So far this year the organisation has responded to 18 call-outs across both lifeboat stations, whereas there were 16 call-outs during the whole of 2020.
RNLI Jersey press officer Helier de Veulle said that more Islanders would probably take to the water in the coming weeks as the weather improved.
He said: ‘It is looking to be busier than it was last year, as 2020 was particularly quiet – partially due to the lockdown. There has also been a lot of positive awareness of the dangers and risks within the local waters.
‘We would expect to see the number of incidents increase next month,’ he said, explaining that information on how to stay safe in the Island’s waters was available on both the RNLI Jersey and Coastguard websites. ‘If you are out on a boat you need to let someone know what you are doing and where you are going in case something does go wrong, so that there is a person ashore who can raise the alarm.’
He explained that crew members had successfully adapted to operating
within the pandemic,
but that there had been ‘some pressures’.
‘It has changed [operations] to a degree, although we have had Covid protocols in place since the first lockdown.
‘This particular wave has presented crewing challenges, as some crew have had to isolate or have been contact-traced,’ he said.
He added: ‘At St Catherine’s, we operate on a rota with relatively little margin for error, fortunately we have a very good volunteer pool in Jersey and have protocols in place to help manage it.’
Like many charities, Mr de Veulle said the RNLI Jersey had been ‘massively impacted’ in terms of its ability to fundraise effectively throughout the past 16 months.
‘There has been some immense goodwill locally to ensure that we keep operating, and we can only thank those that have generously dipped into their pockets to support us and others,’ he said.
