My Activity Tracking
72
mi
My target 31 mi
How your support helped the RNLI in 2024
437 Lives saved
25,327 People aided by lifeboat crews and lifeguards
9,141 Lifeboat launches
I’m taking on the Mayday Mile Challenge to support RNLI volunteers
This May, I’m completing a mile-a-day challenge to help RNLI crews save lives at sea.
During summertime, more people flock to beaches and coastal towns to make the most of everything they have to offer – from glorious sunshine to adventurous watersports. And as temperatures rise, so do calls from people in trouble in the water.
By answering this Mayday call and giving a gift today, you can make a real, lifesaving difference. Your kindness will help give volunteers everything they need to launch to the rescue, and make sure they’re ready to face their busiest season.
Will you sponsor my RNLI Mayday Mile Challenge and support the courageous crews?
My Achievements
Updated Profile Pic
Self donated
Reached 25% of fundraising target
Reached 50% of fundraising target
Reached 100% of fundraising target
Added a Blog Post
Shared fundraising page
Reached 25% of distance target
Reached 50% of distance target
Reached 100% of distance target
My Updates
Last day of our challenge
Sunday 31st May Today was the last day of our MayDay Mike challenge to raise money for the RNLI. Blue and I did a 2.11 mile walk up to Fullarton Woods accompanied by Jasper on his bike - well I say accompanied but he was off like a shot to get more time at the playpark!An afternoon at the harbour followed as part of the crew on the Shannon for the Harbour Blessing. This happens every year and the lifeboat takes the minister into the harbour so they can give their sermon onboard. There was a really good turnout and the weather was fine despite being rainy earlier on. I really enjoyed the music - there was a piper, a brass band, guitar, hymns and even some shanties. We’d not got an order of service onboard so I wasn’t able to sing along as I didn’t know the words! Afterwards we took the minister for a short trip around the harbour before heading to join everybody by the Fishermen’s mission to have some fish and chips and icecream, generously provided by local businesses. A privilege to be a part of and a fitting boaty end to our challenge.
This month Blue and I have walked over 70 miles together and raised nearly £500. A massive thank you to everyone who has donated to us, walked with us and supported us. You’re all amazing, the RNLI couldn’t do what it does without the generosity of people like you.
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Harbour blessing
Sunday 31st May
Saturday and my first shout as helm
Saturday 30th May Duty helm again today so pager on and sticking around Troon. A bit of a miserable wet day overall so a couple of walks with Blue dodging showers and another 3.19 miles racked up.The turn in weather gave me a chance to catch up with some household chores, boring but necessary. Then at 1739 the pager went off so down to the station. The drive there was a great chance to come down off the initial adrenaline of the pager going off. The LA (launch authority) had already told me what the shout was so I had a chance to process and plan a bit on the way too. At station had to pick my crew and give them a brief on what the plan was. We use an acronym called SMEAC for our briefs which stands for Situation, Mission, Execution, Administration, Command/Communications/Confirmation. By following this it means you don’t miss out on any information. Once we were all geared up and boat in the water, off we went. The shout was to a person in the water off the beach at Ayr. We only had limited information to start with but got updated by coastguard that the person had walked fully clothed into the water and had only their head above water. People at the beach were trying to persuade them out and coastguard team were on their way. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get to Ayr in the D-class, fortunately it was smooth-ish seas so we were able to go at a good speed. As we approached Ayr harbour we saw flashing blue lights there so called up the coastguard to see if it was them. They confirmed the person was out of the water and in the ambulance so we were stood down and able to head back to station. A chance to let one of the new crew members take us back home and practice their ‘parking’ skills. They did a great job with it and we had a nice welcome from the shore crew waiting on us when we got back which was a great show of support for my first helm shout. Boat back out the water, refuelled, washed down and into the garage ready for the next one! First shout as helm done and a good outcome too.
Last day of our MayDay Mile for Blue and I tomorrow.
Pizza Friday
Saturday 30th May Last day of college for me with final assessments and projects getting handed in. Hopefully no resits from today’s efforts and that’s me done for the summer. No celebrations though as had my first stint as duty helm to do. The weather wasn’t so good though and with not enough crew available the D-class ended up getting put off service. So I got to enjoy pizza with the family without fear of interruption! Pizza Friday has been a tradition for us since Covid where every Friday we have pizza and the kids get to choose a film to watch - Despicable Me 4 was this week’s choice. Keith did a sterling job making and cooking the pizzas. A nice end to a busy week. Share
Hook a flamingo?
