PLIRB Events and Updates for July 21

Jun 30, 2021

A quick update on what’s been happening at out boathouse in recent weeks and what’s coming up for us now that we’ve hit July … 

Since returning to the boathouse once restrictions started to ease in March (at least for outside activities), our volunteers have been pretty busy. We’ve not just been getting back into old routines, but also adjusting these to take the ‘new normal’ into account.

Then, with the arrival of Easter and a round of restrictions lifting in April, local beaches started getting much busier. This has meant that our volunteer beach, base and boat crews have been involved in incident support and first aid to such an extent that we’ve had a rota of volunteer presence at the boathouse  on both weekend days throughout May and June. This will continue across the summer as we’ve had several call-outs which have benefited from our rescue-ready presence.

As part of this increased presence at the boathouse, we’re also regularly giving First Aid support on the weekends. As we anticipate a continued demand for this as the summer holidays progress, we’re happy to provide this community service as long as we have volunteers available.

To support us with  accident prevention, if you have visitors staying with you this summer, please make visitors aware of how easy it is to slip, trip and fall on the rocks and other hazards on local beaches.

Drowning Prevention Week

Whilst we’re talking about prevention, we’re also happy to share that we took part in the Royal Life Saving Society’s Drowning Awareness Week in June. The aim of the week is to raise awareness about drowning prevention and for our own part, we wanted to also share messages of how to reduce risk at local beaches. We’ve dedicated a blog post to this, so information and RLSS links and resources can be available across the other 52 weeks of the year too!

Communications Upgrade Project

We also happy to share some  exciting news about our Communications Project. Although we still have a little way to go with raising all the funds we need to upgrade the hardware used by our beach crews too, the dashboard platform and helmet bluetooth system for the Pulfer boat and its crews have now been successfully installed.

Already, this has made a huge difference in terms of clarity of communications. The system has the added benefits of being entirely hands-free for boat crew and is fully compatible with systems used by HM Coastguard, Search and Rescue helicopter teams and the RNLI, so our collaborative communications should now be much more effective when we are involved in multi-services incidents or taking part in joint training  with our emergency services colleagues.

Ongoing Fundraisers

With the continuation of the communications upgrade project, as well as all the usual costs of repairs to equipment and the need to ensure we have the running costs for next year covered, we have several fundraising activities planned. Of course, like everyone else, we’re waiting to see what 19th July brings but in the meantime, restrictions-permitting, our fundraising and events calendar is looking like this: 

  • We have been invited to take our Tornado boat, donation buckets and merchandise along to the Co-op at Winchelsesa Beach on Saturday 24th July and 31st July, so please come along and say hello.
  • We’ll also be coming up to be a part of Icklesham Fete on 7th August and Winchelsea Fete on August 14th, so again please come and see us to chat about the work we do or find out more about volunteering with us.
  • Our rescheduled Open Day is still planned for Sunday 29th August. This includes the Homewood Leisure Hot Tub Grand Draw. Tickets will be available right up to the draw date, including at our boathouse and at Winchelsea Fete. Tickets are also available from Fairlight Stores and Post Office, from The Old Butcher’s, Pett and of course from the generous donor, Homewood Leisure.
  • Our 2022 calendar photo competition. This competition is starting to gain momentum but plenty more entries would be welcome well before the closing date.

We look forward to updating you further as things open up a little more. In the meantime, #staysafe and #beachaware out there.

WHILST YOU'RE HERE ...

We’re an independent charity run solely by volunteers.

We receive no government or central funding and have to fundraise every penny needed to buy and maintain our equipment and to pay our considerable running costs.

Since the start of 2020, our running costs have increased to around £10,000 a year.

If you like the work we do and would like to support us, your donation would really be appreciated.

Anything you can spare will help us to help those in danger on our local coastline.

Thank you so much, from the volunteers at Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat.

Donations are welcome, they keep us afloat, saving lives ...

Beach Cleaning Support for Strandliners

May 8, 2021

Lockdown has lifted just enough for us to help out a community beach cleaning project. 

Yes, we’re happy to share that on Sunday 9th May we’ll once again be helping Strandliners CIC in a major beach cleaning project. As the main photo above shows, the volunteers at Strandliners have been working hard to clear rubbish and pollution from the Cliff End and Fairlight Berm areas.

As regular readers of the blog will remember,  Strandliners organised a similar clean-up of the huge amount of plastic pollution, polystyrene and general rubbish at the berm last September.

This is a hard-to reach area of the coast which, because of the tidal flow, does tend to be a drop-zone for water-borne pollution. Once stuck behind the rocks though, it tends to stay, having a major impact on the wildlife and environment around the Berm.

So, once it’s all bagged up, there’s only one way to get the rubbish out of there …

 

beach cleanup 2020

Our volunteer crews ready to launch for the clean up last September

beach cleanup fairlight 2020

Bringing the rubbish from the boat to the slipway is all part of the clean up task.

The easiest way to remove the bagged up bulk is by boat. So, weather and ‘Shouts’ permitting, on Sunday 9th May around 11 am, we’ll be launching one or both of our boats, to go across to the berm. Once there, our crews and Strandliners volunteers will load up the boats with the rubbish and our crews will bring it back to the Pett Slip.

