Shelley the Lifeboat Labrador (21 page)

On the Sunday we went to the lifeboat station for our regular morning chat and coffee. The Inshore Lifeboat was out on a call dealing with an overtired windsurfer which was common along our part of the coast.

Windsurfing had taken off in a big way and just along the coast past the Shoreham power station was a long stretch of beach with easy parking where the windsurfers could assemble their boards and get the experience they wanted.  Sometimes they did get into trouble. This was often due to going out too far or should I say being taken out too far by the current and off shore winds. We did not mind but as was often the case we had a shout to go out and pick them up. Once we got to them we normally asked them to take their sail down and fold it to their board and we would then tow it back.  They would then be hauled onto the ILB over the side with their back towards us giving us more leverage to get them on board and off we would go back to the boathouse or to the beach where they came from whilst at the same time giving them some friendly advice.

Most took it well and responded to our wishes.  Some did not though. One weekend when I was on with David Wainwright we had a call for a surfer and picked him up. A couple of hours later it was another call and it was the same person again.  Just as were about to go home there was yet one more call and off we went to find him in trouble yet again.  David was a very calm helmsman and took things in his stride.  He was also good at training new members to the crew and had a lot of understanding and patience.  I was very glad that I had been selected to be part of his team. 

We washed the ILB down and refuelled it as one had to remember that we were still on duty until the end of the day. I collected Shelley from the crew room where she had been relaxing with a couple of other members (it was a good social venue at weekends) and off we went.  I fed her at home and had a nice (packet meal for convenience) cod in parsley sauce and then got into the bath to relax ready for work the following day when the bleeper went off.

Getting into my clothes in a wet state was silly as it took longer to get them on before I drove to the boathouse.  Dave had already got the ILB out and with the help of a couple of others was getting it ready for a launch as I got into my gear.  Off the three of us went outside the harbour and along towards the beach area. You have guessed it was our friendly windsurfer yet again looking very embarrassed and cold.  This time we made sure the board and sail was tied to the side of the ILB and he was hauled in, slightly harder than normal. There are some rough pockets and rope ties along the side.  Not only that, he was wearing a lightweight wet suit which surprised us as the evening was drawing in and it always gets a little colder towards dusk.  He asked us to take him back to the beach but this time we said we could not due to the tide and surf and took him the two miles back to the lifeboat station.

The sea was a little lumpy also so we made sure the ILB met a few nice waves in the process of the return trip.  Back at the boathouse we invited him into the crew room and gave him a strong talking to over a cup of tea.  Enough was enough – four calls in one day for the same person – who frankly did not seem to understand what the problem was about.  To him we were a service that was there to help him when he needed it.  He was unaware of what the RNLI did and that it was a charity and we were volunteers who had given up our weekends to make sure there were no incidents that would involve the loss of life of our local shores.  Had we been helping him when there was a more important call - say to a child in trouble it could have caused untold problems.

Still not content he asked us if we could drive him back to his friend on the beach as their vehicle was there that could take their board back home.  The answer was of course a polite no!  In the end he made a call to another friend at home that drove along to collect him.  We did add that we felt it best we keep his sail back at the boathouse for a few days so it could be checked over.   He was not very happy but had no option. It was our way of teaching him a lesson.  He did call to collect it later in the week one morning when Jack the mechanic was on duty.  I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall then as Jack would have explained the situation in a very different way from us.  We never saw him again after that incident, I wonder why!

Shelley was a lot happier now she had had the problem lump removed and the result from the biopsy was that all was fine so we soon established our normal routine.  She had slowed down a lot more now but was still her little energetic self when she wanted to be.  Unlike other Labradors she was a very small dog.  I had also trained her well and whenever we got to a zebra crossing she always sat without being asked and once the bleep of the lights stopped she got up and proceeded to walk me over to the other side.  It was her knowledge that took most people by surprise.  She seemed to know every pub I used and the shops.

The post office did not allow dogs so I always tied her up outside which I was not too happy about making sure I could see her from the windows. No way would I do it these days due to so many dogs being stolen.

Dog owners also have a bond and often stop and chat to each other. There were also a couple of nice parks we sometimes went to.  Sunday was a no go though as there were always football matches going on. I learnt the hard way.               

She always wanted to join in as she did at Bodiam with’ The Mad Dogs’ rugby. The one difference was that football players were less tolerant than rugby players and she had the odd kick where it hurt and I was given some nice verbal abuse on how to train a dog.

It was not long to the two annual events that the crew enjoyed the most. The Bath Tub Race followed a few weeks later by the Trawler Race in which we participated to the full.  Already the bath tub had appeared down at the boathouse and those involved had started to paint it and design it for maximum speed.                       

End of Chapter 28

BATH TUBS AND TRAWLER RACES – CHAPTER 29

Like most fishing ports Shoreham’s connection with the sea resulted in events that had a nautical theme.  All were involved in raising funds for local charities and as was often the case the RNLI was one of the benefactors.  There were two that the crews supported. The Adur Bath Tub Race and The Trawler Race which were annual events and both attracted a lot of entries.

The bath tub race had been going for a while before I moved to Shoreham, although I had seen similar at other ports in my time.  The idea was to put a bath tub into a surround making it float and for a team to row the tub down the river for several miles finishing up in Shoreham by the town centre.

