The aim of the RBRB 300 Club is to directly raise funds for the weekly expenses of maintaining the boat and the volunteer crew with the equipment they require for saving lives and keeping safe all who enjoy visiting our beautiful bay.

• 2 Grand Draw Prizes of £1,000 each
• 12 Monthly prizes of £200 each
• Download PDF Brochure Here

Entry is £50 for the year with 12 monthly draws of 2 x £100 on the last Saturday of each month.  There will be 2 Grand Draws of £1,000 each.  One on the last Saturday of August and one on the last Saturday of December.

HOW DO I JOIN?

To join simply email:  300club@runswickrescue.org.uk and confirm your name, address and phone number, quantity of memberships, payment amount and make payment with reference to your surname to:

R B R B Association
Sort Code: 40-46-24
Account: 71451561

We shall on receipt of funds confirm the membership and token numbers to be used in the draws.
Thank you in advance for your support.

If you prefer to join the club without using email or have any queries please contact: Victor Matthews on (07768) 034854

THANK YOU!

On Friday 19th March, Kate Humble will present episode 5 of her new series Britain’s Most Scenic Coastal Walks on channel 5. Throughout the series Kate has been walking around some of the most scenic walks in Britain which includes a walk along the Cleveland Way passing through Runswick Bay. In July 2020 RBRB welcomed Kate and the film Crew to Runswick Bay to film a piece on the rescue boat and to gain an understanding of our history as an independent rescue service.

The crew spent time filming with Kate and this will be broadcast at 8pm and we hope as many of you can join us in watching this series. The filming also took in Port Mulgrave and Staithes. The programme shows the value of an independent lifeboat station working alongside our friends at the RNLI and Coastguard teams.

Crew have been back in training for a couple of weeks now, preparing for Spirit of Nagar going on station.  A number of actions to help protect ourselves, casualties and members of the public from the spread of covid19, have been included in our day to day operations.

Last night we started a refresher on casualty care. In this scenario the casualty, located at Kettleness beach, had broken their right leg and suffered a bleed to the left arm. Further investigation meant we had to strap the second leg fearing a second break. They were then transported back to shore for further medical assistance.

We are delighted to announce that our new rescue boat “Spirit of Nagar” is to be blessed this week on Thursday evening at 6pm by Revd. Capt. Malcolm Jackson on the beach at Runswick Bay.

Unfortunately due to social distancing rules only the Crew, Committee and Trustees will be able to attend.

To allow all of our supporters the opportunity to share the ceremony with us, the blessing will be screened live via Facebook, We hope you can join us both on Thursday and at a date to be arranged next year for the naming ceremony.

A round up of the end of 2019 and the start of an exciting year for the Runswick Bay Rescue Boat

In August 2019, RBRB supported and attended the Staithes & Runswick RNLI display which raised an amazing £14,000 for their charity. We would like to congratulate everyone involved for their hard work over the weekend. The display took on a slightly different theme this year with a robber falling into the harbour with his swag bag having been chased by the Police, only to be recovered by RBRB who then returned him back to the Officer. Both the Committee and Crew of RBRB would like to thank Staithes & Runswick RNLI for their hospitality and friendship shown over this weekend.

On 30th August 2019, we were tasked by Humber Coastguard to reports of a kayaker in difficulty on the north rocks at Runswick Bay. Assistance given – RBRB attended scene and recovered the kayaker and his kayak safely back to shore with no reported injuries.

RBRB crew were joined on training by Ally (who brought biscuits!) from Southport Offshore Lifeboat, an independent search and rescue service on the West Coast. It was a great opportunity to meet up with a fellow independent volunteer.

The infamous Andrew Spark “Sparky” completed the crew training modules and having been assessed throughout was awarded crew status. A big well done from all the crew and committee of the Association and thanks to his wife, Annie for her support.

Training concentrated on moving a casualties onto stretchers ready for evacuation, the use of fracture splints to fully immobilise and protect the casualties’ injuries, and configuring the stretchers to take any pressure off the injured area. This type of extraction is not unusual and something we practise on a regular basis.

With a good following on Facebook, the RBRB has been using the channel to spread the word of warning. In Autumn visitors were urged to be especially careful of the mud in the channel at low tide. One of our crew helped rescue two people stuck in the mud.

As part of expanding our offering to the Coastguard and other search and rescue services we have started training the crew to operate the boat at night. We have fitted our 360” light and as weather conditions permit will slowly introduce this training to crew. It is hoped that by the start of the 2021 season we will have capability to provide a 24-hour service. This demands a new set of skills including communications, navigation and boat handling and introduces a new dynamic to the team.

