UPDATED ON FRIDAY, 6th DECEMBER 2024
—
Yesterday, four members of Snape's Meet Up Mondays (MUM) group visited the lifeboat station at Aldeburgh to present a further donation collected at our weekly meetings. Since the group's inception (and that of the sponsoring Snape Good Neighbour Scheme) in 2019 our main charity has been the RNLI, as first inspired by our good friend the late Sue Buesnel, and then continued in her memory by William Eddis. He had just accumulated the sum of £200, but is now stepping down after four years. It was a pity he had another appointment, so the presentation was to be made by his successor, Tina's father Colin.
We were greeted by a welcome party of RNLI volunteers and, after we had swapped our reminiscences of the 2013 flooding in Snape and on Hazlewood Marshes, they showed us their replacement for the Mersey Class 12-metre lifeboat 12-34 "Freddie Cooper", withdrawn to RNLI's Relief Fleet this October after 31 years' service here.
 |
 |
|
| Colin hands over our cheque | launching the 'new' "Howard Bell" |
 |
||
| David McKenna Roger Baxter Colin Humphreys Chris & Adelaida Halder Lizzie Clark Rufus Gilday | ||
|
David |
SGNS Secretary |
|
The Atlantic Class 85 lifeboat, B-899 "Howard Bell", was stationed at Happisburgh for six years, and is an "RIB" or Rigid Inflatable Boat, 8.5 metres in length — hence "Class 85". It has been at Aldeburgh since March for intense training of volunteers in their new roles, and was officially brought into service in October, but is to be replaced with a brand new boat in the New Year. This class has a minimum crew of three, but normally operates with four (as against six for "Freddie Cooper"), with a speed of 40 mph (against 20) and it can sail in gales up to force 7 — the equivalent on land of "whole trees in motion". Its primary mission is inshore work, most often leisure craft in difficulty — such as engine breakdown, sail-boarders out too far, etc. — whilst its added speed allows greater co-operation with nearby stations. It was likened to "first responders on motorbikes" as against ambulances. So, instead of carrying up to 43 survivors, its official capacity is 24 — but even the largest ocean-going ships nowadays typically have a crew of only a dozen. It can also operate up to 50 miles offshore.
The "Howard Bell"
In operation, it is much faster to launch and recover, with far fewer personnel. It can usually return directly to Aldeburgh, rather than first landing survivors at Great Yarmouth or Harwich to await a replacement crew, so crews (many of whom are self-employed) can return home to their own lives more quickly, with the vessel almost immediately back on standby. Our hosts were keen to stress that they don't at all feel 'short-changed' with this new vessel. They acknowledged there had been local disquiet about the apparent downgrading at Aldeburgh with the withdrawal of "Freddie Cooper", but they see this as an exciting generational step-change in their service, which their volunteers are impatient and dedicated to experience and take part in.
The only paid staff now at Aldeburgh are the regionally-based professional engineers who visit for maintenance and refits of the lifeboats. The RNLI has always been a charity with no Government funding, as a successful model of flexibility and efficiency, avoiding the vagaries of budget cuts. We were told, for example, that it compares most favourably with the financing of local organisations such as the County Libraries. All the staff based at Aldeburgh, of whom around 40% are now women, are volunteers. They are always looking for more to join them, whether as boat crew, shore crew, shop staff or collectors.
You can contact Lizzie (email address above) or Linda Hall (their Administrator) at the station for more information, if you are interested in any way in the operation of the lifeboats at Aldeburgh.
We're also looking forward to watching one of their public Sunday launch/training sessions, which we will publicise here on our website beforehand.
Finally, thank you again to the RNLI crew there for their great welcome.
David McKenna, SGNS Secretary
Steve Stocks, SGNS Treasurer and Snape Village Webmaster
Colin Humphreys, Meet Up Mondays' collector of RNLI donations
UPDATED ON 17th JULY 2024
—
On Monday, 29th July around 11:00am, Lizzie Clark of the Shore Crew and Visits Team Co-ordinator at Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station will visit Snape's Meet Up Mondays (MUM) group. This is to thank MUM for a contribution of around £300, collected in the last six months towards the upkeep and running costs of the Station, which we visited in October 2022. Lizzie will also update us with progress there since then. We meet at The Golden Key from 10:30 until (usually) 12 noon.
UPDATED ON 3rd APRIL 2023
Meet up Mondays presents RNLI with £160
Today at Meet Up Mondays, we welcomed Rufus Gilday (below right),
newly appointed Chairman of the RNLI Aldeburgh & District Lifeboat Guild.
Each week RNLI pots are put out on the tables and,
thanks to donations made by people regularly attending,
William Eddis (left) was able to present Rufus
with £160.00 raised since October 2022.
 |
 |
|
| Mersey class lifeboat "Freddie Cooper" (12-34) © Caron Hill / RNLI. | ||
UPDATED ON 20th OCTOBER 2022
—
Yesterday, eleven of us from Meet Up Mondays (MUM) visited Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station, for whom we collect funds at our weekly sessions — over £450 since our inception in May 2019. Afterwards, we sat along the wall of Crag Path enjoying Aldeburgh's renowned fish and chips, financed by just part of a kind donation from the Snape Carol Singers.
Our collections were an initiative started by our Friend, the late Sue Buesnel — and they continue in her memory. Our previous donations were handed over in June 2021.