Alice Arnold's 'Mayday' Broadcast

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No she's not in trouble, it's to raise awareness of the RNLI

Mayday weekend is the biggest national fundraising day for the RNLI and Chiswick's Alice Arnold has helped make a Mayday forecast video listing the rescues around the forecast areas including the Thames.

Former presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Shipping Forecast, Alice, who is married to Clare Balding, revisits Cromarty, Hebrides, Dogger and Humber, as she reads the ‘Mayday Forecast’ and urges the public to support the RNLI’s Mayday campaign this bank holiday.

Maritime distress calls can come in 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with 4,700 volunteer crew members across the UK and Ireland on standby to drop everything in an instant to save lives at sea. The RNLI’s Mayday campaign, running over this bank holiday weekend, is its own call for help – to raise the money needed to keep the charity and its 237 lifeboat stations operating.

The ‘Mayday Forecast’ follows the well-known rhythm and regions of this established British bulletin, but instead of predicting weather conditions, it predicts the number of distress calls the RNLI will respond to this year.

Based on 2015 figures, the Mayday Forecast predicts approximately 8,200 people will be rescued and
hundreds of lives will be saved by the RNLI’s volunteer crews around the coasts of the UK and Ireland in 2016. If 2015 is anything to go by, lifeboat crews will spend over 229,000 hours at sea.

Forecast predictions demonstrate the scale of the RNLI’s rescue operations. The lifesaving charity relies on the generosity of the public and the forecast urges listeners to support this year’s Mayday campaign.

These include:
· North East including Tyne, Dogger and Humber. 597 call outs. 1 rescue in force 11 violent storm conditions, 3 rescues in force 10 storms. 682 people rescued. 32 lives saved’
· ‘Republic of Ireland including Fastnet, Shannon. 829 call outs. Range of conditions, often rough. 1 launch in force 11 storm conditions. 965 people rescued and 24 lives saved’
· ‘Hunstanton to Dungeness including Dover. Often very rough seas. 1,730 launches. 1,269 people rescued. 61 lives saved’

The RNLI is close to Alice Arnold’s heart. She says: ‘The dedication of volunteer lifeboat crews around our coastlines is awe inspiring. When the pager goes off, they drop everything to go and save lives, often in treacherous conditions. I've really enjoyed reading the Mayday Forecast, highlighting the sheer number of rescues anticipated in 2016. It's been fun to do, and vitally important. I’d encourage everyone to support the RNLI this Mayday to help the charity continue their life saving work.'

This Mayday, support the RNLI’s volunteer crews to keep them saving lives. Visit RNLI.org/Mayday to donate and find out more information about how you can support Mayday.

Mayday fundraising events are taking place right across the UK and Ireland, many with a yellow welly theme. The public can also show their support on social media by using the hashtag #MaydayEveryday

You can follow the Chiswick lifeboat's work on Twitter

April 29, 2016