Joy's Mayday Mile

Thank you! I've doubled my target 🎯🛟

Why I'm Walking the Mayday Mile

I’ve been a supporter of the RNLI for around 25 years. During that time, I’ve witnessed the dedication and bravery of their crew firsthand.

The scariest moment was when I was on board a large yacht off the coast of Dorset, with a crew of around twelve, when a friend became ill and needed to be evacuated urgently in the small hours of the night.

I can still remember the overwhelming relief when I spotted the speck of light coming towards us through the blackness, and the helicopter hovering above. My friend was transferred safely to the lifeboat and went on to make a full recovery. Later, we were able to visit the Weymouth Lifeboat Station and thank the crew personally for coming to our rescue in the middle of the night.

The second time, we didn’t actually need rescuing!  A friend and I were having difficulty starting a small boat we had taken up the Teign estuary. While my friend worked on the engine, I was rowing to keep us steady. We had a handheld radio on board and were managing, but suddenly we saw a flare fire up into the sky. Who could that be for, we wondered? Then realisation dawned — it was for us!
Someone walking along the shoreline had spotted us and, concerned for our safety, summoned help. The crew arrived quickly to check we were OK, and we were more than happy to accept a tow back to shore. We were grateful someone had been keeping a lookout, even though we hadn’t asked for help.

On another occasion, we were on a large sightseeing cruise in Great Yarmouth during the maritime festival. The boat had just left the harbour, heading for the offshore Scroby Sands, when the steering cable broke and the crew onboard were unable to manoeuvre the boat. Fortunately, the Lifeboat crew were already mustered for the festival and were on hand within minutes, escorting us safely back into the harbour.
We knew we were in safe hands, so there was no panic — and we were more than happy to have a whip-round on board as a thank you to the crew who came to our aid without a moment’s hesitation.

Thankfully, only one of these occasions was truly life-threatening, but things could have turned out much worse had those dedicated volunteers not been there. That speck of light in the darkness, growing ever bigger as it approached us, remains etched in my memory — the reassurance we so desperately sought as the lifeboat punched through the night to our rescue.

I feel very blessed that these volunteers are prepared to drop everything and come to our aid in all weathers, 24/7.

By walking my Mayday Miles, this is my small way of saying thank you.