RNLI Salcombe Lifeboat Fundraising Crew
Are pleased to announce the results of their
Grand Raffle
First Prize Two Night Stay for Two at the
Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Hyde Park, London
Winner – Ticket Number No. 00192 – Devon
Second Prize Two Night Stay for Two at the
Harbour Hotel, Salcombe
Ticket Number No. 02193 – Leicestershire
Third Prize Two Night Stay for Two at the
RNLI College, Poole
Ticket Number – No. 00736 – Wiltshire
With a thank you, a Royal visit and a Church service, RNLI Salcombe brought to a close a yearlong celebration of 150 years commitment and sacrifice to the town and surrounding coastline.
On Friday, under the cover of a large marquee Salcombe Rugby Football Club opened its doors to allow the Lifeboat Fundraising Crew to say thank you to the local community and families, for their constant support not just in raising funds but with their forbearance for the disruption to everyday life put on hold when the pager goes off.
Saturday, the actual 150th birthday, saw the town and its close neighbour Kingsbridge honoured with a visit from His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent.
On a very bright and sunny morning in Kingsbridge, and after meeting and talking with many local dignitaries His Royal Highness unveiled a sculpture, by sculptor Jim Martin depicting the very first Salcombe lifeboat, the Rescue, which was launched from Dodbrooke Quay in Kingsbridge 150 years ago.
Onboard Salcombe’s all-weather lifeboat, The Baltic Exchange III, HRH Duke of Kent reviewed a fleet of old and new lifeboats with HMS Magpie heading the fleet that also included a rowing gig, Salcombe Yacht Club cadets in safety boats and a number of private launches and yachts.
This was followed by HRH the Duke of Kent unveiling a twin sculpture in Salcombe, again by sculptor Jim Martin, but depicting the current Salcombe Lifeboat The Baltic Exchange III, followed by private meetings with volunteer crew and members of the fundraising crew and supporters.
Holy Trinity Church, Salcombe was full for a Service of Celebration for Salcombe RNLI on Sunday morning, led by Father Daniel French and music from The Britannia Royal Navel College Volunteer Band and the Salcombe Community Gospel Choir.
The Service was followed by a parade through the town to the War memorial for a short service of re-dedication of the memorial to those who perished on the 27 October 1916.
Salcombe Lifeboat Operations Manager, Mr Andrew Arthur paid tribute to the many people within the communities of Salcombe and Kingsbridge who had come together to make the anniversary year such a great success.
As part of Salcombe RNLI’s 150th anniversary celebrations, two commemorative sculptures by local sculptor Jim Martins, are to be unveiled in Salcombe Cross Gardens and Kingsbridge Quay on September 21st.
Why two statues? It represents the enduring link to saving life at sea associated with all on and around the estuary over the last 150 years, with a clear pointer to sustain that critical voluntary commitment into the future. On Saturday 21st September the first memorial will be unveiled in Kingsbridge followed by a second unveiling in Salcombe, which will follow a review of Lifeboats – new and old – off Salcombe. The day will complete with a RNLI fundraising bazaar at Cliffe House. The weekend rounds off on Sunday 22nd with a 10:00 am service of celebration at Holy Trinity Church, Salcombe, followed by a parade, accompanied by the Britannia Royal Naval College Band, to the War Memorial.
The Cookworthy Museum at Kingsbridge and the Maritime Museum at Salcombe are both taking part in the project and are planning to insert Time Capsule boxes in the plinths of the sculptures..
The sealed boxes will be about the size of a small/thin suitcase, and local people are invited to help fill them by donating items of memorabilia that tell the story of their town and/or their families, both now and in the past. Family photographs, family trees and documents, particularly from those with connections to the lifeboat and rescue services, as well as local trades, will be very welcome.
Drop-in sessions, at which items can be donated, will take place in Salcombe Library on Thursday, August 22nd between 1:15 pm and 5:30 pm and at Kingsbridge Library on Saturday, August 24th between 9:30 am and 1:00 pm. (Please contact the museums if you can’t make these times – Cookworthy on 01548 853235 and Salcombe MM on 854108). Donor contact details and captions to photographs should be included and items should not be any larger than 5cm high or 35cm long. The boxes will be formally sealed at the Kingsbridge Show on September 7th.
Although the weather had turned a little cooler the anticipation of Mary Berry joining the Salcombe RNLI Lifeboat Fundraising Crew certainly drew a big crowd to the Woodcot House & Gardens, in Salcombe this Saturday.
After a brief welcome and introduction by Mr. Andrew Arthur, Lifeboat Operations Manager, Mary opened the event at 11:00 am, after which the many visitors were able to relax in the stunning gardens of Woodcot House, enjoy al-fresco cream tea and enjoy the music of the Salcombe Jazz Trio. There were also several events laid on for the younger visitors, organised again by the Fundraising Crew.
Mary returned at 2:30 pm to give an interesting recollection of the many wonderful times she and her family had spent in Salcombe over the years, before taking a wide range of questions from the audience.
Before leaving Salcombe Mary made a point of visiting the Salcombe RNLI Crew room where she was introduced to Coxswain Chris Winzar before being given a tour of both the in-shore and all-weather lifeboats.
When asked for his thoughts on the day Simon Linsley, Chair of the Fundraising Crew said “What a great day made possible by the appearance of Mary Berry and the many fundraisers who worked so hard throughout the day. Simon also wanted to thank the many business in the area for their support, The Bakehouse, Salcombe Dairy, Salcombe Coffee Shop, Salcombe Deli, Luscombe Drinks, Salcombe Co-op, Marchant Petit, Tesco Kingsbridge & Salcombe Trading”.
