End of Year Report & Awards Received.
Once again we’ve had a very busy year on and off the water. Highlights have been progressing with our new boat, Last Order’s, which is nearing completion (again, thanks to Jo and Len Wenham for their unbelievable generosity and patience), as well as moving into our new HQ, thanks to the East of England Co-op. On top of all this, one of our Coxwains, Jon Harvey, was awarded by the Royal Humane Society for his bravery in rescuing someone from the water in Ipswich Marina, as well an award at the Stars of Suffolk.
On the water we have had another busy year, with highlights listed below…
5 lives saved
810 hours of volunteers free time given to the community (not including training and Flood Alerts)
An estimated 2480 miles covered on routine patrols, rescues and training.
32 casualty situations involving 75 people (and one dog) With a further 52 incidents involving 97 persons and one Deer (total assisted 172 persons).
Volunteer was tasked by HM Coastguard on 20 separate occasions, and a further 16 times by the Police or other authorities.
The fine weather certainly brought out a lot of people to the coast and we saw a vast variety of incidents and potential issues this year, but thankfully many further issues were avoided due to Volunteer being on the scene quickly and providing the advice to the public that keeps them safe.