Thursday 28th May
Thursday and another shout
Thursday 28th May Blue and I took a walk up Ballast Bank and back then up towards the beach to meet a friend to continue our walk along the beach and back. They’re in the process of resurfacing the prom just now so it’ll all be looking lovely for the summer. 3.62 miles in the bag today taking us over double our initial target of 31 miles. Thanks to all you wonderful people that have donated so far we’ve also smashed our extended donation target which is amazing!Had a chance to get some gardening done afterwards which was satisfying, everything has really shot up with all the lovely weather, unfortunately that includes all the weeds as well. Had finished up in the garden, got myself showered and was having a catch up with the hubby when the pager went off at 1545. Today there was an offshore wind and so it wasn’t that unexpected on such a sunny day again! Not quite enough crew for both boats so off on the Shannon towards Craig Tara to 3 kids on a paddleboard who had lost their paddle and were getting taken out to sea. As we made our way we were updated that their mother had tried to swim out and had made it to the paddleboard but couldn’t get back so 4 casualties now. Then a further update that someone had managed to bring them all back to shore and they were safe which was a relief. The coastguards on scene there had spotted two inflatables being blown out to sea so, after they’d made sure that nobody had been on them, asked us to retrieve them to save any more reports being called in about them. Off to find two ‘pink inflatable flamingos’ we went. When we got them they’d been blown nearly 2 miles offshore which just shows you how quickly the wind can take inflatables out! We found and retrieved them - they were inflatable lilos not flamingos in the end -and headed back to station. A successful first shout for one of the crew with two ‘lilos’ saved 😀
If you take a look at the RNLI website you’ll see that over the past 24 hours there have been over 80 shouts! Busy all around the country with the lovely weather and probably more than a few call-outs due to offshore winds. You can find lots of guidance on the RNLI website for all sorts of different water activities to help you keep yourself safe. A few minutes reading this information could really help you out if you find yourself in an emergency situation. Enjoy the water and stay safe everyone!
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Getting the official handshake from Ally
Wednesday 27th May
A wonderful Wednesday
Wednesday 27th May Yet another glorious day in Troon. I really hope we’re not peaking too soon and the nice weather continues! Blue and I were out early again today and added another 2.66 miles to our total by walking to the vet and back - don’t worry nothing wrong with him was just to organise his 6 monthly check.Then off to the station to do my SRC assessment (to get my Short Range radio certificate) done by Ally, one of the RNLI’s regional trainer/assessors. I’m glad to say that I passed so now have that qualification for life, so there you go. I’d been keeping quiet about it until I’d done the SRC but when I was at the station on Monday I’d had my helm practical assessment and my command and policy assessments which I also passed - this means I’m now a fully qualified helm for the D-class. It’s been a lot of hard work and I’m really pleased about it.
Nearly got my first shout as helm today as well when the pagers went off at 1741, I did get on the D-class as crew though. The shout was to 3 teenage girls who had gone out on a paddleboard and got caught out by the offshore winds which took them nearly a mile out to sea off Prestwick. Luckily one of them had their phone and was able to call for help and apart from being a little chilly and embarrassed they were absolutely fine. We took them and the paddleboard back to the beach where the Coastguards gave them and their group some advice for the future.
All in all a good day 😀
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Tuesday and more water safety
Wednesday 27th May Another beautiful day in Troon so an early walk with Blue to miss the hottest part of the day and keep him cool. 1.76 miles onto our total.Another shout this afternoon just after 1400 for the Shannon. I was able to help as shore crew but couldn’t go on the boat as I was time constrained needing to pick up the kids from school. The shout was to a jet ski that had overturned near Adrossan. One person was given casualty care for a sore shoulder which had stopped them from being able to get back on the jetski and the other was fine. They had both been wearing lifejackets which was fortunate. We were expecting the worst as the initial call had come through as two jet skis that had collided, thankfully not the case.
In the evening the Cubs came for a visit to the station. There were around 30 kids plus some older Explorers and leaders as well. We split them into four groups and they each got a short Water Safety talk, a chance to try on some PPE, to go into the D-class (on dry land!) and a tour of the Shannon. They all seem to have enjoyed it. I was running the water safety bit and was impressed with how much a lot of them knew already - hopefully a little reminder before the holidays will help keep them all safe. I did have a bit of a giggle when the Cub leader summarised the evening by saying that the best way to keep safe was that they should all just stay out of the water! Not quite the message we were giving out 😂
Bank holiday Monday
Monday 25th May Another beautiful day in Troon so another evening walk for Blue up to Fullarton Woods, this time with the kids in tow. 2.05 miles done, under duress by the kids as they’d already had a walk with their Gran earlier when I was out on the boat.I realise I’ve talked a lot about me and not much about Blue so will tell you about him. Blue is a Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla and is just over 2 years old. The breed is relatively new with the first being bred in 1904 from a cross between a Vizsla and a German Wirehaired Pointer. Over time there were probably a few more crosses with other breeds to get them to where they are now, depending what you read there might be some Bloodhound, Irish Setter and Pudelpointer lurking in the ancestry. The breed was recognised by the Kennel Club in the UK in 2006. Blue is registered with them under his posh name Thoradale Sigh No More. We named him Blue as that’s an Australian nickname for redheads and he shares a birthday with my Dad who was brought up in Oz and was given that nickname there, he also happened to have a blue collar as a puppy at the breeders.
They are versatile hunting dogs which can hunt, point and retrieve. Blue often ‘points’ at things that catch his eye but mostly you’ll see him with his nose glued to the ground following scents - we joke he could follow the scent of a rabbit right up to the rabbit without actually seeing it! He did have a short stint in a gundog training class but got so excited by all the other dogs around him he didn’t really learn much and was a very disruptive pupil. He is a quick learner though and it’s great fun teaching him new things. He’s going through the terrible twos just now though so will quite merrily ignore any commands until it suits him.
