Local MP Visit & Support For Independent Rescue Boat Charities

Jun 15, 2021

Now that visitors are allowed (in limited numbers) down at our boathouse, we’re pleased to be having visitors. Our latest, on 4th June 21, was our local Hastings and Rye MP, Sally-Ann Hart.

On her last visit to our boathouse last September our problems accessing grants the local government made available to charities in the pandemic were a real topic for discussion! And since then, mindful of the role we play in the community, Sally-Ann has remained in touch. In particular, Sally-Ann has been working with us to identify how local and national government could better support a charity such as ours – ie: an independent rescue boat service with a unique, historic set up which falls outside of the criteria for the majority of grants made available by the local authority.

But in April, after a long year of challenges and a worrying deficit in our running costs, we finally secured a Discretionary Grant of just under £5,000 from Rother District Council. Sally-Ann was very pleased to hear the news and keen to re-visit to find out more about our work and plans for 2021.

 

“I was really pleased to hear that the government grant has been useful. I would urge everyone to support this local charity that does so much to support its local community and beach safety.”

Sally-Ann Hart, MP for Hastings & Rye

support a charity, Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat
support a charity, Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat
BOATHOUSE TOUR

Helm and Launch Authority volunteer Steve gave Sally-Ann a tour of the boathouse, operational  facilities and Look Out areas. This opportunity to review our facilities and log-book gave Sally-Ann a good insight into the extensive demands on our self-funded rescue service. And of course, she was also able to see first-hand the facilities and equipment needed to maintain operations.

With this in mind, chat led to the costs of  keeping our rescue service (including the volunteers) fully equipped and safely operational. From there, our future funding and equipment needs were  discussed, so Steve shared the plans for our upcoming equipment upgrade of a Bluetooth, hands-free communication system for our Pulfer boat and crews.

support a charity, Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat

Out in all weathers

All of which led us back outside to view our most recent (and huge) equipment upgrade: the almost-finished replacement launch & recovery vehicle.  As locals know, this vehicle is absolutely essential for launching our boats – whatever the weather and tide is doing! If it’s high, a vehicle’s essential to safely negotiate the shingle beach; if it’s low then there’s a long way to go, across shingle, rocks, sinking mud and sand to get the boats to the water! To cope with all this, the vehicle needs to be fully robust and extremely reliable.

 

“It’s great to have an update on the work that the volunteers at Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat are engaging with, and to see the new launch and recovery vehicle.”

Sally-Ann Hart, MP for Hastings & Rye

But it doesn’t come cheap and although the vehicle’s now up and running, it’s already cost just shy of £25,000, with more to go. And of course, it doesn’t stop there, as the vehicle that this newly refurbished one replaces now needs an upgrade and refit of its own, as we do need a functional reserve launch vehicle!

Despite the seriously deteriorating weather, Sally-Ann then chatted to other volunteers about these future plans, plus recent call outs, how they have managed to maintain a service throughout the pandemic and the difference that finally receiving the Rother Council grant in helping us to cover our running costs for 2021.

Independent Lifeboat Association

Sally-Ann also gave an update on her collaboration with other MPs, to help establish an Independent Lifeboat Association (ILA). The aim of the ILA is to build awareness and recognition for the work of independent lifeboat and rescue boat charities across the UK generally.

After the visit Kev, our charity’s Chair, had a few words to say about why it’s particularly welcome when the local authority, public figures and businesses support a charity which funds its own running costs, year-in-year out.

 

“It was good to see Sally-Ann Hart, even though it was so wet and blustery for her visit! Sally-Ann had a good look around the rescue boat facilities and was impressed with what she saw. It’s good to receive the support for what we do and we are heartened by her ongoing support, especially with her involvement with the start of a national independent lifeboat association. Everyone here is a volunteer and we look forward to more interest and support in the future.”

Kev, Chair of PLIRB Charity

WHILST YOU'RE HERE ...

If you would like to support us, your donation will help us assist those in danger on our local coastline.

