On the 200th anniversary of the RNLI we speak to the volunteers in Sheerness

Transcript

00:00 Jack Smedley from Minster has been a volunteer on the crew for seven years

00:05 and also works on the docks for Briggs Marine.

00:07 In terms of the R&LI on the Isle of Sheppey, I do think we're heavily restricted being in the port.

00:12 You know, where you've got fishing villages and towns and places all over the country

00:17 where that lifeboat station is the heart of that community.

00:20 I think sadly we're sort of restricted in that area.

00:23 Generally when the pager goes off, we're sort of instilled in you,

00:27 you're going to the worst moments in someone's life, hence why they've had to call 999 and get us there.

00:32 So I think that personal touch and that commitment is what makes it all the more special.

00:38 It's a service we're all familiar with and it's been going for 200 years,

00:42 but within that time do all members of the public actually grasp the concept

00:46 of what these people are doing day to day and the commitment they're putting in to save lives?

00:51 Well I'm here in Sheerness to find out a bit more about those people saving lives

00:56 and to find out what they do in their day jobs.

00:59 Rachel runs a microbrewery and has volunteered for seven years.

01:03 A requirement is R&LI volunteers have to live close to the station so they can respond quickly to calls.

01:10 My first memory of going out and thinking, 'Oh, this is for real',

01:15 is you go out at night when I was inexperienced and you're having to put all your trust in fellow crew members

01:21 and know that they know what they're doing and that was quite an eye-opener at times

01:26 when it's pitch black and you're trusting everybody on board.

01:31 But other than that, memorable ones, we had a job where we rescued some paramedics

01:37 and police officers one night, that was quite memorable.

01:40 Steve's been part of the Sheppy crew for six years.

01:43 I enjoy it. It's my way of putting something back into the community.

01:47 Plus it's a general interest because I sail anyway and what I learn with the R&LI I take back to sailing.

01:56 I get the advantage of seeing what causes most of the breakdowns on boats

02:01 and why we have to go out to boat so I just try and make sure that doesn't happen to me.

02:05 And they're recruiting new volunteers all the time.

02:08 Ricardo joined nine months ago.

02:11 Obviously where I got the office, got the office running in the background

02:15 where there's a lot of people, that's why I decided to join the R&LI.

02:18 I always had boats, I've always been in contact with the sea on a personal scale.

02:24 But obviously I had the opportunity to come up and I believe it was an event,

02:29 an open day they'd done it, so I went and came along and spoke with the crew

02:34 and everyone seemed really nice and yeah, I decided to join.

02:37 Looking back at the vast history of the R&LI and the thousands of lives saved

02:42 braving the elements on the county's harsh waters,

02:45 the volunteers and coxswains in Sheppey hope to see the legacy of the charity

02:50 sailing along in centuries to come.

02:53 Sophia Akin for KMTV on the Isle of Sheppey.