WHVs are described as being full of energy, loyal, intelligent, sensitive, obedient, easily trained (with patience) and affectionate. We’re working on the obedience and training but the rest is definitely true of Blue. He absolutely loves people although his constantly wagging tail is a bit of a lethal weapon - I bruise quite easily and end up with bruises all up my legs from it. He’s a great companion to have about though and the kids adore him.
If you see us out and about come and say hello, he’s a big boy but very friendly - just watch out for that tail!
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Sunny Sunday
Monday 25th May A beautiful day yesterday and relatively relaxed as Sundays go. The kids’ rugby season is pretty well at an end and Jasper had his final match in Ardrossan where Marr came out p6 winners in the festival. Great end to a fantastic season for them.As it was so warm and sunny I waited until the evening to give Blue his walk to save him getting too hot and bothered. A pleasant wander up to Fullarton Woods to take advantage of the shady trees. 2.62 miles added to our total. Got waylaid on the way home by a neighbour with a bee identification query, turns out to be bumblebees that have taken up residence in a compost bin and she was happy to just leave them be(e). There was also some that had found a hidey hole by a window but as it was shaded when I went to look they weren’t flying so will have to revisit that when it’s a bit sunnier to try and ID them. Incidentally it’s quite common around this time of year for bees to make a home in a hole in masonry or old nesting boxes and so on. Usually the culprits are mason bees or bumblebees and, unless you’re disturbing them, they won’t do any harm and will usually only be around for a couple of months. Like all bees they’ll only bother you if you bother/disturb them. Wasps are a different case though and pest control are the ones to call if they’ve moved in!
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Making up the miles…
Saturday 23rd May After failing to get my miles in yesterday today was catch up day! Started with a 0.7 mile wander with Blue whilst Jasper was at rugby training. It was their last training session of the season so that meant a massive water fight for all the Marr minis afterwards. Luckily a lovely sunny day for it and lots of very happy, very soggy rugby players and coaches! I managed to avoid getting soaked although Casey wasn’t so lucky. Back home to get them changed and then out for another 1.3 miles with Blue.After lunch Blue started barking at something outside, this isn’t uncommon he likes to tell us about every person and especially dog that passes by, but Today he was fixated on the side of the house and when I went to see what he’d spotted it was a swarm of bees! I’m a beekeeper but my bees didn’t make it through the winter unfortunately so this was a bit of a surprise. I could see the swarm gathering on my empty hive so a quick change into my beekeeper suit so I could remove the entrance block without getting stung (swarms of bees although noisy are actually very placid, they really are only interested in finding a new home so as long as you’re not disturbing them they’ll not bother you, however I’m allergic to bees so don’t take any chances!) and they happily moved in. I wasn’t planning on getting more bees this year but they found me and I’ve not managed to trace where they came from so I guess fate had different ideas. I’m not complaining though as one of the big perks of beekeeping is the lovely honey as well as the bumper crops of fruits you get with all those fantastic pollinators in your garden.
Bee crisis averted time for a quick shower - always a good idea to shower after working bees, they have a fantastic sense of smell so if you wander out smelling the same as you did when you were disturbing them chances are they’ll remember and there’s a fair chance you will get stung as they try and protect their home. I wasn’t bothering them today but again not worth the risk when you’re allergic. Incidentally just incase you think I’m a bit crazy keeping bees when I know I’m allergic, I started beekeeping before I was allergic, the allergy developed after a few years. Invariably you tend to get stung a couple of times when you’re going through the hive, bees are very good at finding the seams in the leather gloves you wear to protect your hands. In my case I was getting stung a few times each month and eventually my body started over reacting to the stings, the consultant told me this is really common for beekeepers who don’t get stung very much - weirdly the more you’re stung the less likely you’ll become allergic. I was very lucky to get desensitisation treatment for my allergy, which was a long process where you’re injected with very small doses of bee venom regularly to retrain your body’s immune response. The doses gradually increase until you’re able to tolerate the equivalent of a few stings. After about a year of updosing you then get maintenance doses to basically make sure your body remembers about stings and doesn’t overreact to them. In theory this means that if you get stung a couple of times you won’t react and go into anaphylaxis. I’ve not tested the theory out and haven’t been stung by a bee since I finished desensitisation. I’m very careful to always wear two pairs of gloves and extra layers under my beesuit now so I don’t get stung working the hives. I also carry EpiPens and even keep some in the pockets of my lifeboat gear just incase. A slight digression but there you go!
Afterwards I took the kids across to the cemetery for a talk from the CWGC (CommonWealth War Graves Commission). There are 26 graves in Troon that are looked after by the CWGC and the volunteers told us a bit about the history of the CWGC and then showed us a selection of the graves and told the stories, as far as they knew them, of some of the occupants. I read a book about how the CWGC came about a few years ago and it is absolutely fascinating, they are still uncovering unknown soldiers across the world and their teams work tirelessly to try and identify them and give them an appropriate resting place. The CWGC do similar free tours of graveyards across the country, if you’re interested then you’ll be able to find details either on their website or through Eventbrite.
Home again to study for next weeks assessments and then a lovely evening walk with Blue to add another 3.05 miles to our total. Along with the wander around the cemetery which was 1.26 miles then that’s a grand total of 6.31 miles today. I think that more than makes up for yesterday.
