30 Jan 2009 - There are four lifeboat stations in the Channel Islands, which last year housed 6 lifeboats. In 2008 they launched to 103 emergencies (106 in 2007) and rescued 204 people (138 in 2007). The volunteer crews spent 162 hours at sea on emergency call outs alone.

The St. Peter Port lifeboat launched a total of 21 times in 2008, twelve times for pleasure craft, six times for fishing vessels and twice for commercial vessels. It launched three times, but performed no direct service, where the casualty was attended by other responders. The total number of persons on board vessels to which the lifeboat was called and thus ‘at risk’ was 105 and it is heartening to report that no lives were lost in respect of the calls to which our lifeboat responded in 2008.

Of the call outs in 2008, the following were significant.

June 24th,2008. The relief St Peter Port Lifeboat, ‘Roger and Joy Freeman’ on exercise, was called to perform the very first rescue activated by ‘MOB Guardian’. MOB Guardian is a satellite based confidential reporting and alarm system, supported by the RNLI. Three fishermen from the MV ‘Guyona’ of Brixham were found safe in a life raft south of Sark.

October 5th The relief St Peter Port Lifeboat, ‘Roger and Joy Freeman’ intervened to tow the Swedish Sailing school ship ‘Alva’ with 40 on board to safety following attempts by other SAR assets.

RNLI South West annual rescue statistics

With the number of people rescued by RNLI lifeboats in the South west rising by more than 200 – a 14 per-cent increase on 2007 - and the charity’s lifeguards assisting 9,801 people on the beach, the need to raise funds is as vital as ever. The publication of the 2008 annual rescue statistics coincides with the RNLI’s biggest fundraising day of the year, SOS Day today Friday, 30 January 2009.

Figures show that the RNLI’s 35 lifeboat stations in the south west launched 1,567 times during 2008, rescuing 1,671 people and spending more than 2,150 hours at sea on emergency call out’s alone. RNLI lifeguards, who were patrolling 89 beaches in the south west, dealt with 8,423 incidents, assisted 9,801 people and saved 39 lives.

Now the charity is calling on the public to respond to its own call for help by supporting RNLI SOS Day today (Friday 30 January). Simon Pryce, RNLI Divisional Inspector for the south west, says by raising funds the public will be helping the RNLI to go on saving lives at sea:

‘On average the volunteer lifeboat crews and the RNLI lifeguards in the south west helped 31 people a day in 2008 and over the last five years our lifesaving charity has actually rescued over 47,000 people around the UK and the Republic of Ireland. I hope these figures will explain why we need continued support from the public at a time when many may be feeling the financial pinch. Many of those we assist would not have survived their ordeal without the bravery, skill and training of our volunteer lifeboat crews and our lifeguards.

‘The busiest lifeboat station in the south west in 2008 was Poole in Dorset where the volunteer crews launched 156 times, rescuing 213 people. Exmouth in Devon was second busiest with 125 launches and was followed by Falmouth in Cornwall where the inshore and all-weather lifeboats put to sea for 104 emergencies. The weather clearly played a part with many people choosing to take to the water on the relatively sheltered south coast, though some still got caught out. The 2008 figures show a rise in the number of call outs to fishing vessels - Penlee lifeboats at Newlyn had their busiest year with 23 more emergency launches than 2007 - and there was an increase in launches to powered and sailing leisure craft.’

As the RNLI lifeguard service continues to expand, patrols were introduced on 23 more beaches in the south west in 2008. Steve Instance, RNLI Divisional Inspector for Lifeguards agrees that the weather also had a big impact on the type of incidents the lifeguards dealt with;

‘The weather was particularly bad during August, which is usually the busiest month for the lifeguards. There were only 105.5 hours of sunshine, drastically down on the average of 158.9. It was also the wettest month, with 139.8mm of rainfall, compared to an average of 93.6mm.

‘Compared to 2007, the RNLI lifeguards dealt with fewer minor incidents, such as lost children and weaver fish stings, which are associated with large crowds on the beach, but they continued to be busy with the major rescues and assists in the water, indicating that determined water users were still using the beach, hiring wetsuits and surf equipment and making the most of their holiday despite the poor weather.’

The busiest individual beach in terms of lifeguard incidents was Woolacombe in north Devon where RNLI lifeguards dealt with 507 incidents and assisted 606 people, Perranporth beach in Cornwall was the second busiest, where the RNLI lifeguards dealt with 490 incidents, and assisted 549 people, and Carrick was the busiest lifeguarding area over all, with lifeguards dealing with 1,219 incidents followed by Penwith in Cornwall (1,124 incidents) and the beaches in and around Bournemouth (1,027).’

To take part in RNLI SOS Day and for inspiring fundraising ideas or to simply make a donation, log on to www.rnli.org.uk/sos or call 0845 121 4999.