Case Study: Danielle Marr

There’s a new crew member at Anstruther Lifeboat Station who has recently been welcomed as part of the vital team always on standby ready to rescue anyone who has the misfortune to find themselves in trouble on the seas.

The only difference is that the new recruit is just as likely to be called away from the classroom as her home to join the crew on their latest mercy mission.

Danielle Marr attends the town’s Waid Academy and has been granted permission by the school to carry her pager with her in readiness to respond to an emergency call.

Danielle, who is eighteen, felt the urge to volunteer for the RNLI, following in her brother Anthony’s footsteps.

“I decided to volunteer for the RNLI as I thought that it would have a good impact helping the community,” Danielle explains. “My older brother, who is also in the RNLI, also encouraged me to volunteer.

“The other crew members have welcomed me as part of the team and everyone at the station is always willing to help.

“Training is ongoing and there isn’t a limit as to how many hours you have to be able to give, but you must be able to attend training regularly.

“I’ve been on a few exercises on both the D-class and all-weather lifeboat and have really enjoyed the experience and look forward to continuing my learning. So far, I have been taught how to do an alongside tow and a stern tow – this has been on the D-class inshore lifeboat.

“The crew are quite busy with callouts, though thankfully there haven’t been that many this year.”

Life must be pretty busy for Danielle, however, with all the studying that comes with being in sixth year at the academy and her hopes to study Business Management when she leaves school.

“As far as I’m aware no-one else at school volunteers at the lifeboat. But I manage pretty well to study and volunteer at the same time. As of yet, I’m the youngest member at the Anstruther Lifeboat Station.

“I have the support of my family and friends and they are proud of me volunteering, especially with the RNLI, and I hope other people are encouraged to join.”

If you’d like to find out more about the valuable work of the station, go to www.anstrutherlifeboat.org or the RNLI at rnli.org.