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Friday - Boat handling, a shout and a Fish & Quiz
Saturday 23rd May I have a confession, I didn’t manage to do my MayDay Mile yesterday. Unfortunately my day didn’t quite go as planned and I literally ran out of time to go walking with Blue - don’t worry he did get walked by Keith!So here’s how my day went. I had college in the morning, working on finishing up assignments and prepping for the last of my assessments before term ends. When I got finished up there at 1pm I headed straight across to the lifeboat station to go and do some boat handling on the D-class with some of the crew in preparation for assessments on Monday. Lovely day for it and we were able to take the new mechanic for a familiarisation trip on the D-class before dropping him back at the station at 2pm. The rest of us continued with our training around the harbour and marina and then started to hear some chatter on the radio. We worked out pretty quickly that this was likely to turn into a shout for us and sure enough we got tasked at 1437. Quick return to station and change into our ALB kit - think that goes down as my quickest response to a page ever! It’s fairly unusual as a volunteer to be more or less at the station when a tasking comes through.
The shout was to a fishing boat about 5 miles from Troon that had got its gear (nets) caught around the rudder and propeller which basically meant they couldn’t go anywhere and would need a tow. Once we’d got the rest of the crew together we headed out on the Shannon to go and see if we could assist them. Once at the fishing boat we were able to get in contact with their crew and assess the situation. The RNLI has a towing policy which basically means that we’ll only provide a tow in certain circumstances. In this case as everyone onboard was well, they were not causing any hazard to other vessels, they still had a lot of nets dragging in the water and the conditions were fairly calm (so they wouldn’t drift onto rocks or other dangers) we weren’t able to provide them with a tow. Belfast Coastguard was able to arrange a commercial tug to come and tow them to Troon so we waited at scene for them to arrive and make sure they could establish a tow safely. Once they were happy we headed back to station, cleaned up the boat (it had been bombed by seagulls that were catching all the fish bits from the fishing boat, the fishermen had been able to continue working whilst waiting on the tug) then that took me to about 1815 before I got home. A quick change and out again to the RNLI Fish and Quiz night in town.
The fundraisers organise a quiz twice a year to raise funds for Troon RNLI. It’s a great fun evening and midway through the quiz they get fish and chips delivered so you get fed too. They also do raffles for various prizes, as well as a ‘lolly brolly’ (you buy a ticket and all the money for the tickets goes into the brolly, when it’s drawn the winning ticket gets half the money plus the umbrella as a prize with the rest of the money going to RNLI). Our LOM (Local Operations Manager) gave a talk through how the lifeboat receives a tasking and set off the pagers so everyone could hear them (it was fairly loud as there was quite a few crew and we’d all been briefed to take them along), myself and two of the other crew had brought along our kit so we ran off to put that on. Jim explained the costs of it all before putting me on the spot by asking me to explain the casualty care cards that we all have in our lifejacket pockets. I hope I didn’t sound too much of a muppet - public speaking especially off the cuff might not be my forte! Our quiz team was made up of a few current and former crew plus friends and we weren’t very hopeful of winning so called our team ‘And the winners are…’ because we thought that would be funny when they were reading out the places after each round. Well as it happens we did win! And the winners are ‘and the winners are…’!
Anyway after all that, by the time I got home it was Saturday morning so I missed my chance to do a walk as Blue was sound asleep.
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Wednesday and Thursday
Thursday 21st May Ended up a late night last night as I was studying hard online for my SRC (Marine Radio Short Range Certificate) which I’ll get a practical assessment for on Monday (which I only found out about yesterday). Passed the online assessment at least so good to go now for Monday. This is part of the requirements for becoming a helm and means that I’m competent in using the radio onboard the D-class to be able to communicate effectively with the Coastguard and other vessels. Luckily I’d taken Blue out earlier in the day before going to college or he would’ve had a very late night walk! Another 1.81 miles clocked.Tonight did end up being a late walk (1.59 miles done at 2200, good job it’s still fairly light then) as I’d college all day today (more assessments - my brain is a bit frazzled now!), then off to take Jasper to drum lessons, home for a quick dinner then out again to drop Casey to her cheer class on the way to training at the station. Was an evening out on the Shannon this time to let the new full time mechanic find his sealegs and get a bit of MOB (Man OverBoard) training done. Don’t worry we didn’t put him overboard! We were using a fender to simulate a casualty so we could all have a practice at manoeuvring the Shannon safely to get it out of the water.
Before we’d headed out on the boat we had been shown an amazing model of the Shannon which had full working jet engines and incredible detailing right down to the deck lights. It’s about an metre long and apparently it can go at 30 knots which is a bit faster than the real thing! The gentleman who owns it will be bringing it and some other models of past Troon lifeboats along to the Troon RNLI Open Day which will be on 18th July this year. That also happens to be my birthday and if any of you were thinking of getting me a present one of them would be great 😉
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Monday and Tuesday
Tuesday 19th May 3.61 miles on Monday and 1.3 miles today added to our total. Managed to dodge the rain both days which was a bonus as it wasn’t particularly nice weather overall!Today was a water safety day for me and I was up at Dean Castle Park for a ‘Danger Detectives’ day. A really great idea where primary 6 pupils from schools in East Ayrshire go along for the day and visit various safety stations for a short 10-15 minute talk. I was doing Water Safety but there was also police, fire and other rescue services there to talk through dangers both outside and in the home. I talked to 145 children and 22 adults from various schools - it was a little bit like Groundhog Day as I’d to give the same talk 14 times but the kids were really engaged and had some great questions too. I’d a nice little spot near the castle by the river which meant that as well as using the ‘spot the dangers’ posters I could point out real dangers on the water. I was under the trees so sheltered from the occasional shower too! The programme has been running over the last couple of weeks but this was the only day I was able to go along to. A great way to pass on important safety information to a large number of children and a good time of year in the run up to summer holidays to remind them of some of the dangers to spot around water and elsewhere. Hopefully this will get rolled out to other areas as well.
