Coastal hero
Sussex Life|February 2020
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
Coastal hero

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.”

Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Sussex Life.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra February 2020-utgaven av Sussex Life.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA SUSSEX LIFESe alt
TAKE YOUR TIME
Sussex Life

TAKE YOUR TIME

Dean Edwards’ new cookbook features delectable recipes that you can slow cook or stick in the oven. Here’s a selection of the best

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2020
Decorative art
Sussex Life

Decorative art

Not simply functional, treat your walls like an extension of your personality

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2020
ON THE FRONT FOOT
Sussex Life

ON THE FRONT FOOT

The rugby legend took the reins at Sussex County Cricket Club in 2017, rekindling his love for a sport that first won his heart on the village cricket fields of North Yorkshire

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2020
NAKED AMBITION
Sussex Life

NAKED AMBITION

In the 1980s, Christine and Jennifer Binnie partied with Boy George and Marilyn and bared all as performance art collective The Neo-Naturists. Now they are working together to gain the recognition they feel they deserve

time-read
5 mins  |
November 2020
ROCKET MAN
Sussex Life

ROCKET MAN

Astronaut Tim Peake has come a long way since growing up in Westbourne and attending Chichester High School for Boys: 248 miles above Earth, to be precise. But, he says, life on the International Space Station has a lot in common with family caravanning holidays

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2020
Revolution man
Sussex Life

Revolution man

Lewes’ most famous resident Thomas Paine may be the greatest propagandist who ever lived. But how did a humble customs and excise officer ignite the touchpaper for revolution in not one but two countries?

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2020
THE DIARY
Sussex Life

THE DIARY

17 exciting things to do this month in East and West Sussex

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2020
All in a day's work
Sussex Life

All in a day's work

Meet Tim Dummer, who has helped keep Midhurst’s Cowdray Estate shipshape for an impressive five decades

time-read
3 mins  |
November 2020
My favourite Sussex
Sussex Life

My favourite Sussex

Bruce Fogle is an author and a vet with a practice in London who has lived in West Sussex with his wife, the actress Julia Foster, since 1989. He recently became president of RSPCA Mount Noddy near Chichester

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2020
10 OF THE BEST Meat-free restaurants in Brighton and Hove
Sussex Life

10 OF THE BEST Meat-free restaurants in Brighton and Hove

Brighton is often rated one of the most vegan-friendly cities in the UK. What these restaurants prove is that plant-based food doesn’t have to be puritanical – at all of these places you’ll find big flavours and a desire to push the envelope

time-read
4 mins  |
November 2020