Fundraisers Present Cheque

Grant, Clayon and Daniel recently visited Gravesend Lifeboat Station to present member of the crew with a cheque for £2262.75! They had raised this money through various fund raising events, including a sponsored cycle ride.

The donation was very much appreciated by the crew.

Dunkirk Evacuation 70th Anniversary

Members of the Crew attended a service of thanksgiving and remembrance, marking the 70th anniversary of the Dunkirk Evacuation held at the St George's Church on Sun 30th May.

Pictured outside of the church are L to R, Tina Smith, Mark Jackson, Alan Carr, Stuart Downs & Ian Smith. Also present was Ian Dunkley, Station Manager.

Two veterans who were rescued from the beaches in 1940, Len Davies & Fred Mepham gave personal accounts of their experiences during the evacuation, as well as the Dept Mayor of Gravesham, Mick Wenban, whose father sailed on one of the tugs taking part.

The service was a special occasion and those present enjoyed the opportunity to remember the success as well as the sacrifice of the fallen in bringing the British Expeditionary Force Home

Atlantic 85 Olive Laura Deare II Naming Ceremony

Olive Laura Deare was foremost in everyone’s thoughts as guests gathered for the official naming ceremony of a lifeboat which was paid for by her legacy. The Atlantic 85 class lifeboat, named Olive Laura Deare II, is the second lifeboat at Gravesend RNLI lifeboat station which Mrs Deare has funded via a generous legacy, following her funding for its predecessor, the E-class lifeboat, Olive Laura Deare.

The ceremony took place on 6th June 2009. Full details of the press release can be found by clicking here. Also, a selection of videos from the day can be found by clicking here.

Congratulations to Ian and Tina Smith

Congratulations to crew members Ian and Tina Smith who got married today (28th May 09). Tina was one of the original volunteers who set up the station back in 2002. Ian joined the crew as a volunteer in 2004 and became a full time helmsman in 2007.

All the crew at Gravesend wish them well for the future.

SOS Day - 30th Jan

Friday 30th Jan saw a busy day for crewmembers. First it was off to Ightam Primary School accompanied by Stormy Stan to take morning assembly for the 170 pupils. From there it was onto Caxtons, a local firm of surveyors and property managers, who were holding a Spots or Stripes and Savoury or Sweet day, which raised £250.

Finally it was off to Gravesend Train Station for a collection from 12:00 until 7pm which raised £298. Special note should be made of Sam Houston who arranged a collection at his workplace raising a further £56.

Olive Laura Deare II Arrives!!!

On Wednesday 26th November our new Atlantic 85 Lifeboat Olive Laura Deare II B-827 arrived on station. She's currently lying alongside our E class Olive Laura Deare E-002, until she becomes the duty boat early December. Olive Laura Deare E-002 will then depart Gravesend, but will remain a Thames lifeboat at the stations upstream. More details on the Atlantic 85 can be found here.

A short video tribute to E-002 "Olive Laura Deare" can be found here.

Gravesend Lifeboat Crew Ran The Great South Run

On the Sunday 26th October 9 crew members from Gravesend set out in the rain to complete the Great South Run. In doing so they managed to raise over £2600 thanks to generous supporters. Here's the list of crew members and their finish times:

Gravesend Lifeboat Crew Are Running The Great South Run

On the Sunday 26th October 11 crew members from Gravesend will be running the BUPA Great South Run in aid of the RNLI. Paul Burton, Jason Carroll, Andy Colley, Derek Davis, George Durrant, Ian Dunkley, Jordan Hill, Tanya Houston, Chay Luchford, Chris Maher & Mark Warburton have all been training hard to complete the 10 mile course.

Anyone wishing to sponsor the team can do so by clicking here to visit our Just Giving web page.

Deputy Mayor of Gravesham Visits

On the 26th August the Station had the pleasure of hosting a visit from the Deputy Mayor of Gravesham, Cllr Mrs Bronwen McGarrity. The Deputy mayor toured the facilities and boarded the Duty Boat for photos for the local press, and took the opportunity to discuss the operation of the Station with the duty crew. The crew also undertook a short display in view of the station to demonstrate the capabilities of the E-Class and her Crew.