Saturday and Sunday
Sunday 17th May As usual weekends are always busy mostly running the kids around to various activities. Yesterday managed a 1.71 mile walk in the morning before the chaos. Today was another 0.82 miles before a full on day of rugby (kids not me, I’m just the chauffeur, cheerleader, snack provider and first aider!) and then another 1.19 miles after dinner.There was another shout this afternoon for the D-class although I wasn’t able to attend as I was up in Glasgow doing the rugby mum thing. It’s definitely starting to get a bit busier shout wise and this will only increase as the summer goes on. The lovely weather quite rightly draws people to the coast to enjoy the beaches and the water. There’s lots of good water safety advice to be found on the RNLI website aimed at different types of water users and it’s definitely worthwhile taking a look at it. To briefly summarise some of it:
- always check the weather and make sure you take appropriate clothing (wetsuits and lifejackets/flotation devices too), wear sunscreen and make sure to take enough food and water with you
- go as a group if you can and stick together
- tell someone where you’re going and when you expect to get back
- take a mobile phone in a waterproof pouch so you can call for help if needed, remember it’s 999 and ask for the coastguard if you get into difficulty on/in water
- consider downloading the what3words app so you can give a good location to emergency services, it really helps them to get to you quickly
- float to live: lay on your back with your arms and legs out (like a starfish), don’t worry if your legs sink a little everyone floats differently
Anyway stay safe and have fun!
That Friday feeling…
Friday 15th May End of another week and also marking the midpoint of the MayDay mile. Added another 1.19 miles to our total today comfortably taking us past our target for the month which is great - obviously we’ll keep going for the rest of the month and see how far we can go. More than halfway to our increased target now too so massive thank you to all of you who’ve donated already - you’re all superstars!As promised here’s the costs for kitting out crew from the RNLI website:
Helly Hansen layered clothing and boots (ALB) £1,600
Drysuit (ILB) £850
Thermal suit (ILB) £150
Lifejacket £620
Helmet £350
Seagoing gloves £25
So for each ALB crew member that’s a total of nearly £2600 and for ILB best part of £2000 to be suitably dressed to go on a shout. We don’t have a personal lifejacket or helmet at Troon (these are both adjustable so can be made to fit any crew member) but the rest of the kit needs to be fitted for each crew member and with over 20 crew, many of whom are trained to go on both the ALB and ILB, you can see how the costs rack up. Not forgetting that shore crew also need to have suitable footwear, high visibility and weather proof dungarees and jackets plus lifejackets and helmets you can see how kit costs really rack up. That’s why all your donations are so important, they might be used for keeping crew in the right PPE to help save lives at sea.
Catch up for Wednesday and Thursday
Thursday 14th May Been a busy couple of days for various reasons but have managed to get some miles in with another 2.07 miles yesterday and 1.7 miles today. The weather’s not quite as lovely as it has been but I’m enjoying getting out and about with the mutt. We were impressed by all the runners who took part in the Troon 10k race yesterday evening, the race passes our house and the whole family were out cheering them on and offering orange wedges to those that wanted. Keith was hoping to take part but couldn’t because of his bursitis - I’ll be leaving the running to him when he’s able again!Thought I’d tell you a bit about the kit we wear as crew on the ALB (All Weather Life Boat which is the Shannon for us) and the ILB (Inshore Life Boat, our D-class).
ALB
Wellies
- iconic yellow boots to keep our feet dry & steel toed/steel in sole to protect us from standing on sharp things or things dropping on our feet
Helmet
- protects our head, visors to protect our eyes
Jacket
- we have two, a lighter inner layer ideal for sunnier days on its own or for layering and a foul weather jacket which has a fold away hood and keeps us cosy and dry in even the most horrible weather. Lots of pockets to keep hats and sweets in.
Dungarees
- keep us dry and warm, Velcro straps at the ankles are done up tight to the boots to stop water getting up.
Lifejacket
- very important piece of kit to keep us safe and has lots of handy pockets to stow flares, PLBs (Personal Locator Beacon), casualty care cards & pen to write on them, penknife. On the ALB these will inflate automatically if we enter the water.
ILB
Drysuit
- think of a big yellow onesie with integral wellies and black reinforced patches! These keep us cosy and dry as long as we keep the zip done all the way up and look after the rubber neck and cuff seals.
Thermal suit
- this is also like a onesie which we wear underneath our drysuit to keep us warm. Sometimes called a teddy bear suit as some of them are fluffy fleecy material, mine is more like a sleeping bag/puffa jacket style.
