Lives Saved Since 1851=
582 + 3dogs

Launches since 1851 = 498

Weather for January 2003
The year began wet and windy with a rough sea. Only a few days later wintry showers arrived and it was bitterly cold. The raw conditions continued for another week and approaching the middle of the month the wind swung off the land and freshened gale force. Indeed gusts on the 14th exceeded 50mph leading to sand piling up on the slipway. By the 22nd the wind again swung around this time from the north bringing much cooler conditions. Thankfully the following day southerly winds brought very mild conditions, hitting 13 oC and lasting until the 28th. More seasonable conditions then arrived with the month closing with two days of snow showers leading to a covering.

Exercises.
Exercises were held on the 5th, 12th 19th and 23rd. The exercise of the 19th involved a religious service held on the boat and in the boathouse with the spreading of ashes.

Services.
There were no service calls during the month.

B745 is Rescued
On Wednesday 22nd January, 2003 our station Atlantic 75 lifeboat 'CSMA 75th Anniversary' B745 left the RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Centre at Cowes, Isle of Wight to head north to Newbiggin. B745 had been at Cowes since July 2002 as part of its four yearly maintenance programme with lifeboat cover at Newbiggin being provided by B775 relief Atlantic 75 'Millennium Forester'. The plan was that B745 would be brought by road to Newbiggin arriving in the evening that day. Mike Butler from Cowes had been given this job having taken B745 away last year. A changeover of boats and sea trials would follow that night with B775 being taken south by road back to Cowes the following day. Unfortunately the vehicle towing B745 broke down on the motorway near Leeds, thick smoke coming out of the engine and the journey north came to a halt. Police and Fire Brigade personnel assisted in the matter and traffic slowed to a crawl through the smoke. It was a bit too far drive down with the station tractor so 'Green Flag' came to the rescue, towing B745 and lifeboat towing vehicle up to Newbiggin. After five hours they arrived at Church point Caravan Park where they were unloaded in driving rain and a gale force wind. Accommodation and food was organised for Mike who had had a long day. The following morning in calm conditions both boats were brought to the Church Point Car Park for changeover followed by sea trials that morning. With only a couple of minor matters to resolve the boat became operational at Newbiggin at 11.00am Thursday 23rd January, 2003. Relief lifeboat B775 had to wait another day before another vehicle arrived to take her and Mike back to ILC Cowes.

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The First 150 Years - The Book.
Newbiggin Lifeboat History Book Launched. After some nine years of research the comprehensive story of Newbiggin Lifeboat over the last 150 years is launched.
Priced at £6 the book is available from the lifeboat station with postal orders costing an extra £1.50 for post and packing.(Post orders to RICHARD MARTIN, 3 WINDSOR GARDENS, NEWBIGGIN-BY-THE-SEA, NORTHUMBERLAND,NE64 6UN) Richard J Martin April 30th, 2001.
For more details contact Richard Martin
0191 2192553

We wish everyone a very
porsperous and safe New Year

This Time Last Year;-
The Storm - Monday 28th January, 2002 After days of warnings from the weather forecasters the day for the storm arrived. A very deep low pressure system was tracking from the Atlantic.
towards Northern Britain which was to suffer the southern edge of this depression. The wind began to freshen by first light and it was hoped the system may track further north leading to less severe winds. Unfortunately this did not happen and by noon we were been battered by the storm. Indeed the boathouse weather station was operating close to its limit recording gusts of 85mph. The sea was a white mass of smoke, whilst sand blew off the beach blinding any that went in its path. Sand blew into the boathouse past specialist door and window seals. Fortunately the only problems at the boathouse was sand blocking the locks and door track. A number of other properties in Newbiggin were not so lucky with chimney stacks down, holes ripped in roofs and one house had part of its gable torn down, the debris crashing into the adjacent school yard, it been fortunate all were in their classrooms for safety. By dusk it was easing, lives had been claimed elsewhere in the region and people were left counting the cost. The local TV News reported the storms and reffered to wind speed readings taken at the Newbiggin boathouse.

New Year's Day Dip
A few hardy souls gathered on the beach during a cold and wet New Year's Day morning. The boathouse had been open for the first day of the year and it gave shelter to the supporters of the dippers during their icy escapade. Upon completion of the event the now shivering dippers took temporary refuge in the boathouse enjoying buckets of warm water to warm their feet!

Looking Back
The new year, 1899, arrived with the first Lifeboat call on January 12th for escort duty to two local cobles who had been caught out by a southeast gale. The Lifeboat escorted both to a place north of the point where they landed and awaited the weather to ease. A westerly gale and rough sea to fishing cobles overtook the first service of the year on January 16th, 1908. As many of the regular crew needed Lifeboat assistance, they being in their fishing boats, the Lifeboat was manned by a scratch crew and the records note the vital role played by the women launchers in getting the Lifeboat 'hurriedly'

Newbiggin by the Sea RNLI Video
We are pleased to annouce the issue of a exclusive
VHS video about Newbiggin RNLI station featuring high-lights of the 150th Anniversary Celebrations with the Duke of Northumberland in attendance.

To receive a copy contact Stan Green at-
Newbiggin@rnli.org.uk

Newbiggin by the Sea R.N.L.I. Website
Special thanks should go to Richard Martin, Stan Green and former Newbiggin Branch Chairman John Robinson, for providing much of the material used in the lifeboat website.
If anyone has any additional material or stories that they think would be of interest and would like to contribute to the site please contact:-

Paul Hooper tel.01670 521289
e-mail- drumhoops@btinternet.com

Or contact can be made via:-
www.newbigginbythesea.co.uk
Newbiggin@rnli.org.uk