| Anstruther RNLI Volunteer wins three American book awards for his debut novel 'A Distant Field: A Novel of World War I'. Richard MacDonald, a volunteer crew member on Anstruther's all-weather lifeboat, Kingdom of Fife, and aspiring author, was awarded a gold medal in the historical fiction category by the Military Writers Society of America at their 2019 conference. The novel was already named one of three finalists in the military fiction category at the 2019 American Fiction Awards and won the military fiction category in America's 2019 Independent Press Awards earlier this year. Richard has been a volunteer crew member at Anstruther RNLI for the past two years. While juggling life as a director of a small research company, volunteer crew member and author, Richard has completed a sequel to his debut novel and has his next writing venture lined up. This time a fictional murder mystery novel based around a lifeboat crew, entitled 'The Brotherhood of the Sea.' Coxswain at Anstruther RNLI, Michael Bruce has commended Richard on his success with his novel. He said: 'All lifeboat crews are dedicated to saving lives at sea and all come from a wide range of occupations, but an award-winning author is a little unusual so we are proud to have him as part of our team here in Anstruther.' |  The novel is available to buy on Amazon. |
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The Lloyds Foundation has committed to funding the RNLI’s Crew Emergency Procedures course for a second 5-year period until December 2020. Their total support for RNLI crew training to just over £2.46M since 2008. More than 3,000 RNLI volunteer crew members have now received the training thanks to Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s funding.
Volunteers at Anstruther Lifeboat Station have received their brand new Helly Hansen lifeboat crew kit to help keep them safe, warm and dry when they’re out saving lives at sea. Pictures by Roger Grundy. Click to view the full pictures The new all-weather lifeboat crew kit being rolled out to all 128 of the RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat stations across the UK and Ireland is supplied by Helly Hansen as part of their strategic partnership with the RNLI.
The new kit is lighter, more comfortable and designed to allow greater freedom of movement than the kit it is replacing and it will ensure the charity’s volunteer crew members have the very best kit to wear when they go out to sea in all weathers. Specially designed with the RNLI to ensure it meets the demanding needs of its volunteer crews, the new kit uses state of the art waterproof and breathable Helly Tech fabric which provides increased comfort compared to the previous non-breathable fabric of the old kit. The light but strong kit is reinforced for exposed areas and its technical layering system ensures crew members will keep warm and dry while out at sea. The kit comes in a wide range of sizes and has bespoke designs to fit both male and female crew members, unlike the kit it is replacing. The new bib, mid-layer and base-layer garments have a specific fit for female crew members, enabling better comfort and freedom of movement. Roy Giles, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Anstruther, says ‘We are delighted with the new kit. Being protected from the elements is as every bit important as the boats and training. We cannot function and carry out our duties if we get too cold and this kit is perfectly designed to overcome this.’ As part of the strategic partnership with the RNLI, Helly Hansen has committed to supporting the RNLI for the next five years through a variety of life-saving activities. These include delivering drowning prevention messages to their customers, generating income, supporting fundraising and safety campaigns, product innovation and supplying the very best kit to the RNLI’s lifesavers.
As much as George and his fellow crew members enjoyed helping Brian safely back to Anstruther, the serious nature of what the RNLI do cannot be forgotten. If you are in difficulty, please contact the Coastguard, just like Brian did and request assistance from the assets we have available. Unlike Brian, you will not lose family bragging rights and have additional chores as payback for our help. |
