Current Lifeboat Crew.

Paul Williams Coxswain

  Richard Thurlow JNR 2nd Coxswain

Tommy Williams
Assistant Coxswain

Owen Nutt
Assistant Coxswain

Guy Gibson
Assistant Coxswain

Ivan Jones
Launching Authority

Alex Low
ILB Officer

Richard Miles
Engineer

Jason Delf

Lee Brown

Andrew Hewitt

Paul Garrod

Aaron Thurlow

Gisli Dan Rafalovich

Mick Nutt

John Cannell

Richard Thurlow

Thomas Garrod
(Honorary Crewmember)

George Spooner

  Allie Brown

Tommy Williams

Owen Nutt

He may be one of the youngest members of Caister lifeboat service but he will be an experienced pair of hands when the station gets the Valentijn 2000 in a few year’s time. Owen Nutt, 19, who works on Volvo car engines at a Great Yarmouth garage, will be a valuable member of the crew because the Dutch built craft runs on a Volvo engine.

Mr Nutt, an apprentice car mechanic, can’t wait for the jet-powered lifeboat to arrive once the £800,000 appeal target is reached. “She is excellent. It is one of the only boats I have seen that can go sideways! “It will be much better because it cuts so much time off the response times,” he said. Owen went to school in Caister and has been an apprentice at the Volvo garage in Southtown for four years while studying at Norwich City College. He said the engine of the Valentijn 2000 is almost exactly the same as a standard Volvo family car. The teenager lives close to the lifeboat shed with his father Michael, who is also a crew member, and mother who has been heavily involved with the fundraising effort. He started as a junior member at 16 and is now a fully-fledged member of the crew and training to be reserve tractor driver.

“I used to go there with my dad and grew up next to the lifeboat shed and joined when I was old enough,” he said. “I want to learn to be the tractor driver and work my way up the crew.” He had his first experience at sea when he was two-years-old and owns his own fishing boat. Despite having lessons to launch the lifeboat he prefers to be on the open waves. “I do enjoy driving the tractor but I would rather be on the boat,” he said.

Paul Williams

Paul lives very close to the lifeboat station with a house that overlooks the sea. Paul has owned his own fishing vessel since being a teenager and has a vast wealth of experience of the North Sea. Paul and the late coxswain Benny Read worked together as full time fishermen, on one occasion the lifeboat was forced to launch, when the nets that they were fishing became so full of herring, they were in danger of sinking.

Today because of the decline in the fishing industry Paul has returned to his original occupation of mechanic and runs his own garage in Caister village along with his son Tommy. The family involvement goes much deeper with both Paul's late father and his mother June being part of the lifeboat and fishing community. June still fund raises and on Lifeboat day runs the cake stall, with her own homebake produce. Paul's partner Bridget is a member of the Appeal Committee.

In February 2001 Paul was coxswain of the Bernard Matthews on the longest mission which was to the bulk gas carrier Kilgas Centurion which was aground on Horsey Beach, the lifeboat was at sea for 38½ hrs.

Paul is renowned for his dry humour and quiet personality.

Andrew Hewitt

Aaron Thurlow

In the latest of our profiles on members of the Caister Volunteer Lifeboat Service ADAM GRETTON talks to coxswain’s son Aaron Thurlow…

SALT water must run in the Thurlow family’s veins. They’re not content with having one clan member, Dick, as coxswain of the Caister Volunteer Lifeboat Service.For young Aaron Thurlow is part of- the crew, too — and hopes one day to take over the helm from his father.
Aaron, 18, who lives at the family home Caister, is proud to rescue people from the North Sea. And, like Dad, he has been fishing on the open waves ever since he could walk. He joined the lifeboat crew at 16 and is now a fully-fledged crew member, with two big rescues already under his belt.

His first assignment was when he was 17. when the lifeboat Bernard Matthews was called out-to assist a fisherman in the river whose craft had ran out of fuel. Since then, he has been in the crew that went to the aid of the vessels Excelsior and Zippa in gales.

“From when I was 11, Dad asked me to come down — and I just got involved from there,” he said “I hope to be coxswain and follow in his footsteps. It is very exciting when the pager goes and it is a proud feeling to go out there and rescue people.”

