I watched the lifeboat being launched down the steep slipway and across the beach (It was the Oakley class, Will and Fanny Kirby for the RNLI enthusiasts). As it punched through the waves out of North Landing, I turned to my mother and said “I want to do that. One day I will”, she smiled and bought me a t-shirt from the lifeboat station shop. I wore it everyday, bursting pride, until it fell apart.