Being part of a lifeboat crew is not a nine to five job – something that RNLI mechanic Dupre Strutt takes in his stride For RNLI lifesavers, days – and nights – are unpredictable. Crew never know when the pager will go off, or what emergency they’ll be called to. For Dupre Strutt, mechanic at Kirkwall Lifeboat Station in Orkney, it’s a way of life. He grew up with the lifeboat – his father was previously the mechanic – and himself joined the crew at 17 years old. He’s been there ever since, for ...
Jan 04, 2024•11 min•Ep. 140
Wake up overlooking the second largest natural harbour in the world – take a tour of the RNLI College Don’t let the name fool you. The RNLI College is more than a college. Frequently voted one of the best places to stay in Poole, Dorset, the RNLI College includes 60 en suite bedrooms, all with sea views. Debbie Corke, who sadly passed away in 2023, was the RNLI’s Volunteer Development Coordinator, and in this episode Debbie explains the visionary idea behind the College. Guests can even take a t...
Jan 03, 2024•11 min•Ep. 139
The RNLI’s Newquay lifeguard team includes lifesavers from eight nations. Agustin reveals why Cornwall’s gain is also Argentina’s The lifeguards who patrol the Newquay beaches are an eclectic bunch, coming from places as far afield as Greece, Austria and Brazil. Agustin, who is from Argentina, talks about what drew him to join the multinational team at Mawgan Porth, and about some of the RNLI’s ideas and methods that he has shared with lifeguards back home in Argentina. 200 Voices is produced by...
Jan 02, 2024•12 min•Ep. 138
HRH The Duke of Kent reflects on 55 years as President of the charity Since becoming President of the RNLI in 1969, HRH The Duke of Kent has supported the organisation through some of the charity’s greatest milestones – including the opening of the RNLI College, the introduction of the lifeguard service, and the development of faster, safer lifeboats that have helped save more lives. In this episode, The Duke speaks with Chief Executive of the RNLI, Mark Dowie, about being President, recalling t...
Jan 01, 2024•11 min•Ep. 137
On New Year’s Day, 1916, Horton and Port Eynon lifeboat volunteers paid a heavy price after braving conditions some called the worst in living memory When a steamer ran aground near Pennard Cliffs on the Glamorgan coast, Horton and Port Eynon volunteers launched their rowing lifeboat into the teeth of a gale. Unable to reach the steamer due to the conditions, the lifeboat – Janet – began to head back. But it was too late. The lifeboat capsized twice. And after she was righted for the second time...
Dec 31, 2023•6 min•Ep. 136
On 30 March 1985, Dover RNLI Coxswain Tony Hawkins was in the bath when maroons were fired. He leapt up to go to the aid of those aboard a cross-channel hovercraft, the Princess Margaret, which had collided with the breakwater on entering the harbour. Tony, who was Boathouse Manager at Dover RNLI when this interview took place, recalls how the hovercraft had a hole ripped into its side and that hundreds of passengers needed to be urgently rescued. Some were seriously injured, others were pulled ...
Dec 30, 2023•10 min•Ep. 135
Less shoot 'em up, more round 'em up – why the RNLI’s new video game is a refreshing departure In an era in which children and young people are more likely to tap away on small screens rather than gather around the TV, how can the RNLI achieve the 'Blue Peter effect' that once planted a seed of support? To help the charity reach a new generation, the RNLI has been working with a video games developer to produce an exciting mobile and tablet app: Storm Force Rescue. Players will be able to become...
Dec 29, 2023•7 min•Ep. 140
RNLI volunteer Pat Abram knows only too well the devastating power of the sea Pat has a lifelong awareness of the dangers of the sea. His father drowned at sea before Pat was born, and on the 5 January 1983, while working as a police officer in Blackpool, Pat and three colleagues went to the rescue of a man struggling in the sea – a courageous act that ended in tragedy. Four lives were lost, leaving the local community devastated, and every year those people are remembered in a memorial service ...
Dec 28, 2023•18 min•Ep. 133
He had a life-changing accident while surfing – but Alex’s RNLI training helped save his life Working as a RNLI lifeguard in Scarborough, Alex was passionate about saving lives at sea and loved the water. But, on the 28 March 2013, while surfing on holiday in Argentina, he hit his head on the sea floor and was left face down in the water, unable to move his arms or legs. He puts his survival down to two main factors: the man who first came to help him in the water – and his own RNLI training. He...
Dec 27, 2023•15 min•Ep. 132
The first Boxing Day Dip at Southend’s Jubilee Beach attracted 87 people. Last year, there were 400. Daniel Wanna from RNLI Southend-on-Sea explains what makes folks swap the sofa for the surf For some, the perfect Boxing Day is about a dip in the sea, followed by a hot drink and a mince pie on the beach. Daniel Wanna – Lifeboat Helm at Southend-on-Sea – talks about what draws a growing number to take the plunge in the annual Boxing Day Dip at Jubilee Beach. The event attracts all ages. Some don...
