The Volunteer Lifeboat Crew at Burnham Lifeboat Station would like to wish fellow crew member and Director of Fambridge Yacht Haven, Danyal Adams and his new wife Samantha huge congratulations on their recent wedding.

Sam and Danyal were married at St Mary’s Church in Burnham on Crouch and were given an ‘oared guard of honour’ by other crew members, in glorious sunshine on one of the warmest days of the year so far.

They were transported to their reception by an open topped double decker bus and were later joined by more friends and crew members to help them celebrate their new life as husband and wife.

We all wish Sam & Danyal a long and happy life together!

The volunteer crew at Burnham on Crouch RNLI lifeboat station are using their lifesaving skills on an unusual casualty – they’re fixing up an abandoned sailing boat to raise money for the Boathouse Appeal.

The Hunter 19 Barangoola is being restored to her former glory by local crew members and will be raffled at the Tullett Prebon London International Boat Show in January 2010 to raise money for the station’s Floating Boathouse Appeal.

The Boating on a Budget Project is the brainchild of David Lewin, a former President of the British Marine Federation and resident of Burnham on Crouch. David has always enjoyed sailing and is extremely keen to encourage more people, of all ages, to take up the activity.

Speaking about the project, he said: ‘The plan is to promote safe, enjoyable boating on a budget, primarily to the starter market as these are the people we need to attract to the sport and at the same time raise money for the Boathouse Appeal at Burnham on Crouch RNLI.’

With a little TLC and a lot of elbow grease, the crew aim to get Barangoola shipshape. The equipment and fittings are being donated by the companies that make them or funded by donations from the public. Without these donations the repairs would cost in the region of £5,000.

Dick Rycroft, Lifeboat Operations Manager, said: ‘We’re having a lot of fun with it. We’ve stripped the fittings and taken I don’t know how many layers of paint off. She’s been resprayed and we’ve now got to reconstruct the interior.’

Visitors to the Tullett Prebon London International Boat Show will not only be able to inspect the crew’s handiwork when Barangoola goes on display, they’ll also have the chance to become the boat’s new owner. Raffle tickets to win the 19ft sailing boat will be sold for £5 each, with all the proceeds going towards the Floating Boathouse Appeal.

As the Barangoola is aimed at people new to the sport, the prize will also include a copy of the RNLI’s Sea Safety: The Complete Guide and a SEA Check by the RNLI’s sea safety volunteers who will help the new owners stay safe when they go out on the water.  Lifejackets, waterproof clothing and RYA training vouchers will also be given away with the boat.

Efforts to raise money for Burnham’s new floating boathouse have been stepped up after the fundraising target rose from £50,000 to £130,000 when the value of a legacy from an anonymous donor covering the majority of the cost decreased due to the current economic climate.

To find out more about the Boating on a Budget project click here

Twenty young ladies, including a few wives and girlfriends of Burnham on Crouch Lifeboat Station Volunteer Crew members, have taken part in a photo shoot to help create the ‘Burnham RNLI Calendar Girls’.

Phoebe Tunbridge-Steeds, an electrician at Bradwell Power Station and friend of the local stations crew members, is running the 2010 Virgin London Marathon in aid of the RNLI. To raise money, she and a few of her very brave friends decided to create the calendar. All the models are local girls and the wives and girlfriends were also happy to help out.

Phoebe said “The idea came about after a conversation at work with a colleague in early November and by the time the venues and photographers Lewis Walsh and Ryan Stripe, were sorted out it was a few weeks later.

The calendars were so much fun to make and include wives and girlfriends of the crew – and even a female crew member! The pictures were all shot on location in Burnham so there are a few places people will recognise. I’m really grateful to all my friends for putting in their time and effort to help raise money for such a great cause. Most of the pictures were taken outside, so as you can imagine it was very cold!”

The calendars are on sale for £10 each and if you would like to get your hands on a copy, they are available at the following locations in Burnham on Crouch …

The Queens Head, Providence

The Ship Inn, High Street

Videoland, Station Road

Jacaranda, Station Road

Marine Store, Burnham Yacht Harbour

Trackside Fitness, Station Ind. Est, Station Approach

Four members of the Volunteer Lifeboat Crew at Burnham on Crouch RNLI have fulfilled their ambition of completing a 13,000ft skydive with the World Famous Red Devils Parachute Regiment Display Team.

Neville Murray, Samantha Weetch, Martin Hipsey and Duncan Rawlinson aka ‘The Burnham Dropouts’ completed the jump, and raised over £3,000 towards the Burnham Floating Boathouse Appeal.

The skydive, originally scheduled for 3^rd September but postponed due to poor weather, took place at Langar Airfield in Nottingham, and a party of supporters travelled with the group to help with words of encouragement and congratulations.

BBC Essex Breakfast Radio Presenter and Patron of the Boathouse Appeal Ray Clarke, interviewed Samantha and Duncan live on the show, both before and after the event.

Speaking on the morning of the jump, Samantha said “I’m so excited; I want to know what it’s like to fly like Superman!”

Duncan Rawlinson said afterwards, “The others were taking the mickey out of me all day, as I was pacing around, I really didn’t want to do it, but I got down and would have gone straight back up, it was absolutely awesome!”