The opportunity was seized to make a presentation to Mr Peter Boyd in recognition of his outstanding contribution to fundraising for the RNLI over the past 35 years. The presentation was watched by Mr Boyd's two daughters.

Northfleet Carnival and Helicopter Exercise

The weekend of 5/6th July proved to be a busy weekend for Gravesend Lifeboat crew. Aside from rescuing stranded horses (See Services page), the crew took part in the Northfleet Carnival Parade on the Saturday and did a brief display with an RAF Sea King Helicopter in front of Gravesend Promenade on the Sunday.

The Northfleet Carnival saw the crew taking part in the parade in full kit, complete with a D-class lifeboat towed by an RNLI Landrover. In the photo below we have the crew from the left, Ricky Smith, Chay Luchford, Mark Jackson, Gemma Gill, Stormy Stan, Ian Smith, Rob Brennan and Oliver, the parade was also attended by Ian Dunkley, Tina Jarvis and Chris Maher.

During the Sunday both lifeboats (E-002 and B-715) performed brief display with the boats in formation as Sea King 125 from RAF Wattisham performed a low level fly past. Following this display, E-002 departed to take part in a winching exercise with Sea King 125 in Lower Hope Reach. Crew member Kevin Butler was winched from the lifeboat into the helicopter as part of the exercise.
 

Reading Half Marathon

Crew member Chris Maher recently raised £516 in sponsorship for the station after running in the Reading Half Marathon. Chris completed the run in 1 hour 45 mins 39 secs. Tina Jarvis, who is also the Vice-Chair of the Gravesend Fundraisers said, " It was a superb effort by Chris in raising money by taking part in this event, and the local fundraisers, as well as his colleagues on the crew really appreciate the time and effort Chris has put into this".

Tew Family Aquatics Donation

Helmsman Ian Smith and Crewmember Tina Jarvis were invited to receive the proceeds of a collection by members of Tew Family Aquatics, a local swimming teaching concern, which has been going for over ten years. Neil Tew, one of the founders filled an old whiskey bottle with small change as and when he acquired it. The total donated was an impressive £113.01. Tina, who is also the Vice-Chair of the Gravesend Fundraisers said "I would like to praise the family, not only for donating this money, but for ensuring that swimming is being taught in a community surrounded by water, encouraging safety, and enjoyment for all".

Pictured with Tina and Ian are teachers and pupils of Tew Family Aquatics.
 

Medway Festival of Steam

Over the Bank Holiday Weekend crew members joined the fund raisers at the Medway Festival of Steam at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham. Saturday proved to be a blustery day, with snow showers and freezing temperatures. Nicky Jones (Gravesend Chairman) & Wendy Stickland (Gravesend Treasurer) sold souvenirs on Saturday from a Gazebo strategically placed in front of the Lifeboats! exhibition. Peter Boyd showed his impressive collection of lifeboat models, as well as acting as a display mannequin and scaring children and grown ups alike from one of the launching tractors on display. We were extremely fortunate that Stormy Stan was able to fit in a visit on both days to mingle with his other crewmates. Thankfully Sunday was a lot kinder on the weather front, and subsequently the festival was much busier.
Thank you to the following crew who gave up their time to assist at this event, Dave Greenfield, Ricky Smith, Tina Jarvis, Dave Creek (& Fred), Tim Wyatt, Steve Rae & Ian Smith.

Attached is a pic showing from left to right, Tim Wyatt, Wendy Stickland, Peter Boyd, Stormy Stan, Nicky Jones, Tina Jarvis, Dave Greenfield & kneeling Ian Smith.

New Atlantic 85

After a trial period for a couple of months during 2007, it has now been confirmed that Gravesend will be getting a new Atlantic 85 approximately mid 2008. See the photos below of the Atlantic 85 on trail at Gravesend last year. Further details will follow.