Dec 26, 2023•9 min•Ep. 131
The sea doesn’t take a day off – neither do the lifeguards at Crosby Beach. Siobhan Murphy explains why Crosby Beach is unique, and in more ways than one. It’s the only beach patrolled by RNLI lifeguards 365 days a year. And on Christmas Day, Senior Lifeguard Siobhan Murphy will be one of them. They’re kept busy by the tourists who come to see the 100 Antony Gormley sculptures – titled Another Place – that span the length of the beach. Siobhan explains the dangers that catch some visitors out. D...
Dec 25, 2023•6 min•Ep. 130
Christmas 2021: paraglider Dermot Ryan explains why his best present was from Newhaven RNLI It’s Christmas Eve, and paraglider Dermot has the scary realisation that he is about to swap the sky for the sea. After landing at the foot of a cliff with fellow paraglider, Trevor, both are soon cut off by the incoming tide. Soaked by the crashing waves, Dermot’s body temperature plummets. Newhaven RNLI volunteers are tantalisingly close, but due to the conditions, can’t get close enough. Should Dermot ...
Dec 24, 2023•9 min•Ep. 129
Martin Stephen has three sons and five grandchildren. He reveals why none of them would be here without the RNLI Martin Stephen and his two younger cousins, Angus and Davy, loved visiting Dunbar Harbour. When the wind blew strong, they’d pull on their welly boots and head down to watch the water crash onto the rocks. But on 23 December 1970, their windy-day ritual was never to be the same again. With the wind blowing gale force 10, Davy got caught by a freak wave. Martin jumped in to try to save...
Dec 23, 2023•12 min•Ep. 128
Ireland’s voice of the sea – Tom MacSweeney – on the crew member who made the ultimate sacrifice on Christmas Eve It was a false alarm with tragic consequences. Tom MacSweeney – maritime journalist and former presenter of RTE’s radio show, Seascapes – tells the story of what happened when RNLI Kilmore Quay volunteers left their loved ones on Christmas Eve 1977 to respond to a call out in their lifeboat, Lady Murphy. 200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI Interview by the RNLI's...
Dec 22, 2023•8 min•Ep. 127
It’s often said that the RNLI is a family. That’s certainly how former priest Tom McGuire feels – the Lough Ree Lifeboat Press Officer has even christened some of the crew When his wife spotted an advert for Lifeboat Press Officer at Lough Ree RNLI, Tom didn’t hesitate to volunteer. Having previously worked in the area as a priest, he was welcomed into the role by crew he’d married, christened, or played football with. With a career in broadcast journalism under his belt, Tom talks of his passio...
Dec 21, 2023•12 min•Ep. 126
From the sea to Spaghetti Junction, Swim Safe’s Ashley Jones teaches children all over the UK to stay safe in and around open water Most children learn to swim in an indoor pool, but swimming in open water is very different – and it's often when accidents happen. That’s why Swim England and the RNLI partnered to form the Swim Safe programme, which delivers fun and free water safety sessions to children at inland and coastal locations. Heading up the campaign, Ashley Jones shares top tips to help...
Dec 20, 2023•7 min•Ep. 125
Folk singer Seth Lakeman on what inspired him to write the song Solomon Browne in tribute to the Penlee lifeboat crew lost at sea Seth Lakeman grew up surrounded by remarkable stories – whether that be through his father’s career as a journalist, or spending weekends with his family immersed in music at local folk clubs. It was his passion for great stories – and tunes from the folk music community – that inspired his career as a singer-songwriter. Hear Seth talk about how he came to write Solom...
Dec 19, 2023•10 min•Ep. 124
She’s admired for being a history-making Olympian, but Helen Glover’s own admiration goes to RNLI crews. The Cornish rower explains why Having lived by the sea in Cornwall all her life, Olympic rower Helen Glover has loved the water for as long as she can remember. So it's no surprise that she's long admired the RNLI crews that put their lives on the line to save others. In particular, she singles out the volunteers from Penzance – where Helen grew up – who were tragically lost in the 1981 Penle...
Dec 18, 2023•7 min•Ep. 123
When 12-year-old Theo Pulman spotted a friend struggling in the water, he remembered the RNLI’s float-to-live advice It was the school summer holidays. Theo and his friends were enjoying a day at Burry Port Beach, when one of Theo’s friends got into difficulty in the sea. Dashing into the water to help the boy, Theo asked another friend to call 999. Theo talks about the advice he gave the boy: stay calm and float like a starfish – lifesaving advice his grandfather, Deputy Launch Authority at Bur...
Dec 17, 2023•6 min•Ep. 122
Meet the man who helped develop the first lifejacket to fit both male and female crew Male. Female. Tall. Short. Light. Heavy. RNLI crew come in every size and shape – and it was RNLI Senior Engineer Allen Steven’s job to work on a lifejacket design to fit every crew member. The first person to acknowledge that one size doesn’t fit all, Allen explains how crew input influenced the lifejacket’s evolution – and the ultimate lifejacket design. Allen also shares his pride in founding the RNLI Disabi...