From there, it will be picked up by Rother Council, and there’s sure to be a lot of it, as the amount of bags from last September shows …

PLIRB community beach cleaning 2021

Get involved in beach cleaning …

This will all take place as part of our Sunday training and maintenance session at the boathouse. Some of the volunteers from StrandlinersCIC will also be at Pett Slip, so please do come and talk to them about their work and how to get involved in local beach cleaning – either as a volunteer with the group or as an individual.

As before, it’s important to mention that this beach cleaning project hasn’t just involved picking up rubbish and pollutants. Every single item being removed has been counted and sorted before being bagged up for removal. There’s more information from Strandliners in the poster below …

Strandliners CIC beach cleaning 2021

If you’d like to get involved at whatever level suits you as we come out of lockdown, please do pop down.

Andy of  Strandliners (pictured below from last year’s clean up) should be available to talk about the work of Strandliners. He’ll be at the boathouse end of the slip, outside and socially distanced, of course. Andy and Strandliners volunteers will be happy to explain how even the smallest clean up is welcome, and why the recording the rubbish and pollution along the coastline is a vital part of the campaign to clean up our coastline.

We are very pleased to be able to assist with beach cleaning community project, and to help preserve our local beaches. Check back for updates and photos this Spring’s rubbish retrieval soon!

If you would like to know more about Strandliners please visit www.Strandliners.org or follow on Twitter at info@strandlinerscic.

Poster credit: thanks to StrandlinersCIC 

Donations are very welcome, thank you.

Whilst you’re here …

As an independent charity providing rescue services, we are run solely by volunteers.

We receive no government or central funding and have to fundraise every penny needed to buy and maintain our equipment and to pay our considerable running costs.

Since the start of 2020, our running costs have increased to around £10,000 a year.

If you like the work we do and would like to support us, your donation would really be appreciated.

Anything you can spare will help us to help those in danger on our local coastline.

Thank you so much, from the volunteers at Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat.

PLIRB 2022 Calendar Photo Competition Fundraiser

Mar 2, 2021

Remember we promised that the next Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat calendar would be a little different?

Well, here’s the plan … instead of us taking our own photos for our 2022 fundraiser calendar, we’d love to invite our friends, supporters and everyone across our Sussex coastal and inland communities to submit their photos , as we launch our fabulous PLIRB Calendar 2022 photo competition!

 

Now, we know there are lots of beautiful local images out there because we see them on social media! Already in 2021 we’ve seen stunning snow, striking sunrises, scenic sunsets, beautiful beach shots and a magnificent Snow Moon … all taken around and about our lovely local area!

So, we’re hoping others will feel inspired to contribute photos for our competition. The  12 months of the year make it easy to find a seasonal category to suit your shot and mean we can offer 12 prizes. But hey, as we like to do things a little differently, we’re pleased to say there’s also an overall winner prize up for grabs too!

* 12 winning photos will be chosen, with each winner’s photo featuring as the month’s image in our 2022 calendar – one chosen from each category.

* Each winner will also receive two free copies of the calendar as their prize.

* One overall competition winner will be chosen and will receive a canvas print of their winning shot.

The competition runs from March 1st to September 30th 2021, but the month / category you choose doesn’t have to be the month your photo was taken – it just has to suit the season. So, if you feel your snowy shingle and sand shot taken this February is rather Christmassy, you could enter it in the December category – it’s up to you!

WHAT ARE THE RULES?

* You can enter up to 3 images.

* Images should be in landscape format and a minimum size / quality of 4MB please.

* The file name of the photo should include: the location of the shot, the photographer’s name; the month of the category you’re entering, eg: PettLevel_ASmith_Dec.

* Each entry should be accompanied by a donation to PLIRB, please. A minimum donation of £5 would be most welcome. Donations should be made through our dedicated calendar photo competition donation page.

* Photos of Pett Level will of course be a real focus (see what we did there?) but we also invite photos from all around our local coastal and inland rescue service vicinity. For example, views from across the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, Ecclesbourne Glen, Fairlight, and Winchelsea Beach areas, plus there are stunning shots to be taken of the coastal views as seen from Icklesham, Udimore and Winchelsea.

* By entering our photo competition you are giving us permission to (a) share your entry on our website and social media (b) print your photograph in our calendar, if you are chosen as a winner.

Full terms and conditions for entering this competition are HERE.

TO ENTER:

1) Make your donation via the competition donation page (minimum £5 per entry) using the donation button. Add your name and the category (month) you’d like your photo to be considered for in the message part of the donation.  You could also add your own message if you’d like to – we love to hear from our supporters!

THEN …

2) Please send an email with your photo attached to plirbphotocomp@gmail.com.

Within the email please include:

* The category (month) you’re entering (just in case it’s missing off the file name).

* Name and contact details (including telephone number).

TIMELINE:

* The competition closes at 23:59 on Thursday 30th September 2021. After this, no more entries will be accepted and our judges will have the difficult task of choosing the winning photos.