“The support The Dropouts have received has been brilliant. I’ve even had complete strangers hand over cash to me when they’ve heard what we were doing. We’d like to thank everyone for supporting us, we really do appreciate it”

So far the Appeal has raised over £20,000 towards it’s £50,000 target and more fundraising events are planned for 2011.

To view Samantha’s skydive click here

To view Duncan’s skydive click here

To view Martin (Hippos’s) skydive click here

Former Burnham on Crouch Volunteer Lifeboat Crew Member Buster Tickner, is taking part in a mammouth cycle challenge in aid of the Burnham Floating Boathouse Appeal.

Buster, now a Deputy Launch Authority at the Lifeboat Station is to cycle 50km next weekend with his daugher Maisie who will be taking up the challenge with her Dad to raise funds for Farleigh Hospice, in memory of her beloved Grandfather, Guy Tickner.

The route starts at Coate Water Country Park, near Swindon and two thirds of the route is on county lanes with the remainder on off road rough vehicle tracks.

They have both been training extremely hard and took part in the 20km Cycle for Life on 13th September to raise funds for Farleigh Hospice as a practice run, however this will be their biggest challenge to date!

If you would like to sponsor either Buster or Maisie please go to http://www.justgiving.com/bustercycleride/ or http://www.justgiving.com/maisie-tickner/ and give what you can to these two fabulous causes.

We wish you both the very best of luck!

Burnham on Crouch Volunteer RNLI Lifeboat Crew are thrilled to have won the prestigous ‘Best Float in Show’ award for their entry in this years Burnham Carnival.

The float was based around the Floating Boathouse Appeal and featured eight ‘mini Lifeboats’ – all named after the current ‘Brandy Hole ‘Atlantic 75 and ‘Ernest & Rose Chapman II’ IB1 Lifeboats.

Designers and builders of the float, Heath Puxley and Dave Terry, both crew members, worked tirelessly for a week on the float, exchanging evenings in with the family for late nights spent painting and drilling to make it the best Lifeboat float ever!

To see video footage of the crew having fun click here

A crew of 12 from Burnham on Crouch Lifeboat Station rowed 22 miles yesterday, from London Docklands to Ham House at Richmond, in aid of the Burnham Floating Boathouse Appeal.

The team of 11 men – and one lady set off from Docklands at 11:42am and arrived at Richmond at around 3pm to cheers and waves from proud family and friends who had travelled to London to support their team.

With entries nudging 300 boats carrying some 2,000-odd competitors racing for 35 trophies, The Great River Race has become the biggest and most prestigious event of its kind in Europe.

If you would like to sponsor the team, please click here and visit the Justgiving website dedicated to the Burnham Floating Boathouse Appeal.

To find out the official results go to www.greatriverrace.co.uk 

Photos from the race last year can be viewed here

Four members of the crew at Burnham on Crouch Lifeboat Station are having to count down the days before they take part in a tandem parachute jump with the world famous RED DEVILS again as their jump scheduled for today has had to be rebooked due to the weather!

Martin ‘Hippo’ Hipsey, Neville Murray, Duncan Rawlinson and Samantha Weetch, aka ‘The Burnham Dropouts’ are raising much needed funds towards the Burnham RNLI Floating Boathouse Appeal – and were due to jump today at Langar Airfield in Nottingham. The cancellation occured due to the poor weather conditions and has been rescheduled for the 30th September instead.

Duncan Rawlinson said, “We’re all really gutted as we’d got ourselves ready to take part in the jump today. We’re all pretty nervous and the thought of another few sleepless nights is not very appealing!”

In the past year alone, the Lifeboat Crew have been involved in a number of major search and rescue operations including the RAF Sea King helicopter, Coastguard, Marine Police and crews from flank stations.

So far this year the Lifeboats have launched 60 times and have assisted over 500 people in the history of the station.

This is in addition to the other calls to stranded sailors who may have suffered mechanical failures or got lost and disorientated in poor weather conditions. The RNLI really do need your help to keep providing this essential service to the town and surrounding area.

So far the group have raised over £2,500, mainly through their page on the fundraising website ‘Just Giving’.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor us: RNLI – Royal National Lifeboat Institution gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

If you are able to spare a few pounds to help edge them further towards their goal, please visit http://www.justgiving.com/burnhamdropouts and donate what you can.

Thank you so much for your help, you really will be helping us to keep saving lives!

‘Dropouts’ pictured (L-R) are Neville Murray, Duncan Rawlinson, Martin ‘Hippo’ Hipsey and Samantha Weetch (front).

Baby Olivia Grace Murray was born at 9:50am today to Senior Mechanic and Crew Member Neville Murray and wife Claire.

Olivia weighed a healthy 7lb 10oz and is a little sister for brother Jack.

Everyone at the station wishes the new arrival and her family lots of love and our very best wishes!

Katie was born on the 23rd May weighing in at a healthy 8lb 14oz.

D Class Helm Richard ‘Tricky’ Melton said Mum Amy “made it all look so easy”!

We all wish Tricky, Amy and Katie our congratulations and very best wishes. We look forward to seeing the new family at the station soon!