What's a guy like you, doing in a place like this?

The question that I most frequently get asked about the lifeboat is:

"What made you want to join the crew?"

My reason for joining was that I was inspired by the work that the lifeboat crews do, I love and respect the sea, but I'm not afraid of it. I guess I wanted to offer what I could.

Everyone has different reasons for joining, I questioned a few of the guys and here are their reasons in their own words:

Dave "My Dad was on the crew and he asked me if I wanted to join, the station was just about to get its first D class, so they needed a few extra crew, I was one of eight new crew that joined at the time. "

Matt "My Dad was a member of the crew when I was born, I was christened on the old lifeboat the Rother with my cousins James and Gary, I basically grew up at the boat house.. I guess it was inevitable."

Kev "I used to be a volunteer lifeguard at Studland beach, one day we had a serious incident, the lifeboat, coastguard and helicopter were all involved. After that I had a chat with one of the lifeboat team who said I'd make a good crew member and that's what made me decide to join."

Steve "I had a chat with with one of the DLAs and he asked me whether my wife would be interested in joining the crew, I said that she might be but i wasn't sure, I told them that I was definitely interested in joining the crew myself." (Steve's wife decided not to join the crew)

Ollie "My dad was rescued by the lifeboat when he was out sailing and his mast snapped. I go sailing a lot and i know that if I got into trouble I'd want someone to rescue me, so I decided I'd do my bit for others who might find themselves in a tricky situation."

So there you have it a quick insight.....We all come from different walks of life but the lifeboat brings us together. It is my opinion that being involved with the lifeboat is something that you do because it is part of you, you can't force it if it's not.