunshine and the hottest summer for seven years (according to the Met Office) kept RNLI teams across the south west busy this summer.
Provisional statistics released by the charity for the period June, July and August show a 24% increase in incidents for RNLI lifeguards, and lifeboat crews attending 652 rescues.
RNLI lifeguards dealt with 10,615 incidents across the south west (Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset and the Channel Island), including water based rescues, major and minor first aids and missing children.
The south west lifeboat statistics show a fall in rescues of 8% but in Devon lifeboats launched 30 times more than last summer, with Plymouth, Appledore, Ilfracombe, Exmouth and Torbay featuring in the top six busiest lifeboat stations in the region.
Andy Hurley, RNLI Regional Operations Manager, says the results illustrate the first proper summer in the south west for seven years:
"People flocked to the south west when it became evident the weather had taken a turn for the better. The warm temperatures and sunshine attracted huge numbers of people to the region’s most popular beaches, which explains why our lifeguard teams were kept so busy. Interestingly, the weather was very calm during this period with little surf or wind and this may explain the slight drop in business for our volunteer lifeboat crews."
RNLI lifeguards and volunteer lifeboat crews across the south west were involved in a number of dramatic rescues this summer.
In June RNLI lifeguards in the South Hams have rescued a windsurfer who was washed into a small inaccessible cove after being caught out by difficult conditions. Watch the rescue here.
In August the Plymouth the all-weather lifeboat and her volunteer crew were called out to the mouth of the River Yealm to a report of a dismasted sailing yacht. Read more about the incident here and watch the video here.
Andy Hurley says all this coincided with the launch of five major fundraising appeals across the south west:
"We have three appeals at St Ives, Exmouth and Ilfracombe to help raise the money needed for the launch and recovery vehicles that will be used in conjunction with the new Shannon class lifeboat due from next year onwards. We are also busy raising funds for a proposed new boathouse at Swanage in Dorset and in the Bristol Channel area an appeal is being run to support developments at Weston super Mare and Portishead where we are working towards the adoption of the local lifeboat station.
"I’d like to pay tribute to all those volunteer fundraisers who have spent the summer bringing in the funds we need to keep our charity afloat and to all the families and employers of our lifeboat volunteers who support our work, even through busy times like the summer when crew can disappear at a moment’s notice to help save lives at sea."
"For the RNLI lifeguards this has been a particularly busy summer because of the superb weather and I’d like to thank them for their continued professionalism in keeping the beaches safe even when there have been many thousands of visitors on the sands and in the water."