Thermal top and bottoms
- the base layer for under the drysuit, if it’s really warm you can get away with just these rather than layering a teddy bear suit on top, although when it’s cold you definitely appreciate all the layers you can get!
Helmet
- protects our head and the visor keeps spray out of our eyes. We’ve also just been given a waterproof hood to wear underneath the helmet to keep our heads and necks warm.
Gloves
- keeps your hands warm, you can get pretty chilly zipping about on the D-class as there’s no canopy to protect you from the elements.
Lifejacket
- on the ILB these are really buoyancy aids first and foremost so look bulkier than the ALB lifejackets. We can inflate them manually if needed, automatic inflation would cause them to go off all the time as you can get quite wet with all the spray or rain in the D-class! These also have pockets filled with the same things as the ALB lifejacket.
I can’t seem to get the RNLI page up to get the costs for all the kit just now but will try again tomorrow.
Water Safety….
Tuesday 12th May 2.19 miles this morning after I’d finished my SECTT test and before heading out to a Water Safety team catchup. SECTT test is basically a maths test which you have to take before you can become an apprentice electrician, no calculators allowed. Will have to wait and see how I did with that!One of the roles I have within the RNLI is as a Water Safety Advisor. We have a small team of 3 who do water safety at Troon and are currently recruiting for extra volunteers to come and help us, you can see the full details on www.volunteering.rnli.org but be quick if you’re interested as applications close on the 24th May.
This is a really busy time of year for us with lots of requests to deliver water safety advice to schools throughout Ayrshire, host visits to the lifeboat station for various groups young and old, hold lifejackets clinics and attend various events. It’s really interesting and satisfying to be able to pass on advice which could help save a life. We get lots of training to make sure we know our stuff and how to pass on the information as well as more specialised training to be able to hold lifejacket clinics and so on.
Another aspect of the water safety team’s work is to identify local risks and work with other agencies to try and reduce or prevent them. A great example of this is the windsocks which have been installed along beaches in Troon and which are now being placed along other beaches in South Ayrshire. Vince, who for a long time was the water safety team until Jim and I joined him, noticed an increase in the number of paddle boarders and other water users getting caught out by the offshore winds and needing the RNLI’s help. He was able to use our shout map (basically a map with dots to show each call out location) to show that the bulk of these shouts were fairly close to shore and centred around the local beaches and worked with South Ayrshire Council to get the windsocks put up at Barassie Beach, Troon beach by the kiosk and at the South beach car park. These give a really easy visual indication of which way the wind is blowing and their location means anyone coming onto the beach from the car parks can easily see them. They’ve been up a bit more than a year now and the shout map shows a big difference in the number of call-outs around Troon to folk caught out by the offshore winds. South Ayrshire council is now getting them put up at Prestwick and Ayr beaches and various other places along the coast. A really simple idea but one that really works.
Unfortunately Vince is out of action having damaged his Achilles tendon so today’s meeting was to try and see which of the planned water safety events can go ahead without him. Hopefully if we can get a few more people recruited it’ll mean that in future we’ll be able to have enough volunteers that we won’t have to say no to events and be able to have enough cover in case of unforeseen circumstances. As with all the volunteers at the RNLI we all have other commitments so can’t be available all the time and a lot of the water safety events tend to be requested for during week days or over the weekends.
Anyway if you’re interested then get your application in and come join our team. If you’re not local to Troon then have a search of the RNLI website, there might be other volunteering opportunities at a station near you!
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Boats and more boats…
Tuesday 12th May Had a good walk with Keith and Blue yesterday to add another 3.41 miles to our total. We walked part of the smugglers trail which was full of bluebells.I was down at the station at lunchtime to crew in the Shannon for a mechanic pass out. Lovely day for it and the mechanic passed their assessment so all good. Then home for a couple of hours before going back to the station for Monday evening training. Was out on the D-class training as helm with an experienced helm to keep me right and a couple of new crew. We went through a scenario of an engine fire and talked through what to do, put out the sea anchor (a simple but useful bit of kit that looks a little like a small parachute on a rope which you put into the water and it acts as an anchor, it turns the boat head to sea which is a safe aspect and reduces chance of capsize/swamping from the waves), talked through how to make a MayDay call and then went into an anchoring and veering practice before heading back to harbour and letting one of the new crew bring us into the berth. A great chance for me to teach the new crew, I find talking other people through what to do really helps me to cement my own knowledge!
Incidentally if you need to make a MayDay call here’s what you need to pass on:
M - Mayday mayday mayday
I - ident x 3
R - Repeat
P - Position
D - Distress (tell them what’s happened)
A - Assistance needed
N - Number of people onboard
I - Intentions/information
O - Over
Beach walk and a shout
Sunday 10th May Decided to take Blue along the beach this morning as it was such a lovely day. We did 2.18 miles in the glorious sunshine, it was quite busy so Blue didn’t get to do his usual zoomies and splashing about but still had fun. He loves to walk along the wall on the promenade, I think he likes the higher vantage point and being able to spy on everyone on the beach! We spotted a dog paddle boarding - not sure we’ll be trying that anytime soon but it looked like fun.Came home, had lunch and started a bit of gardening before the pager went off just after 2pm. Was a request for the D-class to go to the aid of a yacht that had hit something just outside the harbour. I didn’t get on the crew today but had a good chinwag with everyone who turned up whilst the D-class did its thing. The yacht had hit Mill Rock and although it had been stuck it had managed to get free by the time the D-class arrived so was escorted back to the harbour, thankfully everyone safe and uninjured. It was a first shout on the D-class for one of our newer crew and they saw some dolphins so everyone was happy!
