The Antibes LIfeboat SNS 148, Notre-Dame de la Garoupe II, is stationed at close to the Harbour Master office in Antibes. She is named after the famous mariners' shrine at the summit of the Cap d'Antibes. A self-righting all weather design, she is just under 17 metres long, has twin Volvo Penta diesel engines, each rated at 550hp, and a top speed of 27 knots. The normal volunteer complement aboard
out on a shout is the Coxswain/Captain, a navigator/radio operator and four deckhands. Designed for use in all weathers, our lifeboat is managed and crewed by unpaid volunteers from the SNSM, the French equivalent of the RNLI. Last year, we did forty emergency call-outs; we went to the assistance of seventy people in distress, many of them children. Five persons were rescued from certain death. We are twinned with the busy lifeboat station at The Mumbles, near Swansea in Wales where the Atlantic, so don’t be surprised by the Welsh flag inside our building. The response time for the crew to get to the station and ready the lifeboat to put to sea, 24/24, every day of the year, whatever the weather, is just 15 minutes. We sincerely hope you never need to call on our services but it is good to know we are there! Operationally, we take our orders from CROSSMED, the maritime coordination centre at La Garde (Var). WE regularly take part in joint training and missions with the French navy’s search and rescue helicopter squadron from Hyères near Toulon. You can come and see the lifeboat, when it is not on call or on exercise, at its station next to the Port Vauban slipway and harbour master’s office. It is easily recognizable by its blue hull and orange superstructure. Check out the unusual bow design, especially developed for continuous fast speed in rough seas. Do drop by, particularly early on Saturday mornings, when exercises are being planned and prepared. We wear orange shirts with the SNSM logo, so we are easily recognized. We welcome visits when not busy responding to a call-out: our English is OK. We are on emergency call all hours, day and night, every day of the year, whatever the weather. We are ready to put to sea within 15 minutes of a shout being issued. We are trained and equipped for airsea rescue, medical evacuation, freighting and recovery. SAVING LIVES COSTS MONEY
The Antibes lifeboat service, even though all the volunteers give their time for free, is extremely expensive to maintain. Any professional or amateur yachtsman knows that maintenance, navigation equipment, safety gear, medical kit, insurance, fuel, all cost a lot of money and these costs increase each year. In addition, the lifeboats themselves, given the special stresses they undergo, have a limited life, and replacement budgeting for the next vessel needs to start as soon as the station takes delivery of a new boat. Going into harm’s way often requires major repairs as well: last year we had to replace the twin propellers, damaged during a particularly tough call-out. The present boat is 6 years old and to replace in about 12 years will cost about 1.2 million in today’s money, before fitting out with specialized navigation, communications, medical and safety equipment. Even leaving aside capital and depreciation costs, our fuel, maintenance and training budget runs to approximately €80,000 per year. So, on average, each emergency response will have cost the station €2,000 in preparation. And remember, all the crew are unpaid volunteers, so there are no salary costs. Though the station receives some financial assistance from regional and local authorities, for which we are of course grateful, most of our running costs have to be met from donations and membership fees. For French taxpayers, whether individuals or businesses, these gifts can be set against tax. If you’re fiscal residency is elsewhere, your regime may be different but it is worth enquiring with your relevant tax authorities. One thing is for certain: the SNSM lifeboat service is acclaimed for its award-winning financial management, with well over 80% of its funds going directly into frontline services. Behind these headlines, there are of course many other costly activities like insurance, training, safety awareness campaigns, fund-raising and legal costs. Any money given to the lifeboats, then, is money well –spent, pretty well directly on lifeboats and training lifesavers. HOW YOU CAN HELP US
PRACTICALLY: If you are physically fit, have appropriate skills (seamanship, electronics, mechanical, and diving, radio or first aid competence) and you have a high degree of availability, you may want to volunteer for crew service. You will need to be operationally fluent in French, though. We would also warmly welcome shore based help with general maintenance, stocking of the station and the boat, manning publicity stands etc. For this last item, any additional language skills are going to come in handy. FINANCIALLY: There is one way, however, anybody can come to our aid immediately, and that is by making a donation or by becoming a member of the SNSM. This only takes a minute or two of your time, and in doing so, you may be saving a life. Just ask for a donation/ membership form at the lifeboat station (manned on Saturday mornings). If you would like to talk to someone you can use the contact numbers below. CASH donations are always welcome in the traditional lifeboat collecting boxes in various Antibes shops and pubs. CHEQUES, in Euros please, made payable to " SNSM Antibes" and posted to SNSM Antibes, Capitainerie, Port Vauban, 06600, Antibes. Please supply a contact address for us to get back to you. You will get a receipt which qualifies for French income tax relief. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT TO THE ANTIBES LIFEBOAT APPEAL. CONTACT DÉTAILS:
Charlie Stitt: 0643815429
[email protected]
