Ready for Christmas

Sunday 20 Dec 2020

Following completion of piling, the site has been trimmed, compacted and levelled and equipment removed, leaving it looking tidy. The ILB ramp is also ready for concrete works to start in the new year.

As a finishing touch for the Christmas break, the lifeboat crew obtained a large Christmas tree locally which was erected in one of the piles by the beach bank, the contractors kindly welding a bracket to ensure it would survive in strong winds. With a tubular pile driven 16m into the ground, this may have been the strongest and most expensive Christmas tree stand yet created.

The tree was decorated, at least as far as a ladder could reach, by crew members during a training exercise, with yellow wellies and used rocket flare casings as well as more traditional decrorations. Bunting, flags and a man overboard dummy dressed in kit and a lifejacket were added along with a floodlight to illuminate the scene at night.

All just about survived the gales and heavy rain over the Christmas period.