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| ‘India Juliet’ during the rescue display |
The RNLI lifeboat station at Calshot held its annual Open Day recently. An exciting range of attractions and displays helped by bright blustery weather drew the largest attendance for many years and a record £2,000 was raised for the lifesaving charity.
Helicopters featured highly during the day. The new Coastguard Augusta Westland helicopter ‘India Juliet’ from Lee on Solent gave a rescue display winching personnel from a liferaft onto the station’s All Weather Lifeboat ‘ Sarah Emily Harrop’ and the Hants Air Ambulance was on display.
The Air Ambulance was tasked twice during the afternoon to take two separate casualties from the Calshot Spit area to hospital and the lifeboat was asked by the Coastguard to launch in earnest mid afternoon to attend a small boat in trouble.
By popular demand the excellent acrobatic free running display troupe ‘Team 101’ returned for a second year and gave a breath taking exhibition which included vaulting over an inshore lifeboat and leaping off the station building.
Ben Glover from Power FM added a professional touch to the day by providing the PA commentary. The Hythe & Calshot RNLI Fundraising Branch organised an wide range of attractions and side stalls, which included for the first time this year a bucking bronco ride, and the thrilling high speed RIB rides were yet again a great success with the visitors.
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