Burnham Area Rescue Boat

BARB Search & Rescue (based in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, formed in 1992 as Burnham Area Rescue Boat) is a voluntary independent search and rescue service that operates two rescue hovercraft and two inshore rescue boat in the Bridgwater Bay area. It is also a registered charity.

Burnham Area Rescue Boat
Spirit of Lelania
Burnham-on-Sea
General information
TypeMarine Rescue Center
LocationThe Esplanade, TA8 1BB
CountryUnited Kingdom
Coordinates51.2331°N 2.9999°W / 51.2331; -2.9999
Opened1994
OwnerBARB Search & Rescue

It mainly operates BBV hovercraft, which have been used to rescue people, animals and vehicles from the mudflats of the Bristol Channel,[1] but also has two small inshore rescue boat. The construction of its boathouse on the seafront in 1994 was the subject of a television programme and took just three days.

History
Mud danger signs on Bridgwater Bay near the mouth of the River Parrett are necessary because fast, high-amplitude tides here have led to drownings on the extensive mud flats.

Burnham-on-Sea is on the shore of the Bristol Channel and has a long sandy beach, but nearby mudflats and sandbanks have claimed several lives over the years. At low tide, large parts of the area become mudflats up to 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) wide due to the tidal range of 15 metres (49 ft),[2] second only to the Bay of Fundy in Eastern Canada.[3][4]

A lifeboat had been provided in the town from 1836, but this was withdrawn in 1930 leaving coverage for the area to the Weston-super-Mare lifeboat.[5]

A charity appeal was established in 1992, by members of the local sailing community, to equip the town with its own inshore rescue boat. In June 1994, the boathouse was built in the space of three days by Anneka Rice and a team of builders for the BBC TV series Challenge Anneka.[6]

The site and technical support was provided by Sedgemoor District Council.[7]

In June 2002, a five-year-old holidaymaker, Lelaina Hall, was drowned on the mudflats at Berrow, north of the town.[8][9][10]

A new appeal was launched in association with the Association of Search and Rescue Hovercraft (since renamed Hovercraft Search and Rescue UK) and with the backing of the Western Daily Press.[11] This raised £115,000 to buy a rescue hovercraft, which could operate on mud and in shallow water that was unapproachable for the inshore rescue boat.[1] It arrived on 22 March 2003,[12] and during its first year of operation up to 50 people were rescued.[13]

BARB asked the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to take over inshore rescue boat work on the coast, which it did on 23 December 2003. The RNLI operates a B-class (Atlantic 75) Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) and a D-class (IB1) inflatable boat from Burnham-on-Sea Lifeboat Station which is a short distance from the BARB boathouse and complements their hovercraft.[14]

Boathouse
The BARB boathouse

The BARB headquarters, The Marine Rescue Center is a single-storey block building that matches the adjacent tourist information centre BIARS (Burnham Information And Rescue Support) and public conveniences. The boathouse is at the north end and the Coastguard have facilities at the other end of the building.

Fleet

Inshore rescue boat

The two inshore rescue boats are Arancia inflatable boats, that can operate in calm inland waters to assist Police with searches for missing persons, usually alongside Avon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. They are also used to help wildlife charities such as Secret World in small wildlife rescues. Their main role is use by BARB Search & rescue's Swift Water Team as part of Surf Life Saving GB.

Spirit of Lelania

The Spirit of Lelania is a six-seat BBV-6 hovercraft designed by Bill Baker Vehicles and built by Ivanoff Hovercraft AB, in Sweden in 2003.[11]

It is 5.25 metres (17 ft 3 in) long and 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) wide. Initially powered by a 110 hp (82 kW) engine, it has a cruising speed of 20 knots (37 km/h) over water.[15]

In November 2010, the engine was replaced with a new 135 hp (101 kW) unit from a MG TF sports car, donated by the manufacturer MG Motor.[16][17]

Light of Elizabeth

The Light Of Elizabeth is a four-seat BBV craft intended for training and to reach sites on the River Parrett where the larger hovercraft cannot operate. It entered service in August 2006.[18][19]

A new larger Italian-designed hovercraft replaced Light Of Elizabeth in 2013. It was funded by donations from local individuals and groups[20] and is made of kevlar rather than fibreglass to make it more resilient.

See also

References
  1. Jamieson, Alastair (18 April 2009). "Massive rescue operation to save herd of cows trapped in mud". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  2. "Severn Estuary Barrage". UK Environment Agency. 31 May 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 3 September 2007.
  3. Chan, Marjorie A.; Archer, Allen William (2003). Extreme Depositional Environments: Mega End Members in Geologic Time. Boulder, Colorado: Geological Society of America. p. 151. ISBN 0-8137-2370-1.
  4. "Coast: Bristol Channel". BBC. Retrieved 27 August 2007.
  5. Denton, Tony (2009). Handbook 2009. Shrewsbury: Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 60.
  6. "Challenge Anneka and Anneka Rice to the rescue!". burnham-on-sea.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  7. "Safety at Sea". Burnham on Sea and Highbridge Town Council. Archived from the original on 6 February 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  8. Alleyne, Richard; Martin, Nicole (25 June 2002). "Rescuers tell of desperate fight to save mud flats girl". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  9. "'Sad, tragic' case of girl's drowning". BBC News. 24 October 2002. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  10. "Earl of Wessex to unveil Lelaina plaque at BARB". This is Somerset. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  11. "Such a Perfect Day as Thousands Pay Tribute to Lelaina and Celebrate Her Enduring Spirit" (PDF). Hovercraft Bulletin. Hovercraft Museum. Winter 2002/3 (49): 9. ISSN 0144-3755. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  12. "Spirit of Lelaina lives on". BBC News. 22 March 2003. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  13. "BARB". BARB. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  14. "Burnham-on-Sea History". RNLI. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  15. "BBV-6". Ivanoff Hovercraft AB. Archived from the original on 11 August 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  16. "Rescue Hovercraft Fitted with New MG Engine". MG Motor. 29 November 2010.
  17. "New engine gives old hovercraft new lease of life". Mid Somerset Series. 16 August 2010. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  18. "Second Hovercraft". BARB. 23 August 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  19. "Second Hovercraft". BARB. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  20. "New hovercraft for Burnham-on-Sea rescue charity". BBC. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
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