Burnham On Crouch Lifeboat station are really making waves at the Tullett Prebon London International Boat Show where members of the volunteer crew are really pushing the boat out in a bid to raise money for their floating boathouse appeal.

The RNLI station has secured a prime position next to the main stage at the 10-day show at the ExCel centre and on the opening day the station was invited to give a presentation in front of the audience about a novel way of raising money for the appeal.

The added bonus was that the volunteers had a brilliant position to watch X Factor finalists Olly Murs and Stacey Solomon!

The lifeboat station had battled through the severe weather to bring a refurbished boat to the stand inside the centre. £800, donated by the Marine Trading Association, was spent on buying the Hunter 19 Barangoola and the aim was to make the boat look as good as new on a £5,000 budget and show that boating is an affordable hobby for most people.

Every day of the boat show the lifeboat station has a team of helpers who are selling £5 raffle tickets and the winner, who will be drawn on 17 January, will receive the boat and several other prizes, including £400 of RYA training vouchers, lifejackets and wet weather gear.

David Lewin, a Burnham resident and mastermind behind the project, told the show: ‘I had a dream and that dream was that anybody could go boating without spending a lot of money. It just takes some dedication.’

The lifeboat station has raised over £45,000 towards the £130,000 appeal in only a few months and Roger Noble, Burnham’s chairman, said: ‘I am so proud of what has been achieved so far at the lifeboat station and we hope to raise a lot of money through the raffle at this boat show.’

Dick Rycroft, Lifeboat Operations Manager, added: ‘Burnham is buzzing at the moment and this boathouse appeal has brought everybody together.’ The RNLI also has a stand (N19D) at the show.

Credit to Richard Smith RNLI Divisional Media Relations Manager for the East and Kent