The volunteer crew had responded as they so often do, quietly, efficiently and without hesitation and were afloat 20 minutes after the emergency call came in. They launched to assist a kite surfer in difficulty at sea but upon returning to the boathouse, it became clear that their engine had suffered a critical failure, leaving the boat temporarily out of action and an expensive bill to repair or replace the engine.
The PLIRB put out an appeal on social media to raise funds for the engine and to get the boat back on the water. Unlike larger, nationally funded services, PLIRB relies entirely on local public generosity to stay afloat. Every launch, every piece of equipment, and now every repair depends on donations from the community it serves.
In response to the appeal, Peter Leonard Marine offered to repair the engine and the team installed an engine loaned to them so that the boat was again able to respond to call-outs.
In the meantime, the BBC News Sussex picked up on the story saying that £15,000 had been donated in response to the appeal. However, this figure was not the amount that had been donated to this specific appeal but the total amount that had been raised on the Give as You Live donation page created many years ago.
A spokesperson for the PLIRB explains, “The journalist clearly went to our Give as You Live donation page and saw the £15,000 figure which he assumed was all for our appeal. In fact this is the TOTAL that has been donated since the page was created years ago. So far about £400 has been donated after the appeal. While we appreciate the journalist probably intended this to be a good-news article, it could be very damaging if people think that we have raised such a large sum!”
The BBC have now corrected their news story.
If you would like to donate and help them raise funds for their stricken engine and to help cover their costs, please donate at https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/charity/plirb.
Image Credits: Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat , PLRB .