RNLI 200 Voices

60. Changing Tack: Dee Caffari

No stranger to mammoth challenges, globe-trotting sailor Dee Caffari reveals how the RNLI is planning to move to a more sustainable future 
Not all of us live close to the sea. But we are all connected to it. Hear about the RNLI’s aims to lessen its environmental impact from professional sailor Dee Caffari, who is Chair of the RNLI’s Sustainability Special Interest Group.
As the RNLI looks to the next 200 years, Dee talks about the charity’s ambitious plans. What will future search and rescue services look like?  
Read more about the RNLI’s targets here or follow the link: 
https://rnli.org/magazine/magazine-featured-list/2021/july/here-today-here-tomorrow-sustainability-at-the-rnli 
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI    
Interview by Adventurous Audio  
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls    
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200    
 

59. Antique Roadshow: Harry Bott

There are 238 RNLI lifeboat stations, and Harry Bott set out to visit all of them on a 96-year-old Sunbeam motorcycle
Like all the best adventures, it started with a treasure map. This map just happened to be printed on a tea towel. The map – pinpointing all 238 RNLI lifeboat stations – led fundraiser Harry Bott to a granite barn in Cornwall. Inside, rested his great-grandfather’s 1926 Sunbeam Model 1 motorcycle – untouched for 67 years, and almost half as old as the RNLI itself.
Harry, with help from his father, set about restoring the Sunbeam before embarking on an 8,000-mile trip around the coastlines of Britain and Ireland, visiting every RNLI lifeboat station along the way. As the donations poured in, his original fundraising target would be left in pieces. But would the Sunbeam be left in pieces too?    
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI   
Interview by Adventurous Audio 
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls   
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200     
       
 

58. RNLI Cornwall: Kurt Jackson

Artist Kurt Jackson on what moved him to celebrate the work of the RNLI
Ever since 8 members of the Penlee Lifeboat crew were lost at sea in 1981, the original Penlee RNLI boathouse has been left just as it was. Cornwall-based artist Kurt Jackson shares what it was like to step inside the listed building as he set out to portray the poignant scene inside.
His paintings formed part of the RNLI Cornwall exhibition, 75 pieces that capture lifeboats nestled into the coastline, as well as lifeguards watching over local beaches so familiar to Kurt. Hear how the raw and natural beauty of the Cornish landscape has influenced his work.
A selection Kurt's RNLI paintings – including the studies produced at the old Penlee Lifeboat Station – will be exhibited at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth from March 2024. 
View samples from the RNLI Cornwall collection
View paintings from the RNLI Penlee series
RNLI Cornwall catalogue
Or follow the links:
https://www.jacksonfoundationgallery.com/rnli/
https://www.jacksonfoundationgallery.com/penlee/
https://www.kurtjackson.com/news-020922/
To learn more about Kurt, visit kurtjackson.com
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI   
Interview by Adventurous Audio 
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls   
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200     
 
 

57. Saving Lives Overseas: Dave Whiddon

RNLI lifeboats venture up to 100 miles offshore. But some reach as far as Uruguay
Dave Whiddon has rowed the Atlantic, spending 60 days in a cramped boat to raise funds for the RNLI. But he's always looking for the next challenge. After 6 years in the Royal Marines, life landed him on Dorset shores as he helped to design the first training courses at the RNLI College.
Listen as Dave takes you through his fascinating career. His changing roles chart the development of the RNLI’s international work, which includes sending retired lifeboats overseas to help fellow rescuers save more lives in their home countries. You may enjoy this episode with a cup of tea – just watch out for those flying fish…
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI
Interview by Rory Stamp
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200