Aaron works for Klyne Tugs in Scotland, escorting tankers across the sea, but returns home whenever work allows to do his bit for the lifeboat. He also owns his own fishing boat. Aaron is looking forward to the day when the service’s new craft, Valentijn 2000, arrives as he says it will give the younger crew members a chance to demonstrate their capabilities. Because the Valentijn will be capable of 37 knots compared to the 16 knots of the Bernard Matthews, crew - members over 55 years old will not be able to go on rescues in her. So, with many years to go before he reaches that age, Aaron is looking forward to many more years of active life-saving duty.

Mick Nutt

RACING prams around a village and selling fried herrings to pubs are just two of the ways one of the Caister lifeboat members has been fundraising over the years.

Mick Nutt, 53, joined the Caister Volunteer Lifeboat Service in 1979 and has always been committed to raising money for the charity.
He said: “There is always fundraising to do during the year for the running costs of the lifeboat and just to put fuel in the tank.

“We have fried herring nights where some of the boys go and sell the herrings to pub customers or to chefs, and we usually make a social night of it.” Mr Nutt is one of the longest-serving crew members and has been involved in most of the major rescues.

A plumber, he said that the call-outs did not cause a problem most of the time. When he worked on the Wellington Pier as a maintenance man for Jim Davidson, the comedian used to joke that he lost half his staff when he had to go to a rescue. Mr Nutt is not the only member of his family to become involved with the CVLS. His wife, Teresa, used to be in charge of the women’s group responsible for fundraising. And his son, Owen. 19, joined the crew as a junior when he was just 16, but is now a fully-fledged member, and training to be a reserve tractor driver. Although Mr Nutt is approaching retirement he has no intention of quitting the crew. He said: “They are a nice bunch of blokes on the lifeboat. I will stay as long as they will have me.”

Paul Garrod

GETTING his friends wet and helping a disabled woman return safely to shore are two of the highlights for one crew member of Caister Lifeboat.
Paul Garrod has been a member for eight years and it all started when a friend asked if he could help out at the lifeboat shed for a day.
Paul said: “I had never been to sea and a friend who was involved said they were short handed one Sunday and I thought it would be good exercise — and then two weeks later I had a pager.”

Paul is the owner of the Furzedown Hotel, Great Yarmouth, which he took over from his parents, who ran it for 45 years.
Like all crew members, Paul is on call 24 hours a day.

He said: “One time we were out to dinner at a restaurant in Yarmouth and the pager went and I threw some money on the table and said to my wife to get a taxi home.”

Paul is also a borough councillor for Regent Ward and he feels all his jobs give something back to the community.
One of Paul’s most memorable rescues happened early in his career. He recalled: “There was a disabled woman on board a stranded yacht so we put a tow rope on it and Dick the coxswain told me to get on board. I was the only one on the yacht and I had to steer it into the harbour and I had only been on the crew a couple of years.”

But it is not all hard work for the rescuers, and to let off steam they hold a Lifeboat Day on the first Sunday in August. There are stalls at the lifeboat shed and the event usually raises about £3000. Paul said: “When everyone has gone we have a couple of beers and get the hoses out and everyone gets a soaking.”
Tomorrow Paul is fundraising for the new lifeboat at Asda in Yarmouth. There will be a stall at the supermarket all day with souvenirs on sale.

Ivan Jones

A LOVE affair with the sea took one man to Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore — and all before his 18th birthday.
Ivan Jones, the deputy coxswain of Caister lifeboat, joined the Navy when he was 15 and travelled round the world by sea for eight years.
But his interest in the waves started when he was a boy and the late Caister lifeboat mechanic Skipper Woodhouse used to take him out in a boat for pleasure trips.

When he returned from the Navy, he joined the Caister Lifeboat crew and says that he intends to carry on as long as they will have him.
Ivan has been involved in many rescues but one in particular sticks in his mind.
“We were looking for a Dutch fisherman who was lost overboard,” he said. “The sea was really rough and HMS Nottingham was amazed that we got there.” He said that although the conditions might be bad sometimes, the reason he carried on with the lifeboat was because he knew someone was out there that needed his help. Ivan is looking forward to the arrival of the new lifeboat so his grandson will be able to be a crewmember when he grows up.