Our first night time training exercise was to find a casualty lost somewhere along the beach at Runswick. This allowed the team the opportunity to programme and install co-ordinates into the Garmin and watches worn by the Crew. This type of training allows us to practise the basics on land before we go on the water at night.

Faced with a 4-5 foot wall of weed at the bottom of the slipway, the treads we purchased in 2018 allowed us to roll over the top of the weed and launch successfully without too much difficulty. At sea we plotted a number of co-ordinates which will allow us to safely navigate our way home in the dark.

Members of the crew travelled to Yeovil in November to look at the new Ribcraft boat currently being built for us to replace our current boat, Freebird Fojt. The aim of the visit was to discuss the design of the bow pod along with other design features specified by RBRB before production. The boat funded by a grant from the Department for Transport is expected to be delivered early 2020. The next time we see the boat will be when we commence sea trials in February. We would like to thank Dorian at Ribcraft for making the visit so enjoyable and for his hospitality.

Following a vote including input from all the crew and committee, it has been decided that the new rescue boat will be named “Spirit of Nagar”. The official Christening has been planned for 11th April 2020. More details will follow closer to the time.

We are delighted to announce that Andrew Kelly (AK) has been promoted from Trainee to Crew following completion of our training modules. AK has shown a lot of commitment to RBRB in completing the training and becomes another valuable member of the crew.

Just before Christmas we were informed we had been successful in obtaining a grant for £2,400 from CAF (Charitable Aid Foundation) towards training costs. The money has been used to secure a two-day course on pre-hospital care for 12 of the Crew with Saviour Medical who link the training to our bespoke casualty care cards. RBRB would like to express its gratitude to CAF for this grant.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Runswick Bay Rescue Boat Ball on 28th December 2019! What a fabulous evening. A huge thanks to Grinkle Park for the excellent food and service and also ‘Back in the Habit’ for their fantastic music set – the dance floor was never empty! We raised £1700 for RBRB – thank you to everyone for your generosity. We need your ongoing support to ensure we keep right up to date with equipment and training.

Whilst on routine training exercise in early January 2020, the Crew became aware of three members of the public trying to descend the cliffs at Kettleness which placed them in danger of injury due to the large drop around the waterfall area. RBRB went to shore and offered some safety advice to the individuals who made their way back up the cliffs. Since this event Steve Hart from the Coastguard has independently issued a warning of the dangers of climbing up and down the cliffs on the east coast due to the instability of the ground underfoot.

Thanks to all the Crew and Committee, their patient families, and the village for their support of the Runswick Bay Rescue Boat. We are fortunate to have your continued support and funding, and look forward to a safe and happy 2020 in the Bay.

The Runswick Bay Rescue Boat 37th Flag weekend took place on the 2nd weekend August.

Despite initially cancelling some events, the Runswick microclimate proved to counter the forecast, and allowed the events to be rescheduled on the Sunday.

The Friday evening saw the ‘Beef Supper’ take place in the Fishermans’ Institute. Every year members of the public are invited to the supper where the Crew of RBRB serve a three-course meal to the guests. This is then followed by the drawing of the raffle and live auction. The three main raffle prizes included a telescope, binoculars and soda stream and were sponsored by Morley Glass & Glazing (Leeds), Normans Office in Billigham and Rob Matthew Wealth Management. The auction prizes included a large teddy, a number of paintings and tickets for sporting events including Leeds Carnegie and the Ashes. Many of the auction prizes were donated by our long term supporters, the Fojt family. The event was a huge success culminating in speeches from the Chairman and Crew Leader.

Sunday morning’s coffee morning saw Mike Sewell, Sparky and Monty showcase the correct use of the De-Fibrillator monitor as well as how to deliver CPR. This welcome refresher was well received by all that attended the session and concluded with Mike showing off the very first De-Fib machine which was designed at Wilton.

This year’s RBRB display was designed to provide the public with an insight into some of the manoeuvres and procedures we practise as well as one or two smart manoeuvres. This included the use of throwlines, man over board, ring of safety and swimming back to shore together to make sure they all make it back safely. The event also saw the introduction of the new microphone and amplifier which greatly enhanced the commentary.

Following the display members of the public were invited for a ride on the Rescue Boat with Spirit II watching on. This is a hugely popular event which lasted well over an hour and everyone who had a go loved the experience.

The Aquathon was re-scheduled on the Sunday afternoon. Two races took place, for under 14’s and over 14’s. A total of 17 teams of two took on the event. The eventual winners of the Robert Newby Trophy going to Tom Bottomley and Andrew Kelly.

Peter Blenkinsop, Chairman, said of the weekend: “We would like to thank the village, crew and committee for all the hard work that made all this possible. The weekend was a lot of fun for all of us. We raised over £5000 for the Rescue Boat. Thank you to all our supporters.”

