“That’s what the lifeboat is all about – saving lives at sea.”Â
The words of Stonehaven crew member Dave Carlton echo the ethos of the RNLI, an organisation he has volunteered for since 2013.
He is one of the many dedicated members of the coastal town’s crew who work to help bring people home safely from sea.
The lifeboats and stations based in Stonehaven may have changed over the past 171 years, but the town has consistently had a team of volunteers dedicating their time to head out in often dangerous conditions.
For the past decade, they have been launching from a temporary portable cabin and boatshed near the harbour.
These facilities will soon be replaced with a new building for which local supporters have donated more than £100,000 to make it a reality.
“I want to stress how supportive the community has been over the years, as it has been amazing,” Dave told The Press and Journal.
“We have to give credit to the local community for helping us get to this stage, which will ultimately allow us to continue providing the life-saving capability.”
171-year history of lifeboat station in Aberdeenshire town
A lifeboat station was first established in the town in 1854 and it became part of the RNLI organisation 13 years later.
Dedicated crews, including those who lost their lives in the 1874 lifeboat disaster, carried out operations from Stonehaven for more than a century until the Maritime Institute took on the duties in 1984.
The current RNLI station near the harbour opened in 2014 – with Dave selected to be part of the original crew not long after he moved to the area with his family.
“That has always felt like a privilege,” the 54-year-old said.
“It came along at a good time for a personal challenge and I saw it as a way to get involved with the community.
“I’ve always enjoyed being by the sea but doing this is something different – it involves new skills and a new approach.
“It was a good challenge.”
Dedicated crew based in Stonehaven
In Stonehaven, there are teachers, council workers, engineers, police officers, doctors and students among the crew.
“It’s a big crew and I describe them as a family,” volunteer Caroline Tierney said.
“I fully trust the crew I’m on the boat with.
“I enjoy being at sea with them and couldn’t ask for a better crew to be honest.
“We all have different backgrounds so everyone brings different skills.”
When Caroline first moved to Stonehaven in 2011, she would often stop to watch the boat leave the harbour.
“I always admired the guys,” she said.
“Then I then saw an advert on social media looking for a volunteer administrator.
“That’s my background I thought I could help out.
“I started coming along to meetings and found myself asking lots of questions.
“I found it so interesting learning about the boat, so they suggested I join.”
‘Soaking up the knowledge’
The 41-year-old, who works at Robert Gordon University, started out with the shore crew, learning rope handling, navigation and all the skills required to launch safely.
She has now progressed to the trainee boat crew and has travelled down to the RNLI college in Poole for further “first-class” training.
“I didn’t know where to start but the crew said, ‘as long as you’re keen, you’ll get the training’,” she said.
Dave, who works as an engineer, added: “I think Caroline is exactly what the RNLI stands for in many ways – it doesn’t matter your background or experience.
“It’s someone who wants to apply themselves, gets involved, sees a lot of the benefits and is out on the boat now.
“She’ll no doubt be a great crew member to be alongside.”
More opportunities with new lifeboat station
The new lifeboat station will provide the volunteer crew with a larger boat hall, space for training, an operations room, changing and shower facilities, a mechanic’s workshop, kitchen and a breakout area.
“It’ll give us better indoor facilities for classroom work,” Dave said.
“If we’re not on the boat we try to maintain theory-based learning.
“We could have multiple exercise practices set up in different rooms, doing different things and having people doing different subjects.”
There will also be an official RNLI shop and more opportunities for the public to get involved.
“The community is so crucial to what we do,” Caroline said. they’ll be able to come in and actually see the station – it’ll become part of the community.
“If we can give people an understanding of how to enjoy being on the water and by the beach a little bit safer, then that’s great.”
‘We look out for each other’
There are a number of opportunities with the RNLI which are all vital for helping save lives.
As “one crew” in the station, all of the volunteers are there to support each other.
“If it’s been a bad day for whatever reason, there’s a lot of depth and experience of people to talk to,” Dave said.
“We look out for each other.”
Caroline added: “I feel privileged to be able to do what we’re doing.
“Every time I step on the boat, I get that feeling.
“We’re going out to try and bring a family member back to their loved ones safely.
“For me, that makes it all worthwhile.”
Conversation