Meet Yarmouth RNLI volunteer Tom Blackburn ahead of Round the Island Race

The RNLI has been named the Official Race Charity for 2024, an honour that comes as the institution celebrates 200 years of saving lives at sea and 146,000 lives saved from its combined lifeboats and lifeguarding services.

The charity will work closely with the Island Sailing Club to raise funds which will go to the seven stations involved in the race and specifically for the training of their volunteer crews. On race day, and every other day of the year, the crews’ lifesaving work is essential, often difficult and sometimes dangerous and with only 1 in 10 volunteers joining the RNLI from a professional maritime occupation, training is especially important.

With just seven weeks to go until the starting guns sounds, we’re profiling a volunteer from each of the RNLI’s seven partnering lifeboat stations as crews prepare to provide safety cover for the event and ensure this year’s race is memorable for all the right reasons.

This week we meet volunteer Tom Blackburn from Yarmouth Lifeboat Station:

Name: Tom Blackburn

Age: 29

Day job: Head boatman of the Royal Solent Yacht Club in Yarmouth.

Crew role: Volunteer All-weather Lifeboat crew

Why did you join the RNLI?

It's always been my lifelong dream to join the public services, and as I moved into adult life and my career tipped towards boats, the RNLI became the focus of that dream. The thrill of seeing the lifeboat launching as I grew up was amazing, and then in different jobs I met crew members who told me more and fundamentally laid the pathway for me to join in January 2022.

What do you like most about volunteering for the RNLI?

What I like most is that being a person who is naturally orientated to the sea, I get to go to sea surrounded by men and women who I trust completely. We go through everything together, the best days and the worst, the calm seas and the rough. We are there together, shoulder to shoulder… and the boat’s pretty cool too!

How do you feel about being the Round the Island Race charity partner and how will it impact lifeboat stations?

Becoming the Official Charity Partner is an amazing thing, not only will it allow the RNLI to be more integrated with the racing community, which will naturally spur more volunteers to join up, and influence safety, it will also help us to raise awareness country wide of the dangers of the sea and how to keep ourselves and others safe along our coastline.

Have you ever taken part in the race or provided safety cover as RNLI crew before?

Yes, I was on the RNLI crew last year.

What’s your message to competitors on the day?

My message would be that your crew is everything. Keeping together and keeping safe is the utmost priority with all decision making, it's an amazing event to take part in, and I wish all those competing a successful race!

Important pieces of kit to include on board would be plenty of water to stay hydrated, and means of communication be that a VHF radio, or a mobile phone should you require any form of assistance.

Organisers The Island Sailing Club and the Race Team chose the RNLI as the official charity because of its involvement in safety planning for the past 93 years.

Dave Atkinson, Race Director said: ‘The Race Team, RNLI and Coastguard have worked closely together since the first Round the Island Race in 1931 to operate a safe race for all the competitors.

‘We are incredibly grateful for the safety cover and assistance that the RNLI station teams provide on race day and so we are especially pleased to announce that all the donations raised will go to the seven stations involved in the race and specifically for the training of their volunteer crews.’

Safety of all the participants is integral to the smooth running of the race. RNLI lifeboats from Cowes, Calshot, Bembridge, Mudeford, Lymington, Portsmouth and Yarmouth have been involved in the running of the event for many years and are strategically positioned around the course. For example, Bembridge RNLI will be positioned with their all-weather Tamar lifeboat on the furthest eastern side of the Isle of Wight and will provide cover for the final leg of the race, whereas Yarmouth RNLI will be positioned with their all-weather Severn class lifeboat at The Needles, the Isle of Wight’s most western point and where the sea conditions can change drastically without warning.

To donate, please visit our Just Giving Page here –

https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/rnli-round-the-island-race-2024

Notes to editors:

Photo captions

Tom Blackburn. Credit RNLI/Nathan Williams

RNLI media contacts

For more information please contact Regional Communications Manager(Bicentenary) Beth Robson [email protected] or contact the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.  

RNLI online

For more information, please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the RNLI News Centre.

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.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.