3 - 6 on ntent nnen <strong>the</strong>red <strong>the</strong> ve to You ed to filmion as ilming are 4 n Port Issac Medal winners 6 n Flooding RNLI in action 9 n Exhibition Search and rescue 13 n Awards South West vounteers 15 n Legacy Remember <strong>the</strong> RNLI 16 n Sennen Cove New dry suits 19 n Cooking Chefs go head to head 20 n On track Fundraising single 21 n SOS day Plan your event 23 n Bravery Lifeguards honoured 24 n Operations A busy time 26 n Challenge RNLI rescues 29 n Olympics Rower Helen Glover 28 n What’s On Winter events Cover picture: Mat<strong>the</strong>w Main/crew volunteer at Port Issac RNLI Advertising Lloyd Saunders telephone: 01326 213306 e-mail: lloyd.saunders@packetseries.co.uk Design & page layout Packet Newspapers telephone: 01326 213333 What a team - and that includes you! WINTER is suddenly with us but ra<strong>the</strong>r than get gloomy about dark nights and snow, we’re celebrating <strong>the</strong> arrival of Edition 2 of <strong>the</strong> Cornwall RNLI magazine, thanks to Packet Newspapers who have once again helped us to produce this at no cost to our charity. We were delighted to receive a wide range of positive comments about our first edition and hope you’ll enjoy more news from <strong>the</strong> RNLI, including some dates for your diaries. So what was <strong>the</strong> summer like for <strong>the</strong> RNLI in <strong>the</strong> South West? Well a quick snapshot of business for our lifeboat crew volunteers in June, July and August showed that <strong>the</strong> teams at our 35 lifeboat stations in <strong>the</strong> South West launched 653 times, a slight rise on last year’s total of 627. Despite <strong>the</strong> poor wea<strong>the</strong>r, <strong>the</strong> RNLI volunteers in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and <strong>the</strong> Channel Islands were involved in a wide range of activities from <strong>the</strong> Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and Olympics, to dramatic rescues in challenging conditions. Nationally, <strong>the</strong> figures were down two per cent compared to 2011, probably due to rainy wea<strong>the</strong>r at <strong>the</strong> beginning of <strong>the</strong> summer. In <strong>the</strong> South West <strong>the</strong> unseasonable wea<strong>the</strong>r led to some extremely difficult rescue operations. Cornwall’s 14 lifeboat stations took to <strong>the</strong> sea to help people 207 times with <strong>the</strong> busiest stations in Cornwall being Falmouth (45 launches), Penlee with 24 emergency call outs and Newquay who responded to 23 requests to launch. The fur<strong>the</strong>st distance travelled by a lifeboat in a single shout was carried out by St Mary’s lifeboat, from <strong>the</strong> Isles of Scilly, which launched to rescue a catamaran, in difficulty 80 nautical miles offshore, and tow it back to harbour. Once again <strong>the</strong> figures show that our volunteer crews are committed and brave individuals, on standby to save lives at sea come rain or shine even during <strong>the</strong> summer when <strong>the</strong>y deserve <strong>the</strong>ir own time off to be with <strong>the</strong>ir families. I’m sure you will join me in thanking <strong>the</strong>m for <strong>the</strong>ir continuing dedication, and <strong>the</strong>ir families for <strong>the</strong>ir invaluable support. fax: 01326 212084 e-mail: eeditorial@packetseries.co.uk n Bernice Putt, volunteer RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer at The Lizard with Tamsin Thomas, RNLI Public Relations Manager for <strong>the</strong> South West As <strong>the</strong> RNLI’s public relations manager for <strong>the</strong> South West, I have <strong>the</strong> pleasure of working with a team of volunteer lifeboat press officers who are based at <strong>the</strong> stations. Today I would like to introduce Bernice Putt from The Lizard who has kindly joined me to put <strong>the</strong> content for this magazine toge<strong>the</strong>r. . . The first edition of this publication was a really great read and very informative, and I am privileged to have been asked by Tamsin to help put toge<strong>the</strong>r edition two. Through my position at <strong>the</strong> lifeboat station I see daily <strong>the</strong> commitment <strong>the</strong> volunteers have, but my motivation comes from helping <strong>the</strong> operational crews gain <strong>the</strong> recognition <strong>the</strong>y deserve for spending <strong>the</strong>ir time preparing and responding to lifesaving incidents. They deserve all <strong>the</strong> thanks <strong>the</strong>y get when dragging <strong>the</strong>mselves from <strong>the</strong>ir beds to react to an incident in <strong>the</strong> middle of <strong>the</strong> night or motivating <strong>the</strong>mselves to launch on exercise in <strong>the</strong> middle of winter, when most people would be sat at home watching TV with a cup of hot chocolate. As you will read later in this issue, it is also good to see <strong>the</strong> fundraising and lifeboat station volunteers gain recognition for <strong>the</strong>ir commitment. Without <strong>the</strong>se dedicated teams and Newsquest Cornwall, Falmouth Business Park, Bickland Water Road, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 4SZ The opinions expressed by <strong>the</strong> RNLI are not necessarily those of <strong>the</strong> editor or publisher. individuals <strong>the</strong> lifeboat volunteers and <strong>the</strong> lifeguards would not have <strong>the</strong> equipment required to be able to save lives at sea. It takes several months of planning to put on <strong>the</strong> fundraising events that are held all year round in Cornwall. I have been amazed at just how many volunteers have given a lifetime of commitment to stations, guilds and branches. It is also commendable to see how many fundraising teams work inland and do not have an operational lifeboat station close-by to help provide <strong>the</strong>ir motivation. I must also thank our lifeboat/lifeguard supporters. No event can be a success without <strong>the</strong>m making <strong>the</strong> effort to come along in all winds and wea<strong>the</strong>r to sample <strong>the</strong> cakes, look round <strong>the</strong> stations and to part with hardearned cash. Finally I would like to thank all <strong>the</strong> volunteer RNLI crews, fundraisers and station personnel who have worked really hard throughout <strong>the</strong> summer, as it has enabled us to write about <strong>the</strong> RNLI in this issue. I hope you enjoy reading all about our Cornish volunteers exploits. Thank you. To find out more about <strong>the</strong> RNLI visit our website at www.rnli.org.uk. To contact us about this magazine please feel free to drop us a line at feedback@rnli.org.uk Published by <strong>the</strong> RNLI. Produced by Newsquest Cornwall (part of <strong>the</strong> Gannett Group) from its office at Falmouth Business Park, Bickland Water Road, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 4SZ. Printed at Newsquest Print Centre, Fleet House, Hampshire Road, Weymouth, DT4 9XD. 3