Final bid to save lifeboat base

[Andy the Coastie]

Here we go,,,, what started as a rumour is now kicked into place ....

Originally Posted by BBC News

Campaigners were gathering to make a last-ditch attempt to save a lifeboat station from closure.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is due to make an announcement on Tuesday about the future of the Teesmouth station.

A review of the area has been going on for the past 18 months and the charity said there is over-provision.

Campaigners say the Teesmouth boat is a key part of operations in the Tees area and they want the station to stay.

Teesmouth Lifeboat Station local management committee chairman Alexe Finlay said: "We want to say to the RNLI again today, as we have said all the way through, that the Teesmouth boat can always get out in all weather.

'Effective use'

"It always has 14-plus metres of water, it has a crew that is fully integrated into the port community, involved in pollution and security measures, it is the frontline marine evacuation facility here.

"It's capable of saving lives up river as well as out in Tees Bay, for seafarers, for fishermen, for yachtsman."

She said a free berth had been offered at the port to reduce costs for the RNLI.

But the RNLI said its consultant engineer had examined plans for the berth and did not feel it would meet requirements to berth an unmanned lifeboat safely and securely.

It said the Teesmouth lifeboat was nearing the end of its operational life and would need to be replaced.

It said there was more lifeboat cover in the Tees Bay area, including two all-weather lifeboats, than other parts of the UK and it had to make the most effective use of resources and no decision would be made which would damage its work to save lives at sea.

[Lou]

Intersting reading, Andy. Removal of a service is alway met emotionally on one hand. I can't imagine the RNLI removing lifeboats where they are required as the provision is their raison d'etre (but then that is probably a very simplisitic view). So do the RNLI have a point over the provision in the area - would it be sufficient without that boat and could the money be more usefully used in an are that currently has very limited cover?

If not, then does it mean the RNLI are very short of funds, or are there suspected political reasons for its removal?

Lou

[Fiona]

Here is the press release which says there is an over provision of boats.

http://www.rnli.org.uk/who_we_are/me...ticleid=108198

[resting rifleman]

time was, if the will to man a lifeboat was there, and a need for a lifeboat was seen, then the institution would find the funds!

nowadays, with faster, more efficient, longer ranged, better equiped boats, the pressures that come from being a "big business", and the need to keep on top of all the developments in the seafaring world, coupled with the need to streamline and make the "best use" of available funds (all from donations!) then some paring back is bound to happen!

It is a real wrench to have a station closed! and a loss that is felt throughout the lifeboat community (past and present)
the family that is the core of the frontline lifeboats will mourn the loss of a station and the people who carried the traditions, and service, and courage, from generation to generation! as you mourn a respected relative.
but the call will still be answered when the maroons are fired.

it may be that teesmouth become an independant lifeboat, (i believe there are some) or rest easy in the knowledge that they went out to save lives when they were needed, and they've left "the patch" in good hands.

[Adrian Kelland]

Originally Posted by resting rifleman

time was, if the will to man a lifeboat was there, and a need for a lifeboat was seen, then the institution would find the funds!

nowadays, with faster, more efficient, longer ranged, better equiped boats, the pressures that come from being a "big business", and the need to keep on top of all the developments in the seafaring world, and the need to streamline and make the "best use" of available funds (all from donations!) then some paring back is bound to happen!

It is a real wrench to have a station closed! and a loss that is felt throughout the lifeboat community (past and present)
the family that is the core of the frontline lifeboats will mourn the loss of a station and the people who carried the traditions, and service, and courage, from generation to generation! as you mourn a respected relative. but the call will still be answered when the maroons are fired.

it may be that teesmouth become an independant lifeboat, (i believe there are some) or rest easy in the knowledge that they went out to save lives when they were needed, and they've left "the patch" in good hands.

We have at least one independant in Devon (Sidmouth), although the Rib they have is based on the RNLI Atlantic 75. At least they did not have to pay for development costs... If the locals can raise the money, they can have the boat. Not easy though. It's a historical/emotional thing too. Clovelly RNLI closed in 1988, was independent 1990-97, then RNLI again. Also an Atlantic 75.

The RNLI does not take these decisions lightly. It may well be that they are having to look at sites that bit harder in the light of falling income. A shame to lose an all weather boat though.

Adrian

Adrian

[Twinset & Wing]

Adrian,


The boat was changed about 18 months ago to a more advanced desicn that wasa custom to the station, the benifit of this was that the boat could be fine tuned to work perfectly based on the area it was working in(Otterton Ledge to Beer head)

The lifeboat at Sidmouth is now a VT Halmatic Artic 24 Class RIB, it has
2x 115 outboards and is a whisker over 7.5M long and has been known to reach just over the 40Knt mark.

Regards

Giles

[Fiona]

Giles I think you will find it has more to do with this

"The decision follows a two-year review of RNLI search and rescue provision in the Tees Bay area, including a 12-month trial and evaluation of the new 25 knot Trent Class lifeboat at Hartlepool. This showed that, with two all weather lifeboats just four miles apart, at Hartlepool and Teesmouth, and a total of eight lifeboats along a 25 mile stretch of coast, there is an over-provision of lifeboats in the area."

[Adrian Kelland]

Originally Posted by Twinset & Wing

Adrian,


The boat was changed about 18 months ago to a more advanced desicn that wasa custom to the station, the benifit of this was that the boat could be fine tuned to work perfectly based on the area it was working in(Otterton Ledge to Beer head)

The lifeboat at Sidmouth is now a VT Halmatic Artic 24 Class RIB, it has
2x 115 outboards and is a whisker over 7.5M long and has been known to reach just over the 40Knt mark.

Regards

Giles

Cheers for the update Giles, it's been a while since I've had a good look at it. The info I had re it being based on the Atlantic 75 was from the guys in the shed, but that could have easily been 3 or 4 years ago

It also goes to show that the local charity can raise enough money if they really want to. It costs the RNLI about £125k to pay for a fully kitted out 75, so this can't have been too far away from that. I think the cost includes all training and crew kit.

Fiona, Giles was referring to the Sidmouth independent lifeboat.

Adrian

edit: The Sidmouth boat used to be an Atlantic 21 not 75.

[Fiona]

Opps

[Paul Oliver]

Hmmm Nice Rhib