Flint lifeboat crew to benefit from huge £570,000 donation

Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm have made the substantial donation which will benefit RNLI volunteers at five lifeboat stations.

The substantial funding package will support a new rescue support vehicle to be based at St Asaph and pay for the training of all volunteer crews at Rhyl, Conwy, Llandudno and Flint for the next five years.

Gwynt y Môr is the world’s second largest offshore wind farm, located more than eight miles off the North Wales coast.  

Matt Crofts, RNLI Community Lifesaving Delivery Manager said:

‘Partnerships such as this are vital to the RNLI; we are so very grateful to have been chosen as benefactors. Training is the essential ingredient that turns our volunteers into lifesavers, but this kind of training is expensive. As a charity which relies on voluntary contributions and legacies, this most generous donation will fund the training of the RNLI’s voluntary crew off the north Wales coast for five years.

‘Our volunteers deserve the very best training and this donation will ensure the successful delivery of training on the coast for many years to come. This training keeps our crews at high levels of competence and ensures their safety when launching to save lives at sea.”

Dave Clark, 32, an electrician and volunteer with Rhyl RNLI says:
 
‘We have just received a new inshore lifeboat, so training is more important than ever. Local training is vital, it complements the training we receive at our headquarters in Poole. At Rhyl, we training twice a week every week and it definitely has helped me to grow in confidence.
 
‘One incident which stays with me is when we were called to assist a lady in the water who needed first aid quickly.  We needed to act quickly and knowing exactly where the kit is located and having been training in first aid was invaluable.’