Skegness PCSO's North Sea patrol

By Amy Cobble
Skegness RNLI

Amy and her RNLI colleagues

My name is Amy Cobble, I am 24 years old and I have been a volunteer with the RNLI for two years.

I have lived in Skegness for most of my life and I have always found the lifeboats very interesting, but had never considered joining.

That was until I returned from university and got a job in a bank.

For me, it wasn't the most fulfilling job, so I thought I would seek a little more adventure. That's when I thought about joining the RNLI.

Joining up

Skegness RNLI rescue training

I went along to the station in my work suit and high heels to speak to the coxswain.

Immediately I was hooked, everything about the boats I found interesting, some of it was pretty terrifying, but I was so eager to just get stuck in.

I went home after my first visit with a book on knots and a IRPCS book (the Highway Code of the sea).

I remember the look on my father's face when I told him I was joining the RNLI, he gave me that rolled-eye look as if to say 'whatever next'. He was pretty certain the cold weather and water, getting my hair messed up and being called out in the middle of the night would put me off before long!

When I joined two years ago I knew absolutely nothing about the sea or boats, but I began to learn very quickly. The team at Skegness are very supportive and all chipped in to fill in my blanks - and there were many.

The training

The training is provided by fellow crew members and the Lifeboat College in Poole. It really is second to none, and I am very grateful for that.

Amy Cobble works as a PCSO

The training, along with trust in my crewmates and excellent equipment gave me the confidence to do the job. The things I am able to do now quite happily would have been impossible to even comprehend two years ago.

People ask why I give up so much time to a job that doesn't even pay you, and my response is always 'It does pay me very well, just in a different way,' and that is why I volunteer for the RNLI.

Rewarding role

You can't put a price on the look of a child that has drifted off in a dinghy, when you are getting close, or the people that are waving at you and taking photos as you recover the boat on the beach and are on the way back to the boathouse, the pride and interest they show I find very rewarding.

Memorable job

It was a female in difficulty in the water. She'd consumed some alcohol and decided she'd had enough, but I think the cold water had sobered her up quickly and she needed some help, and fast.

People always give me strange looks when I'm running along the seafront in full uniform trying to take bits off on my way to a lifeboat shout. Amy Cobble

We launched the lifeboat and located her very quickly, she was barely able to keep her head above the water and in obvious need of medical assistance. We gave her basic first aid and oxygen and took her to the shore to a waiting ambulance.

I remember this job because it really was a matter of life and death, a couple more minutes and the story would most likely have had a different outcome. On that occasion we had made a difference and that is why we are here.

Life outside

For my regular job I work for the Police as a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO), and have a great time. People always give me strange looks when I'm running along the seafront in full uniform trying to take bits off on my way to a lifeboat shout.

Amy skydiving with the Red Devils

I live in Skegness with my partner who is a helmsman for the RNLI. My family live close by, my parents can't actually believe that I am a volunteer with the RNLI, and my 'super cool' sister who is 21, is absolutely horrified at the sight of an ill fitting dry suit on a girl! I also have a younger twin brother and sister who think the lifeboats are pretty cool.

Myself and some others from the lifeboat station did a skydive with the Red Devils last summer to raise money for the RNLI. I've also completed the Boston to Skegness Marathon to raise funds for the charity.