WHAT\'S THIS ALL ABOUT ???

As we have a new site and a lot of new members, I thought it best to copy over the bulk of the Topic which started the NESA fund raising on behalf of the RNLI. I haven\'t copied ALL of it over (there\'s about 7 pages to it !!), but enough to enable those new-ish to NESA to understand what the RNLI Fund Raising forum is all about, and how it started..........



TC
Following on from the \"another life lost\" thread, this seems like an opportune time to put forward a suggestion on something I\'ve been thinking about for quite a while.

We have shown, with the success of the Bryony Appeal that NESA, as a body, CAN make a difference.

You may or may not know that I used to (and still do occasionally) a bit of climbing in the Lakes - particularly during the Winter. You can\'t go into a pub, guest house, outdoor shop, café, etc without noticing a collection box for the local Mountain Rescue team (depends which valley you\'re in). Most climbing clubs support one or more of these teams, which are made up of volunteers. These people also risk their own lives to find, rescue or recover those who are lost and injured.

What if NESA was to take on the RNLI as our \"adopted charity\" ?

Just thinking out loud now............

Any future fund raising events could be in aid of, (and possibly run in conjunction with), the RNLI.

What if, as like the Bryony Appeal, we had an initial specific goal - raising enough to be able to provide a piece of needed equipment?

Possibly a \"Safe Fishing\" campaign could be organised - may be Local Autorities, the Port of Tyne (and other relevant port operators) and the Nat Trust could also be involved, here?

Am I just running off at the mouth here or do you think it is something worth pursuing?

YOUR VIEWS, PLEASE.


JOHN LYNCH:
i for one think it,s a great idea not only for senior anglers but juniors as well,peir and boat safety you could not ask for a better charity as we all fish in the sea and thank god we have not needed the life boat so far but i am sure there are people out there who where glad to see it at one time.cheers john


MIKE R:
Very good idea. The RNLI do a fantastic job and deserve all the support NESA, and any other sea user, can offer.


RICHY:
I also think it\'s a good idea, after all if something happens to us when boat fishing, the RAF and the RNLI will be our best hope of life. It would also show the RNlI that fisherman [some] respect what they do.


STEVE W:
great idea tony could have a match with all money going to the charity ,just have a trophy for the winner


SLESS:
yes i agree with that


STUMPY:
yep sounds good to me as well, more money going in the pot

G MAC:
Tony this is a great idea, i give to the the rnli every time i go past a collection tin etc as those lads &lasses deserve all our support for there hard work and determination to save peoples lives no matter what the weather&conditions of the sea.

BOB LYDON:
as allways a great idea Tony,i am an offshore member of the RNLI allready,is their any one else a member??any fund raising you start count me in,i\'ll help any way i can.


BRIAN:
i agree with what has been said.i broke my leg on the rocks when fishing an open in support of the RNLI,but waited 20 minutes for the life boat crew and then another 20 minutes for the RAF helicopter,this was due to the fact that they have closed tynemouth station and you get re-directed to humberside,and not being from this area and having only maps of the north and south sides of the tyne.they can only do their best.
what iam trying to say is we should be raising funds to re-open tynemouth station.sorry if that has come across as a bit negative.(but if you were stuck on a rock mark with the tide flooding you would rather speak to a local of that area,AND NOT BE WONDERING HAVE THEY GOT THE RIGHT PLACE?).


BIG H
Needless to say right behind you on this one.


PAULA:
sounds a brilliant idea to us tony, not sure we could make it down for a match but i am sure we could donate something come payday. we are lucky up here, scrabster has a lifeboat (where we both work) and i have seen it go out on a call only once since moving up here to a trawler that broke down, but needless to say that we have heard of a few occassions that it has just got to someone in the nick of time, it would be nice to think that you could help in reopening your local station.

TC:
Thanks all, (so far), for your positive thoughts on this idea.
I\'ll contact Elton to get his opinion on me approaching the RNLI on this.
I\'ve got a couple of contact names at the RNLI as regards to fund raising.

I\'ll keep you posted, but in the meantime - keep your views coming.
If we do \"adopt\" the RNLI as OUR supported charity, I expect it to be a long term thing - \"committment\" and all that.


ELTON:
DEFINITELY gets my vote!!!!


MICHAEL DEVLIN:
100% behind the idea tony ,as a boat fisherman you never know when you are going to need these guys . hopefully never but it gives piece of mind knowing that they are there in case of any emergency.


DAVE MASON:
Great idea tony , We just have to make sure it doe\'s not fall in to the \"lost idea\'s file \" .


CK:
Brilliant Idea, lets give something back to the lifeguards,who put their necks on the line for us


JOHN CONNELL:
I am Coxswain of Amble Lifeboat and would just like to thank everyone for the concern expressed about our crew members. All three have now been discharged from Hospital -one with a dislocated shoulder and the other two with cuts and bruises. Thanks also for comments about RNLI in general. A difficult \"shout\" for us ,one which we hope lessons will have been learned from. Our condolences go out to Mr Garnetts family. We must also acknowledge the excellent job done by RAF Boulmer\'s Search and Rescue crew and members of the public who helped crew members to safety.


