RNLI Hoylake in final push to hit £2m

Sep 9 2009 by Kevin Core, Liverpool Daily Post

Throughout the “rescue” of the incredibly calm Alistair Knowles, that efficiency is clear.

As the 19-year-old Mersey Class lifeboat nears him, they unfurl a trellis-like “Jason’s Cradle” from the side which can be pulled upwards by two strapping crew members.

Increasingly choppy waves move the “casualty” up and down and the fire service marine rescue watch manager is a dead weight, but wrapped in the cradle he is rolled up onto the deck.

Wiping himself down after his second spell stranded at sea, Alistair declares it was “spot on” and heads below deck to dry off.

Down below, 26-year-old Emily Jones, also a firefighter in her day job, fulfils her role as crew trainee navigator, keeping a close eye on a daunting computer display charting the notoriously treacherous channels that mariners on the Mersey can expect.

It is hot down below and, as the boat moves into choppier waters, she shows no signs of sea-sickness, but is always ready to hand anyone with problems a mint.

She said: “There are more men who volunteer but everyone is treated the same, we all have a job to do and it’s brilliant here.”

RNLI Senior Fundraising Manager, Audrey Farr, is hoping for a surge of support in the last few months of the appeal.

She said: ‘We launched the appeal before the recession started to bite, and inevitably fundraising has slowed down this year, but the local community has been fantastic.”

TO SUPPORT the appeal, call 0845 650 3999, log on to ww.rnli.org.uk/hoylakeappeal or donate to RNLI Hoylake Appeal, Admail 4049, Hoylake, CH47 1AA