Myself and my business, The Thread Studio / Brand Your Team, has supported the Hamble Independent Lifeboat for many years. Many of our customers are Sailors or in the marine trades. As a kid growing up, out dinghy sailing with my diabetic dad, we did need the help of the lifeboat one evening, so I have firsthand experience of what they do. Yes, they save Lives.

So, when Paul dropped by the office and mentioned raising funds for a new boat, I was up for it.

He mentioned the Amble 10K Walk on 7th September, and did I want to sign up? Sure, I said 10K. Then I checked how many old-school miles that was. Sure, I will up that to 20K! That is more of a challenge for me.

So here I am asking you to help me raise funds. I will be walking 20K on 7th September, come rain or shine, with a goal of raising £1K+ funds for Hamble Lifeboat.

My aim is to raise £1,000 to cover the cost of the kit needed for one crew member. A Lifejacket, helmet, radio, survival suit & boot’s it sounds a lot of money and I know this cost is using the goodwill of the item’s suppliers. In reality, it’s more.

Personally, I don’t think we really appreciate how much The Hamble independent Lifeboat do for the whole Solent and Hamble river area and community. Its not just the sailors they help. The lifeboat gets tasked to many unpleasant jobs along the Rivers of the Solent. These guys & girls really do an amazing unpaid job.

Many people are unaware that they are not the RNL. They are independent and run by volunteers. To keep running the fantastic service, they need to raise every penny of the £35K+ every year. Remember, that’s the running cost. It's all run by volunteers, so salaries are not included, and it’s not the cost of purchasing the boats. That's a lot of money every year to find.