* The winners will be announced in October 2021 (date to be confirmed once judges have been confirmed).

* Calendars will be printed and available from November 2021. Winners will be invited to visit our boathouse to receive their copies of the calendar as soon as these are available.

 

Sorry, but there has to be a little small print

Our work isn’t just about saving lives, it’s also about prevention and raising awareness about general and local beach safety. As such, we really want to be able to share local photographs. So, please understand that by entering this competition you’re giving us permission to share your photo online. Full credit will be given (unless you ask to be kept anonymous of course) and the copyright remains with you.

Our charity is all about saving lives and keeping our beaches and coastal areas safe from hazards and danger. It’s fair to say that once the third lockdown hit, meeting our £10,000 a year running costs has become a significant challenge – with our income from fundraising down 95% compared to 2019.

By submitting your photos and supporting our competition, you will literally be helping our charity to stay afloat and #rescueready so that we can continue saving lives at sea.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INTEREST & YOUR SUPPORT

CLICK TO VISIT THE COMPETITION DONATION PAGE TO GET STARTED

Annual General Meeting – Latest Update

Sep 24, 2020

Our charity’s AGM, which had to be postponed in April, is rescheduled to Sunday 27th September at 10:00 am at our boathouse.
The aim has been to hold this in a socially distanced way outside, weather permitting. We are not expecting large numbers, so we still hope to go ahead with the AGM, as our ‘work’ team of volunteers will be present for our Sunday training and equipment maintenance session as usual.

 

Masks must be worn in accordance with guidelines and all attendees will be asked to provide contact information in line with track and trace requirements.

 

If the format of the AGM is changed to an online event, further information will be given, so please do keep an eye out on our social media.

Sean’s Bike Ride for PLIRB Charity – New Date

Sep 7, 2020

Just a quick update on Sean’s progress in his charity bike ride plans, to raise money for us.

There are two lots of latest news to share on this … one is a change of date, the other is a little share of how Sean’s putting some extra fun into the FUNdraising part!

Things have been extremely busy for Sean lately and although he’s made major strides in both training and fundraising, he’s now also ended up with a clash of dates.

So, instead of staying with the original date of 13th September which was set as the London to Brighton 2020 charity bike ride date (as discussed in a previous post) Sean’s had a problem-solving rethink. The new date will be Saturday 26th September. Everything else is the same, it’s just the change of day and date!

And the fundraising? Sean’s giving page currently shows £155 + Gift Aid, whilst we’ve also received a couple of donations through the website and a crisp £50 to sponsor Sean. This means that already there’s £255 + in the pot as a result of Sean’s fundraiser, which is amazing. And coming soon, is a little idea to add more FUN to Sean’s fundraising efforts.

Check back soon or follow us on social media for the next update!

Community Project – Fairlight Cove Clean Up

Sep 3, 2020

The ‘new normal’ is a continued adjustment period, but thankfully restrictions are lifted enough for community project work to carry on.

So we’re happy to share that on Sunday 6th September we’ll be supporting a community project close to our hearts and our boathouse … the Fairlight Cove Clean-Up!

The clean-up has been organised and carried out by Fairlight-based community interest company Strandliners. Teams of 6 volunteers have carried out 8 sessions of mammoth rubbish clearing behind the main three rock berms of Fairlight Cove. However, although the rubbish is now  bagged up, there’s the significant problem of getting it all off the beach.

Which is where we’re able to help. Weather permitting, on Sunday 6th September we’ll be launching both our boats to go and pick up the rubbish bags from the cove. Everything will be brought back to the slipway, where it will then be removed by Rother Council.

The plan is that we won’t carry out a training launch on our usual Sunday session at the boathouse. Instead our volunteers will be there slightly later, preparing to launch around noon, to assist with the rubbish clearance. Volunteers are not required to assist, but if anyone wants to stop by and speak to StrandlinersCIC about their work and how to get involved, they will be at the boathouse around noon.

More than a beach clean …

It’s worth pointing out that this beach clearance project has involved a significant amount of time and huge effort by the community volunteers involved in the Strandliners’ clean up. Every piece of debris and rubbish has been counted and sorted before being bagged up for clearance. This is so that firm data on the types, spread and impact of plastic and polystyrene pollution can be gathered. In turn, this data will inform wider conservation and environmental concerns and projects. There is more information on this in the Rye News and on the Strandliners website and social media.

We are very pleased to be able to assist with this community project, and to help preserve our local beaches. Check back for updates and photos of the rubbish retrieval soon!

If you would like to know more about Strandliners please visit www.Strandliners.org or follow on Twitter at info@strandlinerscic.

Image credits: Dee Rampling, thanks to StrandlinersCIC 

Donations are very welcome, thank you.

Whilst you’re here …

As an independent charity providing rescue services, we are run solely by volunteers.

We receive no government or central funding and have to fundraise every penny needed to buy and maintain our equipment and to pay our considerable running costs.

Since the start of 2020, our running costs have increased to around £10,000 a year.

If you like the work we do and would like to support us, your donation would really be appreciated.

Anything you can spare will help us to help those in danger on our local coastline.

Thank you so much, from the volunteers at Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat.