Fleet Bay Inshore Rescue Service

01/10/2026

Our boathouse has had some finishing touches recently and we must say a few thanks...

To Crown Paints for donating the paint
To David Inglis for doing the work at cost
and to one of our Trustees for covering the costs.

While it's not quite as fancy as Kirkcudbright RNLI Lifeboat Station, it's certainly an upgrade from what we had. We've even got a whiteboard, desk & swivel chair!

The next month should see the arrival of our new boat - more on that soon.

Our crew continue to train come rain or shine and our trustees work tirelessly behind the scenes to keep things moving.

As always, there are opportunities to support our cause as below.

By purchasing a calendar - there are only 80 remaining in this print batch.
www.fleetbayirs.co.uk/calendar

By donating. Every little helps. The link below is to our Just Giving page.
https://www.justgiving.com/charity/fleetbayinshorerescueservice

As always, thank you to everyone who has brought FBIRS so far in the last year.

National Independent Lifeboat Association Belfast Coastguard

27/09/2026

Yesterday our crew provided a safety boat service on Loch Ken for the Scottish K1 Marathon Championship for Paddle Scotland (very fast kayaks!) competitors raced over a 13km course and our crew were on hand in case anyone got into difficulty.
A great day and change of scenery.

02/09/2026

A very Happy belated birthday to crew member Catherine, who attended fortnightly training last night, on her birthday, in the pouring rain to do Man Over Board training in some turbulent seas. We’re immensely grateful for your continued commitment to FBIRS.

26/08/2026

Can you join us at Mossyard this weekend?

First up we have a regatta on Mossyard Beach from 1145. Bring Boats, Paddleboards or Kayaks, it's family friendly for experienced and less so. FBIRS will be on the water.

And afterwards, join us at 1Littlefarm for the Big Summer BBQ, where there will be live music, wonderful food and great company. All proceeds go to FBIRS.

Tickets required for the BBQ, but not for the Regatta.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

25/08/2026

🚤 Our new website is live!

We’re delighted to share the new Fleet Bay Inshore Rescue Service website.

It gives you a chance to learn more about who we are, our history, our volunteer crew and the work we do across Fleet & Wigtown Bay — as well as keeping up to date with our latest news, fundraising and progress.

A huge amount has happened over the last year, and the new website gives us a proper home online where we can share that journey with you.

🌊 Take a look:
www.fleetbayirs.co.uk

And, as always, thank you to everyone who supports FBIRS. Your support helps keep this independent volunteer rescue service ready to respond when we’re needed.

Saving lives in Fleet & Wigtown Bay since 1974.

19/08/2026

1littlefarm at Mossyard are hosting a Big Summer BBQ on Saturday 29th August to raise funds to complete the lifeboat. We'd love it if you can join us there. Tickets available from 1littlefarm

On Saturday 29th of August we are hosting an end of summer BBQ to raise funds towards the new Inshore Rescue Boat. Tickets are available to purchase and reserve from the Farmshop at Mossyard.

Please come and join us for a variety of live music and tasty home grown BBQ food. Side dishes welcome. We will host in the lambing shed opposite the Farmshop.

All welcome - join us!
Please share 💛

18/08/2026

Over the last year, the community has helped us raise an incredible amount of money towards a new lifeboat for Fleet Bay Inshore Rescue Service.
We’re delighted to bring you an update on our work to date in the last year:
• We’ve gained charity status
• Formed a board of trustees
• We’ve recruited new crew
• We’ve refurbished our boat house
• We’ve purchased a dedicated launch vehicle
• Undertaken hours of training and fortnightly exercises
We placed an order with RIBCRAFT UK & Europe, who have a strong history of producing high quality RIBS for rescue and military services, for a completed, operational lifeboat.. The Global CEO of RIBCRAFT UK & Europe, Toby Adams has recently and very unfortunately informed us they would be unable to complete the contract as agreed. So, to protect our (and your) investment we arranged to recover the boat, trailer and all of the equipment, which had already been purchased by Ribcraft. As a result we have moved the partially completed boat to another specialist boat builder nearby to complete. This has led, however, to an unfortunate delay at additional cost.
Every pound raised has come from local people, businesses, fundraising events and charitable trusts who believe in what we are trying to achieve — a safe, modern lifeboat to protect people in Fleet and Wigtown Bay.
For more than 50 years, volunteers have gone to sea to help those in trouble. With the continued support of the community behind us, we are looking forward to having her on the water, saving lives, before long.
Thank you, as always, for standing with us.
Fleet Bay Inshore Rescue Service
Saving lives in Fleet & Wigtown Bay since 1974.

28/07/2026

This afternoon we were alerted by a member of the public to a windsurfer in difficulty in Fleet Bay whose board and mast had become separated.
We quickly launched but given the sea conditions it took time to locate the casualty who was lying on his windsurfing board. We brought him aboard, recovered his board and mast and returned him to Cardoness.
Again, a great result. A very experienced windsurfer who was very grateful for our assistance. He’d been windsurfing for 40 years and this is the first time he’d needed assistance.
Thanks to our volunteers and emergency services again for their support.
Thank you to Douglas Wilcox for the pictures.

26/07/2026

Our new crew members are giving of their time and knowledge and we're really thankful to the 3 new members who have joined FBIRS. This week was Keith's turn for some familiarisation of Fleet Bay & The Fleet Isles. Keith brings bags of experience with him and he's a superb addition to the crew. At 6 foot 3, we're also having to have a new drysuit made to fit him!
Training continues both on and off the water to prepare the service for our future HMCG inspection.

23/07/2026

This evening 2 kayakers were caught out by the WNW wind gusting force 6 and couldn’t return to Mossyard and ended up off Cardoness, despite having continually paddled for over 1 hour losing considerable ground over that time. Thankfully another good outcome and as always great to work alongside other emergency services.