NEIL:
Definitely a good cause .

I have been a member of the RNLI for many years now. I pay my annual subscription by monthly Direct Debit. It\'s never missed now. I look at it as a bit of an insurance policy. If I ever need their help I will feel better knowing I have been donating to their cause.

Any fundraising event donating money to the RNLI will be well supported.


HERBIE:
Hello all at NESA, My name is Neil Hancock and I am RNLI station mechanic at Amble. I was shown your website by \'The Boss\' John Connell, last night and was astounded at the depth of feeling which our tragic \'incident\' had aroused. The pages were duly printed off and shown to our lads at the boathouse this morning. On behalf of all at our station and in particular the three lads from the inshore crew on Thursday I would like to thank you for all your concern and good wishes. I think your ideas for raising funds are fantastic and if you require any help or information of any kind then you can contact me at the station during the day or at home at all other times. The telephone numbers are in the phone book under Lifeboats and the e-mail address is on this post. I am writing this as \'The boss\' is at sea today working.
Best Wishes and thanks again,
Neil


MARC:
Bob, If NESA needs somebody to do the job of treasurer I wouldn\'t mind doing it at all, As I\'ve said before I\'m only to happy to be involved with something thats important as this.




Initially, we were undecided as to just WHERE any funds raised for the RNLI should be sent - should we send it to the RNLI HQ where it would go into their central funds? OR Keep it local to the North East and pick a local station ourselves ?

It was decided that we would have an initial local target, followed by donations to the RNLI in general.

At the time that we were discussing this, there was a tragic incident at Amble, in which and angler lost his life. 3 of the lifeboat crew trying to save him ended up in hospital when their rescue boat was swamped by the terrible sea conditions at the time.

It was decided then that raising funds for the Amble Lifeboat Station would be our initial local target.



Back in May this year, we held a boat fishing competition from Amble.

About a dozen Charter Boats (the days charter fees being donated to the RNLI by the skippers) and several small private boats took part in the event. In total there were over 150 anglers in the competition and £2000 was raised on the day. The prceeds of the event were donated to Amble Lifeboat Sation. The money, we were told, would provide up to date, hi-tech training aids / material.


Sorry this post is a bit long winded, but if you\'ve made it to the end, at least you\'ll know what the RNLI Fund Raising, is all about and how it came into being.


[Edited on 24/6/2005 by TC]

[Edited on 28/8/2005 by TC]

Just been informed that all the money from last months Boat Comp has now been received and when added to what was made from the on-line auction held on the run-up to the comp, a cheque for £1,500 will be being handed over to the RNLI lads at Sunderland Station as soon as it can be arranged.

This means that, to date, NESA has raised over £6,500 on behalf of the RNLI;

£4,700 going direct to N.E. stations
£1,800 going to the RNLI national funds

There\'s also still a small amount left in the NESA fund raising account to give our next fund raising effort a kick start.

[Edited on 24/6/2005 by TC]

[Norman]

Nice one Tony ..... we`ve come long way since the amble accident

[alan]

Well done everyone,thats a tidy little sum considering these are just one off Shore and Boat comps plus the little auctions we have now and then.Lets not forget all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to organise these events ;)

[SIXFOOTSTEVE]

Well done to all involved ,brilliant !!

Lol Norman.......aye a \"long way\".
Hard to believe that the first Boat Comp only took place in 2003, isn\'t it

The sight of all those anglers waiting to board the dozen, or so, charter boats all lined up along the quay, will be mental picture I will carry with me for always. So much had gone into the planning & organising of the comp.....and there it was, actually happening. Lol.....dunno if it was the lack of sleep, the early start, the worrying about it all, or what......but I had to go for a little walk as the scene made me \"a bit emotional\" as my wife would say.....lol


[Edited on 24/6/2005 by TC]

[Norman]

I know you`ll understand Tony ....... but WOW it was special ..... and we never photographed it LOL :) we were all too busy ....... well done mate

Some photographer, eh, Norman........I had my camera with me, but I forgot all about it on the day.....lol

I still get a tear in the eye (the good one) and a lump in me throat at all the comps. Just the fact that...... here are so many people coming together through a flippin\' website to raise money for the RNLI. Many of whom probably would never have met each other - and they\'ve now become mates in the process.

Great to see that the interest is still there in people wanting to take part in (particularly) the boat comp. I know you, Clare, Jason, Bob etc put an awful lot of time & effort into this years comp, as you have done in all the previous ones.
It\'s also heartening to see that more and more members are volunteering their services to help in the planning, organising and running of future events.

£6,500 eh?.............won\'t be long before we get THAT double :exclam: :P

[willywetegg]

Aye just class.

Will probably answer tomorrow. lol.

Jim.

[Norman]

So much bad press is given to Chat Rooms and internet clubs ... and often it is well deserved, however NESA is my explanation to everyone that the internet can be rewarding and not as sinister as it is usually made out ...... As you rightly say Tony we`ve all made friends here and not just type the keyboard friends but days out and fun comps meeting face to face genuine people ........

cheers to you all .......