Lifeboat volunteers capture the Spirit of Guernsey

Wednesday 02 June 2021

Saving lives at sea is the mission for the RNLI Lifeboat's dedicated crew, who have been recognised by Her Majesty The Queen with the highest award that can be bestowed upon volunteers.

The St Peter Port RNLI will receive The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, which is given out annually to ‘outstanding groups of volunteers whose level of initiative and impact are truly exceptional.’

“This is a great honour for the St Peter Port Lifeboat Station which recognises that the whole of the operation of the station is run by volunteers," said Chairman Jim Le Pelley. 

"All the crew of the lifeboat have shown exceptional extra dedication throughout the period of the pandemic. But the award recognises not just their service but that of all the volunteers of the station including committee members, fundraisers and supporters, past and present, who have all contributed to saving lives at sea.”

Pictured: The Guernsey branch of the RNLI is driven by volunteers.

The pandemic brought new issues for the crew to contend with, as lockdowns put extra strain on volunteers, who had to remain available as our guardians of the sea.

For their efforts, each crew member will also receive a special badge to recognise the way they dealt with these challenge, ensuring that the lifeboats remained in service during lockdown and that patients could be safely transported. 

"The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service which recognises the hard work and dedication of everyone involved in the station here at St Peter Port," said Operations Manager Chris Harvey, who noted that it was already a busy period for the crew before Covid came along.

Pictured: RNLI Guernsey Chair Jim Le Pelley and Operations Director Chris Harvey.

"Alongside our All Weather Lifeboat, we are currently trialling the use of an Inshore Lifeboat for incidents closer to the cliffs and shore," said Mr Harvey. 

"This has meant the crew completing a significant amount of additional training to operate the new lifeboat, in a year where we experienced the highest ever number of call outs.

"The station has shown an exceptional response to the situation and two of our crew Jason Norman and Danny Blake undertook additional training to qualify as trainer-assessors themselves to speed up the process of getting the lifeboat on station."

Established in 1803, the St Peter Port lifeboat station has responded to over 1,500 shouts. The station also assists in providing a medivac service for the smaller islands of Herm and Sark.

Pictured top: The Spirit Guernsey disembarking on a shout from its base at St Peter Port Harbour (Credit: Dylan Ray).