A message from the Chair, Cllr Edgar

The Solent Sea Rescue Organisation (SSRO) was formed in 1977 to preserve or assist in the preservation of life, and prevention of injury at sea, on the foreshore of The Solent and on the beaches of the Counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The members of the 8 SSRO Operational units give freely of their time and expertise. In addition to providing an essential life saving service, they are also required to attend training courses to maintain high standards of seamanship and to comply with stringent Health & Safety requirements. Each unit also needs to invest much time and effort in raising funds to maintain their boats and equipment.

The SSRO units are able to continue to give a highly professional service by hard work and good housekeeping. It is a fact that the SSRO units attend almost twice the number of rescues than RNLI units on our Local waters. Attached are some figures to reflect the work of the SSRO units.

The following is an extract from a letter from HM Coastguard:

‘I would be much obliged if you can pass on my sincere appreciation for the top class support gratefully received from each and every SSRO Unit over the course of 2009. It's fair to say we have all been under pressure for one reason or another but there has been one constant, in that the SSRO have never fallen short of providing a reliable, professional and essential service to HM Coastguard. The partnership we have is highly respected. I will be looking forward to working alongside the SSRO and catching up with many of the characters at each Unit during 2010.’

The Southampton Coroner had previously congratulated the Local Authorities and the units for setting and maintaining the highest standards for the Solent Sea Rescue Organisation.

A number of units have a programme of educational visits from and to schools, and this involvement seems to be growing with the Government’s Learning outside of the Class Room Programme.

There is no doubt our independent lifeboat units give a massive amount to our communities in financing and provide an efficient and respected safety service on our local waters and beaches. Yet they only ask us to monitor and sustain the highest standards and for us to provide a small fraction of the finance needed.

It is absolutely vital that we continue to give the very necessary support they need from Local Authorities for the foreseeable future.

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