RNLI Salcombe played host to The Chernobyl Children who were making their annual visit to the town. Full time RNLI Mechanic, Sam Viles and Lifeboat Operations Manager Andrew Arthur gave the children a tour of the All-Weather Lifeboat. For the children the visit gives them a chance to experience many of the things we take for granted but which for them may only be a dream.
This weekend saw a tribute paid to the RNLI Salcombe volunteer crews, families and supporters who have served Salcombe and the surrounding areas for the past 150 years.
Saturday’s events started with a tribute to those early crew members who, upon hearing the maroon that would signal a lifeboat launch was required, to run the 1.5 miles from Salcombe to the South Sands lifeboat station in all conditions to launch. Sixteen members of today’s crew re-enacted that run and yes, they all finished. They then rowed two gigs, provided by Salcombe Estuary Rowing Club, back to Salcombe.
The theme of remembering the past continued through the day, with seven Historic Lifeboats moored alongside the Normandy pontoon and open to the many members of the public who had flocked to the town. Also, on hand were the RNLI F2F and Lifeguard teams sharing not only information on the RNLI but also passing on the many safety messages put out to help in the aim of Saving Lives at Sea.
Andrew Arthur, Salcombe Lifeboat Operations Manager, thanked all who had contributed to making the weekend such a success and achieving the aim of ‘a tribute to yesteryear’, with a special thanks to the Salcombe Yacht Club for their support.
Both Salcombe Lifeboats launched yesterday evening to their weekly training exercise, to a man in difficulty aboard his yacht. Little did they expect the exercise to turn into a response to an “Immediate Tasking” being received from the Coastguard, to a fishing vessel on fire, 5 nautical miles South West of Salcombe.
Both lifeboats were on scene within minutes, rescuing an uninjured fisherman from his life raft. Once confirmation of no further casualties was confirmed the ILB returned the casualty to shore and to his waiting family.
For safety reasons the ALB remained on scene until dusk.
Within minutes of the ALB being back on station and readied for service a second call from the Coastguard had the volunteer crew launching to assist the Dart Lifeboat crew who were attending to a 35’ sailing yacht aground in Start Bay.
Apri1 1st, 2019
RNLI Salcombe are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Andrew Arthur to position of Lifeboat Operations Manager (LOM) following the appointment of Mr. Mark Dowie to Chief Executive of the RNLI in Poole.
In this voluntary role, Andrew will be responsible for the Salcombe lifeboat station, its boats, crew and day to day operations, working closely with Chris Winzar, the Lifeboat Coxswain and Sam Viles, the Lifeboat Mechanic.
Andrew, a former Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Marine Engineer Officer, is still a keen sailor and has significant maritime and management experience to draw upon. Andrew now runs his own Bespoke Cabinet Making businesses in Salcombe.
As Lifeboat Operations Manager, Mark has managed a very busy 17 months for the Salcombe Lifeboats, launching 64 times in 2018 with several services being lifesaving and high profile. The crew was also featured in the last two series of the BBC’s documentary “Saving Lives at Sea”.
It is with great sadness that Salcombe Lifeboat Station has to announce the passing of our former Operations Manager, Simon Evans. During his tenure as LOM, he made significant improvements to the operational infrastructure within the station that have enhanced the flow of information whilst either of our lifeboats have been out on service; many of these ideas have now been incorporated in other stations as a result. His planning and execution of the commemoration of the centenary of the disaster in 2016, was a real testament to his dedication to the remembrance of the commitment demonstrated by the crew throughout the years of the Institution. RIP
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has today – Wednesday 6 March 2019 – announced that its new Chief Executive will be Mark Dowie.
Mark is currently the Lifeboat Operations Manager at Salcombe RNLI in Devon, a voluntary role that he has held proudly since 2017, and will take up the post of Chief Executive of the lifesaving charity on Wednesday 15 May 2019.
In his role as a Lifeboat Operations Manager, Mark has been responsible for all the operations of a busy lifeboat station, and so he has first-hand experience of leading and volunteering within the RNLI.
Mark brings with him significant corporate leadership experience, having been a senior banking professional who was most recently Chief Executive Officer, Corporate & Institutional Banking, at Standard Chartered Bank. In this role he led the bank’s global wholesale banking business and was responsible for nearly 20,000 people in 62 countries around the world.
A former Royal Navy Supply Officer, Mark served between 1982 and 1990, leaving the service at the rank of Lieutenant. During his time in the Royal Navy, Mark served on the helicopter carrier RFA Reliant and HMS Illustrious.
In addition, Mark has owned and managed a successful marine services company and served as a magistrate in Devon. He is a keen sailor and a gyrocopter pilot.
Mark is also a trustee of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC) and has provided leadership and financial support to youth charities in south London and a school and orphanage in Kenya.
Mark said: ‘I am delighted and incredibly proud to have been appointed as the RNLI’s new chief executive.
‘Having been an RNLI volunteer on the coast for the past two years, I know just what an incredible organisation this charity is. I’ve seen first-hand the dedication and commitment of the RNLI’s volunteers and staff to help save lives and keep people safe.’
Stuart Popham, Chairman of the RNLI, said: ‘I’m delighted to announce Mark Dowie as the RNLI’s new chief executive.
‘Mark has a range of impressive attributes and experience that he will bring to the role, including valuable experience as an RNLI volunteer.
‘He has a wealth of corporate leadership experience and a real affinity for the sea. I’m looking forward to working with Mark and am extremely confident that he will be a huge asset to the RNLI.
‘I’d also like to profusely thank our current Chief Executive, Paul Boissier, for his magnificent contribution over the last decade. He will leave the RNLI having achieved so much.’
The RNLI’s current chief executive, Paul Boissier, has been in post since 2009 and will leave the RNLI on Wednesday 15 May.