Reminded me of my first shout which was out on the D-class to take over a tow of a motorboat which the Trent (the ALB we had before the Shannon arrived) had towed from a few miles away. We met them outside the harbour and put the casualty vessel into an alongside tow to bring them into the marina and it was also a beautiful sunny day, flat calm and we saw dolphins.
Anyway a good reminder of why I’m raising money with my MayDay mile.
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Weekend wander
Saturday 9th May 2.53 miles done this afternoon between rain showers. Should’ve been out this morning but ended up taking Keith to hospital! He’d given plasma yesterday and woke up this morning with a very sore and swollen knee. I was worried incase he’d got a clot or something but fortunately ended up being bursitis - still not very nice but could’ve been worse! Incidentally if you don’t already give blood, platelets or plasma then that’s another fantastic way you can also help save lives. Check out www.scotblood.co.uk for more information about that.Then off to pick up some new additions to the family menagerie, 5 rescue hens from BHWT now settling in and already a couple of eggs. We have a chicken naming policy whereby they get named for whatever national day it is on the day we get them so this lot are Train, Sock, Buckfast, Butterscotch and Donkey. They look a bit bedraggled and lacking in feathers just now but will hopefully settle in and fluff up soon. If you fancy giving some hens a new home then take a look at www.bhwt.org.uk
My MayDay mile wristband arrived today so will be wearing that when doing my miles from now on. Remember any donations big or small go a long way to helping the RNLI save lives at sea. A massive thank you to everyone who has donated so far, it’s really appreciated.
Belated update
Friday 8th May Missed up on my update yesterday as I had another course, home for a quick dinner and a 1.15 mile walk with Blue before heading down to the station for training on the D-class.At Troon we have training most Monday and Thursday evenings. These training sessions allow crew to practice their skills so that when we get a call out we know exactly what to do and can work together effectively as a team. There are lots of different roles that you can undertake on the boats and ashore and for each role there are competencies that you need to be proficient in to be signed off, training enables crew to keep these up to date.
Last night I was training as helm under supervision of a competent helm and we had two crew training towards their sign offs for crew and tier 1 crew on the D-class. Before you can go to sea you need to have had a crew medical and completed a CEP (Crew Emergency Procedures) course at Poole where amongst other things you learn how to re-right a capsized D-class and use pyrotechnics. Back at station you get assessed on your knowledge of PPE and the boat layout. Now you can go on the boat! Then you start working towards a Tier 1 pass out by getting trained in various procedures (such as towing, anchoring and veering) which makes you a more useful crew member. Next comes Tier 2 which is more in depth and means you can direct other crew and become more proficient in boat handling. Becoming a navigator means that you can use the nav equipment to input safe routes and also create and manage search patterns. Finally helm means you are competent to take overall command of the D-class.
Lots of training is involved for each of these roles which is why the training nights are so important to both learn and refresh skills. Usually both the Shannon and D-class go out on training nights so they can simulate various scenarios together or separately. Sometimes other RNLI stations such as Largs or Girvan will train alongside us as well as the coastguards and coastguard helicopter. It’s all great practice for when we need to use these skills in anger.
Anyway before I forget a quiet evening walk today with Blue for 2.1 miles which was a very pleasant way to end a busy week of training. Have had great fun on the GWO course and am now certified in Fire Safety, First Aid, Safe Manual Handling and Working at Height.
Wednesday wanderings
Wednesday 6th May A short 1.16 mile wander with Blue this evening as I was on a course all day and Keith had already taken him for a long walk earlier.My course was first aid training today at 360° training in Ayr. One of the wind turbine companies has sponsored a few dozen Ayrshire College students to attend a training week to get GWO certificates and I was lucky enough to be chosen to go along.
It was an invaluable chance to refresh some of the first aid skills I learnt on my RNLI Casualty Care course but I also learnt some more industry specific skills - for wind turbines falls from height, chemical burns and hydraulic injection injuries are more likely than some of the things we’d encounter with the RNLI.
Of course we all hope we won’t have to use our first aid skills but the truth is you never know what you might happen across. If you get the chance to a first aid course is a really worthwhile thing to do. There’s a few apps that are also useful to have on your phone which could make a difference in an emergency. Take a look at what3words which will help emergency services find you by giving a unique three word identifier to your location and will pinpoint you to a few square metres accuracy. Defibfinder is another good one to see where your nearest defibrillator is located, worth knowing just incase and if you find there’s none near where you live you might want to fundraise to get one put into your community. If you’ve got a first aid qualification then GoodSAM is another great website, you can register on there and if someone near you needs help emergency services can alert you so you can provide first aid until the ambulance arrives.
Quick stroll
Tuesday 5th May Keith had already taken Blue out for a 7km run this morning whilst I was doing a Fire Awareness course so kept it short this afternoon with a 1.24 mile power walk.As promised here’s some more information on costs for the RNLI. So Troon’s Shannon as I’d already said cost about £2.78 million but what about the D-class (or the wee boat as I like to call it)?Well she (ours is called Sheena after the main donor) would cost £101,000 to replace.
