Crosshaven Lifeboat carries on 200 year-old tradition

Crosshaven Lifeboat Station will be firing two maroons from this weekend each time the lifeboat launches on service. Maroons, which are similar to flares, go up to one thousand feet and explode with a loud bang. Before telephones and modern paging systems, maroons were the only way to call out the crew in the past. The RNLI continues to use them nowadays to signal to the casualty that the lifeboat is on its way. It also alerts crews’ families, lifeboat supporters and water users that the lifeboat has launched and is heading to sea. Many survivors, their grip on life fading, have said "When we heard the maroons we held on, knowing help was on the way". The maroons are fired from a fixed launcher in the station following strict procedures and training. They will only be used between 0800 and 2100 during the winter, and up to 2200 in the summer. They may also be used to call out the crew in the event of the main pager system failing. So far this year, Crosshaven Lifeboat have launched on service 32 times - the busiest year since the station was founded. For more information or to keep up to date with the latest news visit www.crosshavenlifeboat.org.