Photo Gallery Below:

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With the season well underway, the Runswick Bay Rescue Boat is well prepared, and have had a busy spring, ensuring the boat is ready for action, and training old and new crew for all eventualities. Here are just a few highlights:

The boat was ready on station for Easter weekend, which was un-seasonally sunny and attracted hordes of visitors to the Bay. The start of the season saw us welcome two new trainees to the boat.

On Easter Sunday all available crew undertook their physical assessment. This included a swim to the boat, getting into the boat unaided, and recovering an injured casualty to shore having followed all safety procedures. These exercises are no mean feat when wearing dry suits, lifejackets and safety helmets, but given a beautiful morning to complete the tasks we were pleased to report that all crew managed to successfully complete them.

Early May saw the season’s third new recruit join the crew, and we undertook training in kayak recovery, man overboard, towing, and re-familiarising ourselves with the geography of the fingers around Kettleness.

On the 12th May we were examined for our Maritime Code Compliance, which we were delighted to pass with no issues.

Having been awarded a government grant earlier in the year, we have been ensuring to utilise and practice with our new equipment, which includes a Saviour Medical stretcher and new vac splints. Both allow us to cater for different injury situations more effectively. The new stretcher has been put through its paces both at sea and on land to cover all potential scenarios.

Our first shout of the season came on the 15th May, when a member of the public requested assistance to help her husband who had fallen on rocks at Runswick Bay. The Crew attended the scene and assisted with help from Lifeguard officers. The casualty was found to be uninjured and was recovered to a safe location.

The Runswick Bay Rescue Boat is a voluntarily run service, which relies on grants and community funding to keep running. New crew and anyone interested in supporting the service are welcome to either contact chairman@runswickrescue.org.uk or join us at training. We train on a Sunday morning from 9:30am and Wednesday evening from 18:30pm, meeting at the boat house on Runswick Bay Beach.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our crew, committee and the local community for their ongoing support. www.runswickrescue.org.uk

On Sunday morning, 3rd February, members of RBRB Crew and Committee welcomed representatives of Sirius mines to Runswick Bay to show them the excellent progress the association has made in developing and decorating the boathouse. This has been helped by a grant from Sirius of over £4,000 which allowed the boathouse to be painted externally and internally, floor to be fibre glassed and the main floor coated in a protective paint. This has enhanced the boathouse and with on-going works throughout 2019 will bring the boathouse up to the standard. The organisation would like to thank Sirius for their investment and hope they are pleased with our progress

Following RBRB successful grant application from the DFT we are delighted to announce that Ribcraft have been selected as our chosen provider in building our new boat. Over the last few months a small sub-committee of seven members of the association have been investigating the most suitable options for replacing the boat and on Wednesday the proposal was made to the Committee for ratification which we are pleased to say was warmly welcomed. We are extremely excited by the new opportunities the boat will bring to our service and we would like to say thank you to the vendors who were unsuccessful in their bids. It was a very close call as to which boat we chose and it was felt all the vendors offered excellent proposals. We are hoping to have the new boat on station as our primary boat in early 2020.

Runswick Bay Rescue Boat Association (RBRB) is delighted to announce that it has secured vital funding of almost £75,000 from the Department for Transport (DfT)’s Inshore and Inland Rescue Boat Grant Fund 2018/19. The DfT had received applications for nearly £2 million, against an available fund of £1 million, so competition was high. This is the first time RBRB has received a grant of such magnitude. The award allows us to purchase a new boat, new trailer, vital crew equipment, and some new radio equipment.
The Runswick Bay Rescue Boat was established in 1982 as a registered charity, and has relied largely on donations and fundraising from the local community. The DfT grant allows us to purchase much needed longer term capital equipment. However, the ongoing operation of the service will remain totally reliant on the type of fundraising activity that RBRB has relied on in the past. RBRB is an inshore facility which works in close co-operation with the RNLI and HM Coastguard, with a primary remit to ‘nip in the bud’ local incidents and to access difficult locations along the shoreline, particularly on either side of the bay where larger boats would struggle to gain access.
To support the local community, RBRB assist with many community water-based activities, for example, fishing competitions as well as local and national kayak events. Many pleasure fishing boats operate out of Runswick Bay, in addition to the large number of visitors that launch from the beach
“The new boat and trailer provided by the fund will see the crew able to launch more easily and quickly in case of emergency, regardless of the state of the tide or the volume of seaweed which collects at the base of their launch slipway,” said Peter Blenkinsop, Chairman. “New dry suits will provide valuable warmth and safety to the crew, who can experience hypothermia themselves very quickly when operating in the North Sea. The funding ensures a better and more effective service, and will have a positive impact for many years to come.”