56. Float to Live: Eleanor Hooker

Poet and Lough Derg Lifeboat Helm Eleanor Hooker reads her 200th anniversary poem, and reveals the inspiration behind it
When Eleanor Hooker was invited to write a poem to mark the RNLI’s 200th anniversary, she knew a sugary tribute wasn’t her style. It couldn’t capture the tangle of raw emotions she’d witnessed first-hand on lifeboat rescues. Instead, she drew on her own experience of being saved.
Find a quiet moment to listen to this episode; let Eleanor’s evocative storytelling transport you to the dark waters of Lough Derg and the calm she found there, floating. Hear how the crew insulate themselves against the ‘rabid creature’ that is fear – and find out why a smile is a priceless piece of crew kit.Read Eleanor’s full poem or follow this link:
https://rnli.org/magazine/magazine-featured-list/2023/october/200-voices-eleanor-hooker
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI
Interview by Adventurous Audio
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200

55. The Road to Zanzibar: Khadija Shariff

Khadija Shariff explains how the RNLI’s mission to save every one has helped save lives as far away as East Africa
Made up of two main islands – Unguya and Pemba – Zanzibar is a country where daily life and livelihoods are focused around the sea. Khadija Shariff explains why so many lives here are touched by drowning, whether in headline disasters like the sinking of the Spice Islander ferry, or by the private family tragedies that go unrecorded.
As Chair of the Panje Project, Khadija shares the hope she feels in its 10th year teaching children to swim and sharing sea safety advice. She celebrates the discoveries the team have made in partnership with the RNLI, which will help end preventable tragedies in other countries.
Learn more about the work we're doing with the Panje Project to help keep children safe in and around Tanzanian waters.
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI
Interview by James Bonney
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200

54. We Are Family: Steve Harris

‘The crew saved a life – and it was mine.’ A Newbiggin volunteer on the camaraderie to be found down at the lifeboat station
When Steve Harris first walked through the doors of the oldest operational lifeboat boathouse in the UK, it felt like coming home. Steve explains how the strong bonds between the crew have helped him through difficult times. And shares how it feels to be a custodian of a lifesaving legacy.
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLIInterview by Adventurous AudioSoundtrack composed and performed by Jon NichollsThe RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200

53. The Finest 16 Hours: Galen Bartholomew

Five years before the Titanic, the biggest rescue in RNLI history resulted in 456 lives saved. A descendant of one survivor plunges us into towering seas
Galen Bartholomew sometimes worries his family will get bored of his research into their ancestors. But when he began to investigate a long-forgotten family story of shipwreck, he made a fascinating discovery.
Galen’s great-aunt and great-grandmother had been survivors of the Suevic, a White Star Line steamship wrecked off Lizard Point in 1907. From newspaper stories to official reports, Galen reveals the moving new details he is still uncovering – and shares his growing admiration for the RNLI volunteers, steamship crew and Cornish folk who ensured every single life was saved.
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI
Interview by Adventurous Audio
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200

52. The Black Swimming Association: Danielle Obe

Why are black children three times more likely to drown than white children?
Discover how a personal realisation about protecting family sparked a movement to save countless lives. A drowning tragedy on Christmas Eve 2019 made Danielle Obe realise she had to educate her own family about the risks.
Black and Asian communities have largely been excluded from swimming sports – and even the basic survival skills to stay safe around water. Now the Black Swimming Association (BSA) is changing the narrative.
From myth-busting research to Blue Hour safety sessions, you’ll hear how the RNLI and BSA’s allyship ensures everyone is involved in drowning prevention.
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI
Interview by Rory Stamp
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200

51. Motley Crew: Maria Barbashina

Artist Maria Barbashina on the different strokes it takes to run a lifeboat station. Despite diverse backgrounds, it’s all about the mission
When Maria Barbashina settled in Lyme Regis, painting portraits of the town’s RNLI volunteers was her first introduction to the lifeboat community. Maria talks about her creative approach, and the stories that reveal themselves when subjects sit for a portrait.
The resulting exhibition showed the whole supporting cast that stands behind each rescue. But it wasn’t until Maria volunteered as crew that she really got to know the team, by saving lives alongside them.
In this episode she reflects on the responsibility of the role, the rewards of feeling ‘useful’ – and why pagers make the world a better place.
200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI
Interview by Adventurous Audio
Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls
The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200