Storm in a teacup for the RNLI
Two lifeboat men have been sacked and four have quit over a row about bawdy crockery featuring nude female bodies in the Whitby lifeboat station.
‘That’s what happens when you put a woman in charge,’ said one of my fisherman friends here in West cornwall. I don’t even have the heart to argue.
on this treacherous coast, the RNLI are a big and comforting presence. My nearest lifeboat station is Penlee, situated between newlyn and Mousehole, famous for one of the worst tragedies in RNLI history.
on a wild December night in 1981, the Penlee lifeboat was launched in hurricane conditions to help a stricken ship. eight lifeboat men died during the expedition, and their memory is commemorated each year, when the christmas lights are turned off at the exact hour they went to sea.
Today, the Penlee boys are still kept busy. on Wednesday night, there was a spotlight shoreline search for a missing person near Penzance. recently they have attended stricken trawlers, lost kayakers, anglers cut off by the tide, medical evacuations from ships.
Averted tragedies never hit the headlines, but it should not undermine the vital work the RNLI does across the country. All voluntarily, need I add. A few weeks ago, Penlee responded to a 999 call from a female paddle boarder, struggling against a Force 5 wind near St Michael’s Mount. The lifeboat was launched within three minutes, they reached her within ten.
‘Despite your selfless act in rescuing me,’ she told them as they drew near, ‘I won’t get into your boat unless you can assure me you possess no crockery featuring jokey pictures of naked women.’
no, of course she bloody did not. I suspect she wept hot tears of relief and wanted to hug them for saving her life.
Sometimes you have to concentrate on what is important, and what is not.
Drinking tea from a saucy mug is well down the list of life-saving vitals. What matters to Penlee’s crew is raising money for a new lifeboat station. let’s crush political correctness and help them. I’ve donated (via Penlee lifeboat Station’s page at virginmoneygiving.com). Perhaps you will too? or to your local rnli station. We need each other, after all.