Being a volunteer crewman at RNLI Penarth Lifeboat station means that I am fully aware of how vital public support is to the running of this vital charity which exists to save lives at sea.

At our station we are fundraising for a new lifeboat D-Class and aiming to raise £52,000 to cover the cost of a new boat. Last year our lifeboat station was the busiest in Wales and is crewed entirely by volunteers such as myself which provides cover 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.

The D-Class is the workhorse of the RNLI. At our own lifeboat station, our current D-Class D-693 "Connie Daines" has been on service since 2008 and in this time has launched on over 225 service calls, rescued over 300 persons in distress and is credited with saving at least 7 lives.

The RNLI is not funded by the government and relies soley of public charitable giving in order to keep our rescue services afloat and continue to save lives at sea.

I am doing this run to raise funds to contribute towards the RNLI and the cost of a new lifeboat for our station. I am grateful for any donation, no matter how small, which assists us to reaching our goal.

Many thanks,
Alex