Exciting news for our supporters & followers! At Dover Lifeboat Station we have just received our NEW Video & Audio recording equipment, this will enable us to have one of our Crew on board the Lifeboat catching all the action afloat whilst on service and exercise to share with you all. We also have a NEW boat cam too! Watch out for our Video posts/ blogs once we are all up and running
Pair on Dutch yacht, rescued by Dover Lifeboat, bringing total to 38 rescued last week*
On Sunday 12th June at 18:49, Dover Lifeboat was tasked under the command of 2nd Coxswain Jon Miell to attend a Dutch Yacht 2.5 miles East of Dover with engine failure. Jon said “The Yacht was well maintained, the engine failure is believed to be from fuel contamination. This can happen to the best maintained yacht so always be aware of emergency procedures”.
Visibility was very low & the Yacht was within the approach to the port. Our crew were quick to respond and locate the Dutch Yacht, they quickly got the Yacht under tow and headed into Dover Harbour. Both the Lifeboat and the Yacht were berthed in Dover Marina by approximately 20:30.
Shout Update: Yesterday evening Dover Lifeboat was tasked under the command of our 2nd Coxswain Jon Miell to search for a suspected hazardous floating object in the English Channel reported by a cross Channel Ferry operator. We launched on service at 18:50 into the strait to carry out an expanding box search but subsequently nothing was sighted and the search deemed inconclusive. Dover Lifeboat returned to station at approximately 22:30. Objects in the channel pose a great danger to navigation and shipping, the strait is the busiest shipping lane in the world with over 500 vessels passing through per day. Well done to our crew for a well co-ordinated search
New Coxswain at the Helm of Dover Lifeboat.
Seafaring runs in the veins of Dover Lifeboat’s newly-appointed Coxswain, James Clapham, and he is relishing the challenges which the role brings.
“My parents had a yacht, so sailing has always been an integral part of family life,” said James, who is 37.
Born in Portsmouth, he was a Sea Scout as a lad and when he left school he became a trainee marine engineer with a local company where one of his jobs was to work on the refit of various lifeboats, including Dover lifeboat.
In 2002 he became a volunteer crew member at Portsmouth and two years later moved to Dover to join the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) as a full-time mechanic. In 2011 he was made second coxswain and has now been appointed coxswain mechanic.
“I have always been around boats, but I am the first member of my family to become involved with the RNLI,” said James.
And he has already been busy, taking his volunteer crew to sea to rescue the crew of a yacht in difficulties in a Force 10 storm in the Channel, towing a fishing boat back to harbour after it encountered engine problems near the Goodwin Sands, and going to the aid of two migrants, trying to cross the Channel in a rubber dinghy at night, after they were spotted by the crew of a passing ferry.
“We have 32 volunteers, including one woman, who are ready to launch the lifeboat at a moment’s notice,” he said. “Their ages range from 19 to 58. We have to have at least seven crew each time we launch, and these must include the Coxswain, a mechanic and a navigator. So we are always looking for more recruits to make sure we can cover all hours of the day and night. The RNLI provides full training.”
Also supporting the work of Dover Lifeboat is a team of fund-raisers who organise a range of events and run the souvenir shop at the lifeboat house on Crosswall Quay.
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RNLIDover THANK YOU from @RNLIDover to the Channel Swimming & Piloting Federation for raising £1,820 this year to support our… https://t.co/13BoMOVWLx
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RNLIDover A local vessel spotted us coming back down into Dover Marina from routine exercise this morning round in the harbou… https://t.co/SD1XVU14gA
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RNLIDover Happy Saturday from all at @RNLI Dover #AlwaysOnCall @RNLI #ReadyToRespond https://t.co/w4EhdPsFII
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RNLIDover Have a great weekend folks! Let it be a safe one for everyone afloat, along the coast and inland too!… https://t.co/conMTNCGP0
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RNLIDover A great gift @IntricutzCrafts , very nice slate with a great shot from Dover https://t.co/5LBeoytux8 printed on it t… https://t.co/5LBeoytux8
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RNLIDover 14-Sep-16 13:50:03 - Launch ALB https://t.co/tbgWzJnU2c
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RNLIDover @RNLIDover now returned thankfully stood down once on route to reports of a person in the water iff Folkestone https://t.co/GrlteaM0TG
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