How do you operate a lifeboat in a village where there are fewer than 15 permanent residents, you run entirely on donations and volunteers, and are one of the Yorkshire coast’s favourite holiday hotspots?
Well, Runswick Bay Rescue Boat (RBRB) seems to have the answer as the crew gears up for its busiest time of the year.
A sleepy village in the depths of a December winter, come summer Runswick Bay is bursting with busy families, visitors and holiday-makers, events and activities on the water.
Despite the loss of its RNLI lifeboat in the late 1970s when it was moved to Staithes, it was felt life-saving cover was needed at Runswick and so, in 1982, the RBRB was formed.
It is an entirely voluntary run and self-funded service, provided to the village by a determined and dedicated crew with a passion for the village and its fishing and sea-faring heritage.
Every Sunday morning they gather for training and, in summer months, they also turn out on Wednesday nights for practice and exercise.
During training the crew will practice drills such as navigational searching, drop anchor, man overboard, fire and flood scenarios on the boat and casualty response.
They are led by helm, John Leggett. He joined when his neighbour, who was crew, asked if he fancied going to a training session. Following training he became full crew and then helm.
He actually lives in Harrogate but spends most of his time at Runswick.
In fact, a lot of the RBRB crew either live or work away and the issue of crewing and recruitment has grown as the permanent population of Runswick Bay has decreased over recent years.
There are only around 13 full time residents in the bottom of the village, yet with Runswick being a popular spot for visitors, second home-owners and holiday makers, it is felt the safety of a rescue boat is needed.
The crew also maintains the boat itself. The Spirit of Nagar is a RIB (rigid inflatable boat), similar to the RNLI D class inshore boat.
It is around six years-old, has a lifespan of 15 years and is renowned for its maneuverability in shallow water, only needing eight inches of water to float.
RBRB is regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and is audited each year for equipment, maintenance and training.
While RBRB is not officially part of the RNLI, its crew follows RNLI training techniques.
John said: “Ideally crew live within ten minutes of the boat house but people don’t always necessarily live in the village.
“When we are here, if we have enough for a crew we will notify the coastguard. It is a case of who is available. We carry pagers and when it goes off, everybody (who is here) turns up.
“It is difficult to get a crew as there are not that many permanent residents in Runswick. It is the same I am sure in Whitby, people get to a certain age and there are not the positions that they want and they move away. It is unfortunate.”
RBRB is always looking for new crew to join, or volunteers to help with behind the scenes roles such as fund-raising and admin. Again, with the lack of young and permanent families in Runswick Bay, getting more people involved can be hard, but the crew are looking at other ways.
John explained: “We have a young guy going through the training process who is an engineer with the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Him being an engineer is a great skill to have and bring to us.”
Richard Helmsley is a crewman and committee member. Richard joined as a trainee and became a fully fledged crew six months ago.
But his affinity with Runswick Bay goes back generations. His great-grandfather bought a holiday home in the village which has since passed through the generations and Richard himself has a house at the top of the village.
“I have been coming here all my life, I have a share in a speed boat and I have a fishing boat, and wanted to put a little bit back in the community.
“I actually do get a lot from it too. There is a lot of camaraderie with the crew, I have known most of them for years, and I have learned new skills.”
RBRB has had two calls so far this year. People being cut off by the tide are the main reason for calls, but now with water sports being more accessible, paddle-boarders in trouble, for example, are becoming more frequent cases.
Andrew Smith, was crew when he was younger having grown up in the village. Having left for work and moved back, he has rejoined.
“There are a lot more people on the water”, he said, “but people can go to a supermarket and buy a dinghy and there are no instructions.”
Some of the crew’s closest calls have involved young families on paddleboards and dinghies.
A 35-year-old woman and her nine year-old son were caught out by the wind when using a paddleboard. She had sent the boy to swim back but he couldn’t get back to shore so attempted to swim back to her.
When the RBRB picked him up, the crew said he was “freezing cold and in a bad way”. Ten more minutes and it would have been a different outcome, they added.
In another shout, a dinghy got blown off shore with a two-year-old child and her father in it. As the rescue boat naturally attempted to get to the child first, the crew noticed the man had gone under water.
Andrew recalls: “He was swimming as hard as a man could swim. The boat was going after the dinghy but he had gone under water. When they fished him out he was unconscious.
“The automatic response is the child but if they had continued, he would have died.”
“Luckily we are getting less because life-guards are cutting it out. They stop situations before it happens and that prevention is great.”
The operation of RBRB is via donations and fund-raising ventures such as auctions, raffles, beef suppers and the annual RBRB Flag Weekend which this year kicks off on Friday July 31.
John added: “People really do appreciate RBRB and the safety and security that, if they get into a situation we are here to go out and help them.”