Dec 16, 2023•7 min•Ep. 121
Loch Ness may hold a sense of mystery, but tour guide Linda Izquierdo-Ross is in no doubt about its dangers Loch Ness most definitely is home to at least one monster, says RNLI Deputy Launch Authority Linda Izquierdo-Ross. But the one Linda has in mind is not the kind of monster we imagine. The loch is very cold all year round. It provides less buoyancy than salt water, and, due to the peat particles, visibility is next to zero. All of which means, in Linda’s words, that ‘it keeps what it’s give...
Dec 15, 2023•7 min•Ep. 120
In December, 1981, the St Peter Port lifeboat crew braved 15m waves to go to the aid of stricken cargo ship, the Bonita. The late coxswain – Michael Scales – relives a momentous rescue In the second of two episodes dedicated to one of the RNLI’s finest rescues, the late coxswain of the Sir William Arnold lifeboat – Michael Scales – recalls battling 3-storey swells to help save 29 lives. Arriving at the scene between Guernsey and Devon, the lifeboat was dwarfed by the 8,000-tonne cargo ship, Boni...
Dec 14, 2023•13 min•Ep. 119
Nils Fosstveit takes us back to the night he’ll never forget – and to what was, at the time, the biggest Channel rescue since the Second World War 13 December, 1981: in hurricane-force winds, cargo ship – the Bonita – was sinking off the Channel Islands. 27-year-old Nils Fosstveit was one of 36 crew on board. Not all would survive. Nils did, but in his own words, it was by ‘very small margins’. At one point, losing hope, he and other crew members had thought about voluntarily sliding down the ba...
Dec 13, 2023•20 min•Ep. 118
A sailor’s boat was sinking on a pitch-black night. As RNLI volunteers searched the waters off Jersey, their only hope was a flicker of light in the distance St Catherine’s Robin Fitzgerald was brushing his teeth when his pager went off. It was a starless, moonless night and with the sailor in the water, time was of the essence. Duty Helm that night, Robin talks about launching to the rescue in total darkness, navigating the looming black shadow of the Ecrehous reef. The rescue was one that Robi...
Dec 12, 2023•14 min•Ep. 117
Having lived in a former boathouse, Nora Flanagan was destined to join the RNLI. In Gaelic, we hear from Arranmore’s first female crew member Speaking in Gaelic, Nora Flanagan describes the old boathouse she grew up in, with the Arranmore lifeboat anchored just outside the door. Though she trained as a nurse in Edinburgh and worked in London, Nora was an islander at heart and returned to Arranmore in 1982. There she joined the all-male lifeboat crew and wasn’t sure what she could offer, until a ...
Dec 11, 2023•5 min•Ep. 116
It remains the biggest loss of lifeboat crew in the RNLI’s history – David Forshaw on the 1886 Mexico disaster, and why it was a pivotal moment for the charity On 10 December 1886, 27 lifeboatmen from Lytham St. Annes and Southport tragically lost their lives while attempting to rescue the crew from the German barque Mexico, which had run aground after getting caught in perilous conditions. Those who died left behind 16 widows and 50 children without fathers. A public relief fund was launched to...
Dec 10, 2023•14 min•Ep. 115
Michele Jagger explains why having her daughter’s name on the Whitby lifeboat is so special Three weeks before Michele’s daughter, Shannon, sadly passed away, they enjoyed some mother-daughter time in Whitby – one of Michele’s favourite places. As well as having a soft spot for the beautiful seaside town, Michele has always been in awe of the RNLI volunteers that risk their lives to save others. So, when the opportunity arose to add Shannon’s name to the Launch a Memory lifeboat in Whitby – whic...
Dec 09, 2023•6 min•Ep. 114
When the RNLI lifeboat Mona capsized, all eight crew members were lost. Robin Smith should’ve been on it In 1959, Robin Smith - who at the time was on the crew at Broughty Ferry RNLI - was due to go out on the Mona lifeboat. As he was getting the lifeboat ready for launch, the ex-coxswain arrived. But as it was the new coxswain’s first call out, it was tradition for the ex-coxswain to go with the crew. So Robin stepped back. And it was that tradition that saved his life. Tragically, the Mona cap...
Dec 08, 2023•8 min•Ep. 113
Tina Powsey on how she floated to live It was a chilly July morning in Anglesey when Tina and her friend, Mags, headed down to the water for a swim. As they were having fun jumping through the waves, they suddenly realised that the ground had disappeared beneath their feet. They had drifted worryingly far from where they entered the sea. And the next thing they knew, they started drifting from each other. It was only thanks to Tina remembering what she learned in her children’s swimming lessons ...
Dec 07, 2023•14 min•Ep. 112
The RNLI’s busiest lifeboat station isn’t on the coast – it’s on the Thames. And when Linda Martin collapsed while on a boat trip, Tower lifesavers launched for the sixth time in one day Linda Martin was with her daughter and grandson on a pleasure boat trip on the Thames when Linda felt faint and collapsed on the floor of the boat. She talks about her memories of that day, the calming presence of the RNLI crew who came to help – and the sense of security they gave her. In a world where it can f...
Dec 06, 2023•12 min•Ep. 111
