Fowey RNLI donation will fund vital rescue training
Fowey RNLI lifeboat station were delighted to receive a donation from local scrap metal dealer Henry Orchard & Sons on Friday April 19. The funds will pay for a vital Crew Emergency Procedures course (CEP) at the RNLI’s training college in Poole.
Fowey lifeboat Coxswain, Jonathan Pritchard said: ‘We are extremely grateful for the donation from Henry Orchard & Sons. The CEP course is a three-day course covering vital emergency procedures training. The donation will fund some courses for our volunteer crew, where they will be trained in a whole range of emergency procedures including how to right a capsized inshore lifeboat, sea survival drills, how to deal with fires aboard lifeboats, how to abandon ship in the event of an emergency, team survival swimming, coping in a life-raft in simulated darkness, the importance of lifejackets and the correct use of flares, fire extinguishers and throw bags.’
Managing Director Henry Orchard said: ‘Our donation comes from funds we generated through recycling ex China Clay CDA Wagons that were scrapped during 2023 and 2024. Several of the wagons are now in the hands of heritage organisations, but we assisted with the safe recycling of the remaining wagons. Given that the wagons were used for transporting and tipping clay just a few hundred metres from where the lifeboat station is in Fowey, it seemed fitting that the proceeds should go to Fowey RNLI.
'Like the lifeboat crew, local industry is a vital part of our local community and we are so pleased these funds will enable this training that will help the RNLI volunteers to carry out their incredible work and hopefully help to keep them safer while they are out at sea.'
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.
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