Happy New Year!!
What an extraordinary and challenging year 2020 has been for all of us – it’s hard to believe that at the outset of this year, most of us had not even heard the word ‘coronavirus’, let alone considered how it would impact each and every one of us. Reflecting on the year; We would firstly like to say that our thoughts are with those of us who have lost loved ones or suffered hardship as a result of this unforgiving virus. Secondly, we would like to express our thanks to all Lifeboat Volunteers across the UK who sacrifice so much of their time and risk so much for us all every single day.
The situation we found ourselves in this year has been extremely challenging as we struggled with the reduced ability to fund raise, recruit new volunteers, retain existing volunteers, and to maintain our training regimen. Many of our most experienced volunteers, who have contributed so much to the Lifeboat in the past, have been shielding since the Pandemic began. Their skills, knowledge, and laughter are dearly missed around the Boathouse. As a result we have had to rely more heavily on those volunteers that remain, and they have risen to meet this challenge with their exceptional dedication to saving lives. We thank all of our FILB shop, crew, ground crew, and executive volunteers and greatly appreciate all your efforts and sacrifice.
We are also extremely thankful to everyone in the community who have come together in such an amazing way to support one another. You have all proven that we are stronger when we work together. We especially want to single out the efforts of the West Wight Sports Center for helping so many and giving the gift of hope. It is fantastic how this sense of community spirit and hope has helped to save lives and reduce the number of incidents we have had to respond to. We are tremendously proud to be a part of and to serve this incredible community. Thank you to all of you for your continued support.
Like everyone else we are looking forward to 2021 with eager anticipation and moving in the direction of return to a sense normality. We have many plans that were put on hold for the last year that we hope to now move forward on. This includes raising funds for rebuilding the Freshwater Bay slipway and build on our existing relationships with other Independent Lifeboats in the Solent area to see where we can work together to reduce costs, share knowledge, and raise awareness of Independent Lifeboats. This past Christmas, we teamed up with Independent Lifeboat stations around the UK to raise awareness of independents and their challenges. We look forward to working collaboratively will all maritime search and rescue organisations in 2021. We will continue to work within our local community and with local organisations, to support life-saving efforts and expand our efforts to educate everyone on sea safety. We hope to recruit more volunteers from the local community and educate and train them with skills that they can use to create new futures and careers.
We have no doubt that 2021 will be full of positive changes for everyone in our community and we look forward to the opportunities that the new year brings.
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