The D-class may be small but is definitely mighty and the RNLI have been using variations of it since the 1960s. Every available space is crammed full of equipment to enable the crew to assist anyone needing help. Normally there will be 3 crew onboard. You’ll often hear the D-class referred to as the ILB which stands for Inshore LifeBoat, because of her shallow draft she’s perfect for getting close to shore and going up rivers or anywhere shallow where the Shannon might not be able to go. The D-class has a top speed of around 25knots and an endurance of 3 hours. At Troon it’s stored on its trailer in the garage and normally launched by the davit (like a mini crane) which lifts her up and over the harbour wall before lowering her into the water by the pontoon ready for the crew to get in. We also have a Land Rover which we can use to launch her from beaches, slipways, etc. It’s a really fun boat to go in because of its speed and manoeuvrability but can be a bit miserable if you’re out on a long shout when it’s cold and wet weather as you’ve no protection from the elements apart from your PPE (I’ll write about PPE another time). As crew you kneel on a ‘mattress’ and in choppy seas this can be fairly punishing on your knees (and other joints!) so crew retire from the D-class at 55 years old.
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May the Fourth be with you…
Monday 4th May Had a short 1.06 mile walk this morning and decided this glorious afternoon to walk to the lifeboat station and back which added another 5.12 miles to our total. Today marks one year since Troon’s Shannon arrived and I was lucky enough to be part of the crew that brought her up from Poole. She’s called Roy Barker VI and is named after a very special gentleman whose legacy has funded 6 lifeboats so far. To give an idea of his generosity a Shannon costs about £2.78 million!Obviously I don’t expect I’ll be getting donations that big but anything you can spare will go towards helping the RNLI save lives at sea. Over the next few days I’ll give you some information on the cost of kit for the crew and some of the other costs involved.
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Colourful walk
Sunday 3rd May Another 2 miles in the bag today walking to Fullarton woods and back again. Love this time of year - it’s like someone spilt a paintbox! A bit of rain had knocked off a lot of cherry blossom which turned the pavements pink, add in the rhododendrons, azaleas, bluebells, tulips, gorse, primrose and all the other flowers and it was beautiful. Accompanied by Jasper on his scooter today. Share
Changing goals…
Saturday 2nd May As my generous sponsors so far smashed my original target before I’d even started, I’ve raised my goal to £310. This is £10 a day for the 31 days of the challenge. Remember every donation no matter how much goes towards helping the RNLI save lives at sea. Don’t forget to gift aid if you’re a UK tax payer to make your donation go further. Thanks in advance you wonderful people. Share
Playing with Strava
Saturday 2nd May
May 1st - start of our Mayday Mile challenge
Friday 1st May Blue and I off to a flying start with a 2.4mile walk this afternoon. Blue looking very fetching with his RNLI bandana on. We met and chatted to a few people about the Mayday Mile and were joined for the first half of our walk by Casey on her way to a friends house.Thank you to everyone who has donated already to help us pass our target before we even started our challenge. You’re all amazing and your donations will make a big difference. If you can share this fundraising page that would be wonderful and let’s see how much Blue and I can raise 😀
Jenn & Blue’s Mayday Mile
Wednesday 22nd Apr The mutt and I will be taking part in the Mayday Mile together to raise funds for the RNLI. As a volunteer crew member with the RNLI at Troon I’m very aware of the work the RNLI does and also the costs involved in making sure the crew have the right equipment and training to save lives at sea. The RNLI relies on donations to be able to do its work, it is not funded by the government, so any donations no matter how big or small will make a difference. ShareThank you to my Sponsors
£72
Keith Mcanally
£45.74
Anonymous
Well done
£33.15
Margaret Stevenson
You are doing really well. Your Fund Raising Team are very proud of you.
£22.80
Jill Keene
Good luck with your challenge Jennifer! From the Keen’s
£22.80
Darryn Nicol
£22.80
Aa
Well done Jenn ;-)
£22.80
Kate Latham
£22.80
Charlotte Stevens
Well done Jenn!
£22.80
Eiblin Powell
Well done Jen!!
£21.84
Deborah Warburton
Good luck to you (and Blue) and well done. From us both xxx
£21.84
Aileen Mccorkell
Good luck
£21.84
Mum
Good luck. Great cause.
£21.84
Hils & Stevo
Good luck Jenn & Blue!
£21.84
Sydney Cormack
Enjoy!
£20
Andrew Begbie
Good luck!
£20
Aisling Bird
Well done to you and Blue, what a lovely month for the challenge!
£17.10
Graeme Whiteford
Go Jenn! What a great cause!
£11.55
Jac Cunningham
Well done Jenn! 👏🏻 Fantastic! 🥳
£11.33
Caherine Jones
£11.33
Judith Steven-setchell
Hoping May gives you good weather!
£11.33
Aileen Craig
Good luck Jen. Thanks for being a volunteer!!
£10
Natalie Kelly
Well done so far!! Incredible cause x
£10
Offline Donations
£10
Jennifer Tweedie
£10
The Fullards
£6.18
Melanie Duncan
Good luck , such an amazing cause!
£6.18
Well done Gromit🐾