117. Moonless Rescue: Robin Fitzgerald

A sailor’s boat was sinking on a pitch-black night. As RNLI volunteers searched the waters off Jersey, their only hope was a flicker of light in the distance

St Catherine’s Robin Fitzgerald was brushing his teeth when his pager went off. It was a starless, moonless night and with the sailor in the water, time was of the essence.

Duty Helm that night, Robin talks about launching to the rescue in total darkness, navigating the looming black shadow of the Ecrehous reef. The rescue was one that Robin will never forget – in part because of the moving message the crew received afterwards.

200 Voices is produced by Adventurous Audio for the RNLI   

Interview by Adventurous Audio

Soundtrack composed and performed by Jon Nicholls   

The RNLI is a charity celebrating 200 years of saving lives at sea - find out more at RNLI.org/200