Coastal hero

RNLI helm Daniel Gurr’s childhood trip to Brighton Lifeboat Station led to a life of volunteering on the seas and a modern-day love story, finds Simone Hellyer

- Simone Hellyer

As residents of a coastal county, we in Sussex are well aware of the invaluable work that the RNLI does to protect our shores and the people who use them. What’s even more impressive is that the service is totally voluntary, meaning that the men and women who risk their lives and give up social lives do so with no expectation of reward.

It was a family friend who first inspired Daniel Gurr, a helm at Brighton Lifeboat Station, to volunteer after taking him to visit the station as a 12-year-old. “He took me down there one Tuesday evening and let me start the engine and meet the crew. As soon as I left, I thought: ‘Whoa, I like this!’ It was probably only a 15-minute visit, but it didn’t leave my mind for the next five years,” Daniel explains, adding: “I was straight through the door as soon as I turned 18 in 2008. It’s been 12 years now, and seven as a helm. You join as crew first and work your way up the ladder like most places, gaining in experience as you go.”