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

Would you like to help us with a donation towards the costs of our continued vehicle refurbishments?

PLIRB Thanks Fairlight Parish and Rother Council

May 30, 2021

Everyone here at Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat is pleased to say a huge thank you to our local councils – first Fairlight Parish Council and also the wider Rother council, for recent assistance at a difficult time.

To start with, after the difficulties presented by the new year lockdown which has had further impact on our charity’s ability to fundraise during the pandemic, our local parish council, Fairlight Parish Council made a very welcome donation of £250. This parish council grant could not have been more timely for our charity and will be extremely helpful as planned restrictions start to ease and there is more call upon our self-funded rescue services – huge thanks to all involved in this grant.

Then, our volunteer had a welcome surprise when, in April and after almost a year of trying, our charity secured a Rother Discretionary Grant payment of just under £5,000.

But it was no surprise that Fairlight resident and Rother councillor Andrew Mier, who has been aware of our difficulties across 2020, was one of the first to express his delight for us. Andrew has remained in touch throughout as he has been particularly mindful of the problems our charity has experienced in accessing any of the government’s ‘rescue’ funding for charities via the local Rother Council, so he was keen to hear the good news and what it means for our charity.

Although unable to visit the boathouse at the time due to restrictions, once the most recent round of unlocking took place and visitors were allowed Cllr. Mier popped down to the boathouse for a catch up.

 

“I am very pleased that Rother has awarded the Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat a discretionary grant in recognition of their loss of income from fundraising activity during the pandemic. The boat’s vital work had to carry on while income was curtailed.”

Cllr, Andrew Mier

During his visit on Sunday 23rd May 2021, Cllr. mier was able to see our volunteers in action, quite literally, as they worked to remove the remaining rubbish and pollution gathered in the recent Strandliners’ beach clean up at Fairlight Cove.

As a Fairlight resident, Cllr. Mier is aware of the difficulties with pollution in the area and of the work being undertaken by volunteers to keep the local environment and its users – human, flora, fauna or fishes – to stay clean and safe.

 

“I am also very pleased to see the rescue boat working with Strandliners to remove and analyse troubling quantities of plastic waste from our beaches […] We are very lucky to have so many dedicated volunteers serving our community and I thank all concerned for what they are doing.”

Cllr, Andrew Mier

It was great to have our first proper visit from someone ‘outside’ of our volunteer teams, now that this is permitted. It was also particularly good to see Cllr. Mier and his partner Carol (as pictured with our Chair, Kev) to be able to say thank you for the ongoing support. Kev was also able to say an official thank you to our local Rother Councillor for the grant:

“Along with many charities, we have struggled with the impact of the pandemic on our ability to raise money for our significant running costs. Achieving this grant enables us to continue to provide rescue services as lockdown lifts and local beaches become busier, and we appreciate the support and recognition from Councillor Mier and Rother District Council.”

WHILST YOU'RE HERE ...

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

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

Since the start of 2020, these have increased to over £10,000 a year.

If you would like to support us, your donation would really be appreciated as it will help us assist those in danger on our local coastline.

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

Donations are welcome, thank you

May starts with ‘MayDays’

May 13, 2021

May has kicked off in a very busy way, as from May Day we’ve been tasked to launch and assist on two occasions.

First SHOUT of 2021 – persons cut off by the tide

On the May Day bank holiday weekend, our volunteers opened the boathouse across all three days, to provide a proactive presence as lockdown lifts and the public enjoy the beauty of the beach.

And this ready presence proved useful when  our volunteers were tasked to assist on Sunday 2nd May in the afternoon. At the request of HM Coastguard, our Pulfer boat was launched to assist an adult, accompanied by two young people and three dogs, all of whom were stranded at the base of the cliffs after being cut off by the tide.

 
The three people and their dogs were assisted into the boat and returned to the safety of Pett Slip.
 
