Volunteering For The Sea

“It's been something I've been interested in all my life,” Abbi explains as we sit down to talk about what first sparked her interest in joining the RNLI, “having grown up by the sea in Jersey, I love everything to do with the ocean.” At 16 she became one of the youngest women in the UK to earn a beach lifeguarding qualification, and in the process discovered that she could combine her passion for helping people with her love of being around the ocean.

“You’re helping someone every time that pager goes off,” she smiles, and then jokingly adds, “plus I've got an absolute addiction to adrenaline… Racing around on fast boats in rough seas is utterly exhilarating, and for an adrenaline seeker it fuels my addiction regularly. It’s not just about the boats though, it’s about helping people and being a part of the community which is incredibly important to me."

For Vix the reality of the dangers posed by the sea are all too familiar. A St Agnes local for 20 years, and one of the longest serving members of the team at our Wheal Kitty HQ, her own motivation to join the volunteer crew was born out of a narrowly avoided personal tragedy. “My husband was in a surfing accident back in 2020, and he very nearly died.” she says, explaining how he was seen lying unconscious in the water and rescued by 6 local surfers, aided by a helicopter and both on- and off-duty members of the RNLI. “They advertised for crew just after that!” she laughs.

After their ordeal, and having been involved with the surf lifesaving club through her kids, who were now older and growing out of such things, the timing felt right. For most, such a commitment might seem unmanageable when balancing work, life and family. For Vix though, this wasn’t an issue as she remarks, “When I applied, it didn't actually occur to me to ask work if it was alright...”

Whilst this might seem a bit of an obvious oversight, it can be in large part attributed to the attitude and passion of our Founder, Tom Kay – himself an RNLI volunteer and Helmsman for many years at the St Agnes Lifeboats station.

“We used to sit in meetings and suddenly see him rushing down to the Lifeboat station.” recalls Abbi, “His passion definitely inspired me to believe I could do this, and I think it’s really cool you can be working at a company like this, and still stop everything and go when somebody else needs you more.”

“It's easy to take it for granted,” echoes Vix, “but it's a really nice thing to be able to do. I've used my volunteering days this year to do extra training, and got to go to the Poole training centre at RNLI HQ.”

Whilst the RNLI is a cause close to the hearts of many of our coastal staff, volunteering opportunities are available across the business, from tree-planting initiatives to helping support young people’s mental health through the Wave Project. The ethos, though, remains the same. One of giving back to our communities – lending a helping hand where possible, and where needed.

“It’s such a big commitment, but I can’t imagine not doing it now,” Abbi says, citing the fulfilment it brings knowing that she can help people whilst working a job she’s passionate about. “At the end of the day, when the pager goes off, you drop everything. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Birthday, Christmas Day, whatever. You just go.”

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Finisterre has partnered with the RNLI since 2017 and 10% of every sale from our RNLI collections goes to support their vital work. In 2024 we gave £13,725 to the RNLI, bringing us to a total of £107,210 to date.