Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat

02/02/2026

🙏 It's great to start with week with wonderful news!

On Sunday we were visited by David and Kathryn Dixson who both brought fantastic donations.

Kathryn (pictured hiding behind the cheque!) devoted hours to crafting gifts and decorations which she sold at a Christmas fair and raised an astonishing £400!

David is President of Bexhill Rotary who had a collection at their Christmas dinner and collected an amazing £1000. David is pictured presenting the cheque to our volunteers.

As the parents of one of our volunteers, David and Kathryn have been wonderful supporters and fundraisers and we are hugely grateful to them and all at Bexhill Rotary.

Their donations will go towards our new lifeboat fund.

A massive thank you from all at PLIRB.

Proud to be PLIRB.

19/01/2026

After some gloomy days, today was beautifully calm and bright - which provided perfect conditions to get stuck in to a busy morning's training.

Both Pett Rescue and Arancia boats launched and met up with 'Waz', a RIB owned by some of our crew. A fantastic way to practice tows, emergency procedures, movement between boats, searches and communication.

On shore, other trainee crew got stuck into vital first aid (basic life support and recovery position), while others practised a variety of important knots.

One image shows the dramatic change to the shingle banks at the slip. Parts of the original wooden slip are exposed and there is a steep drop - presenting extra challenges for our launch vehicle driver!

Proud to be PLIRB.

16/01/2026

🗓 😎OPEN DAY 2026 - SAVE THE DATE AND INVITE TO STALLHOLDERS!

In these chilly winter days, give yourself something to look forward to - our Annual Open Day will be back on Sunday 30 August, 11am-3pm at our Boathouse!

If you are interested in having a stall - or even to get involved - please get in touch via email to [email protected] or to Jo on 07546 320 558.

Our Open Days are packed full of fun and entertainment for the whole family - get it booked in your diary! It's also our biggest fundraising event, so every penny we receive makes a huge difference to our operations.

13/01/2026

On Saturday 10 January nine of our volunteers visited the HM Coastguard base in Fareham (JRCC - Joint Response Coordination Centre).

We aim to make an annual visit to meet the teams that we speak to via radio communications when training or tasked on service. It is a fascinating and valuable opportunity to understand the systems, procedures and terminology HM Coastguard utilises to coordinate their teams and assets.

PLIRB is the only independent lifeboat service in Sussex - we are a long way from the busy Solent and Portsmouth areas where there are many independent lifeboat stations. This makes it even more important to build good relations with the teams who coordinate Search and Rescue operations.

A big thank you to Tamara and Katie for their time, hospitality - and biscuits!

12/01/2026

On a shout. 2026 #1

At 10.47 we were tasked by UK Coastguard to a report of an object in the water at Rock-A-Nor. There were concerns that the object observed may have been a person.

For the first time this year our volunteer crew assembled at the boathouse to prepare to launch on service.

After a low tide launch, we were tasked to proceed to Rock-A-Nor to investigate and take action as required. During the operation the sea and shoreline around Ecclesbourne Glen was also investigated.

We were joined in the operation by volunteer crews from RNLI Hastings Lifeboat Station, and HM Coastguard - Hastings. Coastguard Helicopter Rescue 363 was also tasked to conduct a search from the air.

After almost two hours, a large piece of plastic debris was determined to be the object seen by the first informant. With the knowledge that no person was in danger, all teams were stood down.

Thankfully there was no casualty in the water. But the first informant did the right thing by calling in. If you ever see anything in the water or on the shoreline that doesn't seem right, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

12/01/2026

A few weeks ago we put out an appeal to replace a couple of windows in our lookout. The gas had blown, meaning they had misted up and obscured our vision!

We were delighted that MC Glass LTD contacted us with a very generous offer to replace both glass panels!

On Friday, Mike from MC Glass braved the horrible weather to drop off the replacement glass panels. Mike is pictured with volunteer helm Shaun Ohara who installed them immediately after they were delivered.

A big thanks to MC Glass in Bexhill for their wonderful donation which means we can now properly see!

11/01/2026

Everyone at PLIRB extends a huge thank you to Kit and Jan McLean, the stallholders and customers at Elm Tree Bootsale for their incredibly generous donation.

Kit and Jan have supported Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat for many years. We are so grateful for their continued generosity and support.

Their donation will make a significant difference to our annual operating costs which have increased to almost £20,000 each year.

Thank you from us all.

20/12/2025

A huge thank you to everyone at Pett WI for welcoming The Pett Slip Buoys to their Christmas gathering and for their kind donations!

Their generous donation will go towards our future lifeboat fund.

A great evening, lots of fun with local supporters!

Thank you to all at Pett WI!

16/12/2025

It’s time to get in the festive spirit!

The wonderful Ita is hosting a carol singing evening at Eater's at Pett on Friday 19 December from 6pm.

Ita will be serving Bailey’s hot chocolate, mulled wine and a mouth-watering selection of treats to eat!

Please do pop down and join your community for a fabulous evening!

🎄🎄🎄CHRISTMAS EVENT REMINDER🎄🎄🎄

Hello everyone!

Just a reminder about our annual Christmas event this weekend.. Friday 19th December from 5pm🎉

We are so looking forward to seeing everyone there!🥰

Here’s a little reminder of what’s in store..
⭐️Christmas Carol sing-along
⭐️Christmas Raffle with great prizes
⭐️Hot drinks from Coffees to Mulled wine and Baileys Hot chocolate
⭐️Delicious savoury treats including our JUMBO sausage hot dogs, freshly baked pasties and our Brie Bacon and chilli jam toasties
⭐️Scrummy sweet treats from warm mince pies with brandy cream to triple chocolate homemade Yule log!

And much more🎅🏼

We can’t wait to see you all and spread some Christmas cheer ❤️❤️❤️

05/12/2025

🤞PLIRB appeal!

The gas inside two of our lookout windows has blown - meaning they are full of condensation and we can not see out of them properly! Not ideal when it's meant to be our main observation viewpoint!

They have served us well for over 12 years but need to be replaced.

So we are appealing to any glazing firms that might be willing to donate a couple of small windows (we can do the installation). Or to anyone who might be willing to contribute - estimated at about £100 per window.

We can provide the dimensions and thickness.

Please forward on if you know anyone who can help!

Thank you!

04/12/2025

Investing in training is paramount to PLIRB.

Last weekend 12 volunteers dedicated three full days to successfully complete a casualty care course.

We welcomed back Grant Walkey from Trident Training and Consultancy who delivered another exceptional course. With years of knowledge and experience, Grant guided the group through a rigorous programme of essential life saving skills and techniques. A mix of classroom learning combined with practical scenario training provided the best opportunity to absorb knowledge.

As a lifeboat asset we are here to protect and save lives at sea and on the shore. As a community asset, we can be called for assistance when needed.

A big thank you to Grant for another excellent weekend - your guidance and knowledge is invaluable and provides skills for life.

We train to serve.
Proud to be PLIRB.

03/12/2025

It might be December, dark and blustery but we're still committed to training!

On Tuesday we conducted a night exercise to practice launch, recovery and search patterns under darkness. Operating at night presents many challenges - but it is essential we train when we can to ensure our crew are competent and confident.

In choppy waters the rescue boat launched to practice a night-time search for a missing swimmer. This involved plotting a set of coordinates and giving the crew instructions for a specific search pattern.

A great training session to experience and manage difficult conditions - well done to all involved.

Proud to be PLIRB