The lifeboat crew been involved from day one and Peter Huxtable had won it many times. Although he was a lifeboat crew member (and later to become coxswain) he had worked for a local fishing company and for many years had rowed for their tub.  There were no airs and graces about their tub it was built for speed and Peter and Jim Partridge, who owned the company, put a lot of effort into the event winning it year after year.

The lifeboat tub was designed to be effective.  One year crew member Brian Pickering met a design consultant from one of the London Colleges and he designed the tub and came down to name it. Full of confidence we were all certain that this was the year we were going to beat Peter and Jim.

The actual race started at Bramber Bridge where all the tubs were put on the water.  However; they were the other side of the bridge which was not that wide.  As one could imagine trying to get thirty plus tubs under the bridge at the same time resulted in terrible problems and to add to that people standing on the bridge had flour bombs and other objects ready to reign down on all and sundry.  Some of the tubs were stunning with pedal powered paddles - whilst others looked like fire engines and tractors. Nothing was spared on the design front!                                                                                           

Once under the bridge it was a race to the finish with support boats in tow for crew changes and others following down the river banks.  We always worked on the crew change theory by bringing the tub into the bank and switching rowers.  I was not a good rower so was involved in going down via the river bank with Shelley in tow offering any help we could give in the change over’s when needed.  Both of us spent more time in the water than out of it as there were more weed areas than clear banks. 

The design of the new tub looked great but sadly as the race went on we began to realise that it was too low in the water which slowed it down.  Although there had been a re-designed bow this made little difference to the speed of the tub.  Getting nearer to Shoreham the duty ILB crew had taken the inshore lifeboat up towards the finish.  This was because the river got faster nearer the harbour entrance even when the tide was out.  They were there to rescue any tubs that could not stop or any rowers that had departed from their relevant tub.  Shelley was a lot better following her operation but the race covered several miles of riverbank walking.  She had enough sense to jump into the river and let the current with the help of her swimming skills get her down quicker.  Sometimes climbing out of the river and running back to me to prove the point she could do it again by repeating her epic jump into the river. You would not think she was almost 11 years old now.

At the finish line the crowds gathered in force to watch the pursuing mud fight between crews which sometimes continued up to the hard by the footbridge. We did not win that year nor if I remember did we ever win. The closest was a second place.  Our best rower was Dave Wainwright who linked up with selected crew members to make them a formidable team but sadly not good enough.  Peter and Jim had won yet again and it did upset some other contestants. It was all was legal and above board, it was just that they were both very good at what they did. For them fooling around was not part of their itinerary until the race was over.                              

Following the race the tub was collected and taken back to the boathouse and then the evening was spent around Shoreham visiting several pubs that provided some entertainment for all involved.  Shelley loved it and it never took her too long to dry out.  With barbecues and more barbecues food was never short for her.  A smile and a wag of her tale produced some positive results. 

I enjoyed the tub race days but if I have to be honest I preferred the trawler race.  This was an idea of Jim Partridge who ran several trawlers from the quay at Shoreham.  Invites were sent to other ports in the region and trawlers came to join us in all shapes and sizes.  They were decked out with lots of bunting and the wives had provided plenty of food and drink.  The race was from Shoreham Harbour entrance to Brighton Pier and back and there were really no rules.  I think there was some sort of scoring depending on size but it was a free for all.

Both lifeboats were launched and as many crew as possible went on the larger off shore boat.  Not a part of the race, it was our duty was to keep an eye out for any casualties such as a man overboard.  Some of the crew that owned boats took part including Ginger (our second coxswain) whilst Peter Huxtable went on Jims large trawler.  For some reason the lifeboat become a centre of attraction. Missiles were thrown at us including tomatoes and eggs with support from some very powerful hosepipes from the larger trawlers.

One year Dave Sutton who owned a beam trawler decided to let the beams down one of which hit Gingers wheelhouse.  It was all taken in good jest but beams remained up after that.  The turn around at Brighton was fun (off the new nudist beach) with more spectator boats joining in to follow the event back to Shoreham. The beaches were more packed than is usual.  The national media also got interested and one year we had a BBC film crew on board the lifeboat along with a photographer from the Daily Telegraph whose picture made front page next day.                                                                                                              

Shelley never got onto any of the boats and spent her day at the jetty with Pearl and Peggy who ran the RNLI souvenir stall where she really enjoyed  sitting in the sun and looking at the world passing buy.  The harbour jetty was turned into a mini boat show with companies selling their nautical wears and plenty of cockles and whelks followed by pints of Draft Guinness from the brewery’s own bar. 

The race back got even more competitive with some tactful steering by the skippers that would have put a formula one driver through his paces.

No loyalty or love was lost - it was a fun day out.  At the finishing line which was outside the harbour entrance the judges sat in their ‘Gin Palace’ cruiser waiting to fire a maroon as the winner crossed it.  Once they all got back the boats anchored up along the harbour jetty and the real celebrations started.  Fisherman can drink and this was no exception.  The lifeboat also moored up for a short spell then returned to the boathouse where it was refuelled and washed down ready for its next call of duty. We then headed back to the jetty at full speed to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and early evening.  Shelley was delighted to see me whilst making her normal fuss of all and sundry treating them like long lost friends!