PLIRB rescue boat was tasked to assist on two occasions in May

Paying attention to safety signs

The walkers had intended to picnic, but had not anticipated how quickly the tide floods into the undercliff area of the Cliff End and Fairlight beaches.  In particular, they had not realised how the fast-rising tide cuts off the safe route to the main beach at Pett Level, despite the advice of our volunteers at the boathouse and the warning signage in the approach to Cliff End.
 
This incident highlights the importance of paying attention to tide times and warning signs, particularly if you are not familiar with the beach or coastline.

May 12th 2021 – assistance to kayakers

On Wednesday May 12th, just before noon, our volunteers were tasked by HM Coastguard to assist two kayakers who had been reported as being in difficulty just off the coast of Fairlight.

Although midweek, when we don’t have a ready presence at the boathouse, several of our volunteers were able to get to the boathouse very quickly, to launch the Pulfer boat with a very fast response time.

 

Launch of the Pulfer rescue boat in response to being tasked to assist by HM Coastguard. Thanks to Tony Green on ITV News Meridian for allowing us to share this video.

When they reached the scene, our rescue boat crew ascertained that the kayakers, who had hit choppy waters and had come off a twin kayak, had both managed to get back on to the kayak. After checks from our crew, the pair were escorted back to the safety of Pett Slip.

This incident highlights how important it is to report any difficulties you spot when at the beach. Neither kayaker had intended to go into the water and, as the recent #BeWaterAware campaign emphasised, it’s always worth a call to HM Coastguard if you see someone enter the water unintentionally.

Happily, this incident ended well, but it’s not always the case, so please do ensure you and your family know what to do if you spot someone in trouble in the water.

Donations are essential to keep our rescue service afloat, please help us to continue saving lives ...

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.

Two Boats (& Lots of Volunteers) to clean the beach

May 9, 2021

Successful rubbish retrieval as Strandliners clean the beach. 

A very busy time at the boathouse today, helping with the big beach clean up at the Fairlight Berm. But it’s fair to say that Strandliners volunteers had already done the real work – an amazing job of sorting, recording and then bagging up the assorted debris, rubbish and pollution stuck at the berm area of Fairlight Cove.

50+ Strandliners volunteers have been extremely busy with this over the last few weeks, putting in over 150 hours of volunteer time in the process …

beach cleanup 2020

Strandliners volunteers came to Pett Level to assist bringing the bags up from the boat and to raise public awareness about the extent of the pollution problem.

volunteers time at beach clean up

Strandliners showed examples of pollution and rubbish to look out for, and shared data on their finds.

As removal of the bagged up rubbish is only possible by boat, both our inshore rescue boats were launched.  With the backdrop of a dramatic sky, the crews made several trips to and fro between Fairlight Cove and Pett Level.
 
In all, the bulk of the rubbish was all safely retrieved over a period of approximately 2 hours, with a combined group of PLIRB and Strandliners volunteers carrying the rubbish up the beach to Pett Slip, ready for collection by Rother District Council next week.

 

PLIRB volunteers assisting beach clean up 2021

Transporting the rubbish by boat is the only way to remove the pollution from the berm area of the Fairlight Cove.

plenty of volunteers came along to help clean the beach

Volunteer support to bring the rubbish up the beach for removal by council services was essential!

volunteers collaborated to clean the beach

Find out more about local beach clean up operations

Although StrandlinersCIC were able to share some of the info about this beach clean up on the day, there is pleny more information to come once the data has been collated and reviewed.

Andy Dinsdale of Strandliners is hoping to give a presentation of the full findings about the impact of pollution in the local area soon. Please do visit the EVENTS section of the Strandliners website to find out about this. Their poster (below) also has details on how to get involved …

Strandliners CIC beach cleaning 2021

Thanks to all our volunteers for their hard work today and a huge well done on such an amazing beach cleaning job to Strandliners.

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 Charity Events – Save The Date

Apr 12, 2021

A quick update on our return to the ‘new normal’ as restrictions start to ease and we all follow the roadmap.

charity events update

Although we’ve stayed rescue-ready throughout all lock downs, it’s certainly fair to say that now restrictions are starting to lift, our volunteers are glad to be back to more of a community and boathouse presence.

