Alastair Merrill, Director of Procurement says, my team were delighted to play their part in Scottish Government’s 2011 Lifeboat Day fundraisers.

My own commitment comes from a strong sense of personal gratitude.  My wife and her father were rescued by the Poole lifeboat when their yacht got into difficulties in heavy seas and a thunderstorm in Bournemouth Bay.  They both are highly competent sailors, but the sea can turn quickly into a very unforgiving place.  Although the incident was over a quarter of a century ago, my wife still recalls vividly the towering waves and the sight of lightning so close that it looked like a thick hairy rope.   And of course the immense sense of relief when the lifeboat appeared and towed them gratefully and safely back into Poole Harbour. 

I was reminded of this a month ago - sailing in an old wooden ketch with my father-in-law (now 85, and a veritable old sea-dog) - around Studland on the Dorset coast.  As we returned to harbour to avoid a brewing gale, we saw the Poole lifeboat boring a hole in the horizon to assist with a disabled ship several miles offshore. 

Thank goodness for the lifeboats!