WITH RNLI service stats having recently been released, it shows that 2016 was a busy year for Bude’s lifeboat, George Bird.
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Launching on service 13 times — 12 times for the inshore lifeboat and once for the rescue watercraft — seven people in total were rescued and ‘brought to safety’, and two lives were saved.
The RNLI describe a life saved as someone who would have ‘absolutely perished had it not been wholly for the lifeboat’.
Crews spent 39 hours at sea on service, with three launches taking place in the dark. In 2015, stats showed that the lifeboat launched on service seven times and assisted four people.
A spokesperson for Bude RNLI said: “The release of the stats today are a timely reminder to use lifeguarded beaches during the Easter break.”
It has been announced that Summerleaze and Widemouth beaches will be patrolled by RNLI lifeguards from Saturday, April 1 to Monday, April 17, as well as the weekend of April 22 and 23.