As such, it’s time for a quick update on future plans and catching up with our charity events!

Open Day on the way?

Although we’re a bit sad that, for the second year running we can’t hold our May Open Day, we remain hopeful to be able to do so later in the year. The provisional date is for Sunday 29th August 2021. Please do save this potential date, which will be subject to any restrictions at that time.

Hot Tub Grand Draw

Our plan has always been that the fantastic Homewood Leisure Hot Tub Grand Draw would take place at our Open Day. So, in line with the change of date, please be aware that the draw will now take place on Sunday 29th August also.

Barbara’s Charity Shed

Barbara’s charity shed will be opening up as soon as possible once restrictions for non-essential shops are eased from 12th April. However, it’s proved a very cold Spring so far, so opening may be limited to those warmer hours of a Sunday.

Ongoing fundraisers

Without our community fundraising and running our own charity events, resources have been very stretched for us. For the time being, our ongoing fundraisers include:

  • The Homewood Leisure Hot Tub Grand Draw, with tickets available from our boathouse, 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. Like the raffle, the launch of this fundraiser stalled with the New year lockdown. However we’re hopeful that, now people can be out and about a little more safely and a little more often, the photograph entries for this competition will start coming in!
  • Our participation in the Weather Lottery. This lottery has been a bit of a lifeline in generating a little regular income for us over the last two lockdowns. We’ve set a goal of achieving 100 players in 2021, so the Weather Lottery are organising some new flyers for us (free of charge) and we hope to do a leaflet drop in the local area next month once restrictions ease further. If you’d like to find out more in the meantime, please visit our page at the Weather Lottery.

 

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

PLIRB Boathouse and the New Normal

Mar 17, 2021

As restrictions start to ease, here’s a quick update on our return to the ‘new normal’ at the boathouse.

 

charity events
Although our volunteers have been #rescueready 24/7 throughout the pandemic, our presence at the boathouse has been minimal. This has helped us to keep everyone safe, and to also so that we’re complying with general restrictions. As such, we’ve been limiting our visits to the boathouse to just those sessions necessary for keeping the equipment serviced and ready for call-outs.
However, the government’s ‘road map’ now guides us all towards a restart. So, we’re pleased to share that a phased return to our Sunday sessions will begin on Sunday March 28th. To start with it will still be just a few of our volunteers but we’ll gradually build things back up as restrictions lift further in the coming months.

 

A busy new normal
Being back at the boathouse means we can start carrying out our other essential work on equipment and around the base. It also means our crew training sessions can restart, in readiness for the beach getting busier. After all,  with overall restrictions lifting off the back of the Easter break and just as spring is in full bloom, we’re expecting visitor numbers to the beach to increase in much the same way as they did once restrictions were lifted last summer. It’s important to us and to the general safety of the area that we’re ready to assist when the new normal means an extra busy beach.
 
 
Our volunteers are very glad to be returning to the community with a more active presence. We certainly look forward to having friends, supporters and the public pop in to visit us at the boathouse once it’s permitted in a couple of months’ time.
 
 
Until then though, and particularly whilst mixing is still very limited, our new normal means the boathouse is only open to our volunteers. If you’re passing on a Sunday morning, perhaps just give us a wave or a thumbs up in greeting, so we can all continue to  stay safe for as long as necessary.

THE PANDEMIC HAS HAD A SEVERE IMPACT ON OUR INDEPENDENT RESCUE BOAT CHARITY.

IT HAS BEEN IMPOSSIBLE TO FUND RAISE OR ACCESS GOVERNMENT GRANTS

TO HELP WITH OUR £10k A YEAR RUNNING COSTS.

If you would like to make a donation to help us meet our running costs, then you’ll be actively getting on board with us to save lives – you won’t be in the boat, but your donation will be keeping us afloat and rescue ready.

Thank you so much!

DONATIONS ARE PARTICULARLY WELCOME AT THIS DIFFICULT TIME