Ivan. who has three children, said the fascination with Caister lifeboat seems to have skipped a generation in his family and it is his grandson Darren, who is just five years old, who cannot get enough. He laughed: “I cannot get out of the house if Darren knows I am going down to the lifeboat shed.
“He knows all the names of the crew and he will even pick up a broom and start sweeping up.”

Ivan recently passed his skipper’s course at the East Anglian sea school. It means that he now has official recognition of his skills

Gisli Rafalovich

A MAN from a distant land has joined the Caister Volunteers lifeboat crew adding an exotic flavour to the group.
Gisli Dan Rafalovich, 42, is from Iceland and was keen to take up a pastime that would put him back in touch with the sea.

He said: “In Iceland everybody lives on the coast and fishes. I used to go fish and of course did fishing work on land in Iceland.”
Gisli joined the crew six months ago and although he has not yet been involved in a rescue he is itching to have the chance to make a save.
Most new additions need extensive training but those like Gisli, who have previous sea experience, can start rescuing after only a few practice runs.
Home for Gisli has not only been Iceland but also Sweden where he lived for 11 years and trained to be a dentist before crossing over the North Sea to England. He joked: “I wanted to take a look at how you English live.”

He now works as a dentist for John G Plummer and Associates in Great Yarmouth.

Gisli also owns a 25ft sailing yacht, which is kept on the Broads, but he says the inland waterways are no match for the sea.
The latest member has settled in well with the others and enjoys relaxing with his new friends: “I think they are a good bunch of lads and there is a good social life going on.”

Gisli said he intends to continue being a crewmember for as long as he lives in the area.

Richard Thurlow JNR

CAISTER lifeboat member Richard Thurlow remembers celebrating his first rescue as a 15- year-old by tucking into a Kentucky Fried Chicken meal.
Mr Thurlow was brought up around the lifeboat station and has been helping out as far back as he can remember.
He recalled: “My first rescue took eight hours. When we got back we had a Kentucky Fried Chicken, and it was probably the best one I have ever tasted.”

Mr Thurlow, who is now 20, works in Dover, keeping boats out of designated military zones.
His father, Dick Thurlow, is the coxswain of the Caister lifeboat, and Richard believes he got his enthusiasm for the sea from his early involvement in the rescue team. He said: “I didn’t fancy working in an office from nine to five.”

The most impressive rescue Richard can remember was a 40-hour operation to free the Kilgas Centurion.
He said: “She ran aground at Sea Palling. My brother was on his tugs and he came up from the Isle of Wight to help.” Richard’s younger brother Aaron is also a crew member and younger sister Heidi has shown some interest.

Filling his father’s shoes is not an aspiration of Richard’s just yet. He said: “It is a big honour and takes a lot more knowledge than I have got.”

Jason Delf

Jason Delf is the most recent member to join the crew of the Caister Lifeboat, he and his family own the Burlington & Palm Court Hotels on the Yarmouth sea front noted for their good food and hospitality.

Jason has attended several callouts during the past few weeks, the first being to look for a missing kayak, that was spotted from Gorleston cliffs, the crew put him ashore on the Scroby Sands to search the shoreline. On another occasion Jason was among the crew who went to the aid of the Dutch dredger Arco Dyke that had dredged up a World War II practice bomb (the second time this year) The lifeboat maintained a one mile exclusion zone around the vessel until bomb disposal experts had dealt with the bomb.

Prior to joining the crew Jason raised funds for the lifeboat by declaring it his named charity in his year as the Chairman of the Great Yarmouth Round Table and last year persuaded them to donate funds to purchase practice resuscitation and First Aid equipment, which has greatly assisted all members of the crew in gaining there RYA approved first aid certification.

Jason's first experience of the the new lifeboat occurred last year, as guest of the Coxswain, at the Day of Honour event when all local lifeboats attended in recognition of the work of the Air Sea Rescue Unit based at Gorleston, which operated between 1939 to 1959, saving some 800 lives.

Jason enjoys the team spirit of being a member of the Caister crew and looks forward to continuing his charity fund raising and lifesaving work.