Mayors of Gosport and Fareham show their support for local rescue service

The two Mayors from Gosport and Fareham supported their local inshore rescue service at a popular ‘Quiz at the Bay’ event at Bayside Cabin on Friday 22nd May. The Mayor of Gosport, Councillor Kirsten Bradley and the Mayor of Fareham, Councillor Tina Ellis formed part of ‘The Chain Gang’ quiz team and helped to raise £1,021 for the vital rescue service.

The quiz, hosted by Gary Parker, was in aid of the Gosport And Fareham Inshore Rescue Service (GAFIRS) - an independent service, run entirely by volunteers, that operates in the Solent. Moments before the quiz started, members of the GAFIRS quiz team received an emergency call to say that a boat had run aground so they quickly left and prepared to help.

Fortunately, the boat managed to refloat so the GAFIRS volunteers were able to return to the quiz, but it was a stark reminder of their important role in Stokes Bay, Portsmouth Harbour and the Solent. There was another important message from GAFIRS Community Director, Darren Taylor-Lane - he invited five women and two men to stand at the front of the room to illustrate findings from a study by the British Heart Foundation. The study found that women are less likely to receive bystander CPR when they need it and, following a cardiac arrest, survival rates are significantly lower for women than for men.

Darren said, “Research suggests that some bystanders feel less comfortable administering CPR to women due to misconceptions or concerns about exposing the chest during treatment. This hesitation can have devastating consequences when every second counts.

Funds raised from Friday’s quiz will enable GAFIRS to buy a QCPR training mannequin - this state-of-the-art equipment provides real-time feedback on CPR depth and speed, helping trainees develop life-saving skills with confidence through audible prompts and performance monitoring. This new equipment will play a vital role in training our young cadets and volunteers, helping to break down misconceptions and ensure that everyone, regardless of gender, receives the potentially life-saving CPR they need.

He added, “A huge thank you to Gary Parker and to everyone who came along to support us - and to Steph and Adrian Chalk and their staff at Bayside Cabin. Your support continues to make a real difference in helping GAFIRS save lives and educate the next generation of volunteers. Special thanks to the Mayors of Gosport and Fareham for their kind support. They are both Presidents of the charity.

We also had the opportunity to recognise volunteer crew member, Brian Pack for his remarkable 36 years of service and to celebrate the birthday of another crew member, Caroline Lockyer.”

Quiz host, Gary Parker said, “It’s always a pleasure supporting GAFIRS as they do an amazing job and this wouldn’t be possible without funding. Hosting the quiz close to their station and seeing the crew leaving to help to rescue a boat in the Solent makes it more real and shows how important they are to the local area.

I’m really pleased that the money we raised will help with equipment to train future volunteers and cadets. Hearing that women are less likely to receive CPR is really worrying and it’s nice to know that money from the quiz will help to save more women.

It was nice to see over 100 people on Friday – thank you to the Bayside Cabin for donating £5 per person to GAFIRS and thanks to everyone who bought raffle tickets. Congratulations to our winning team, Stokes Bay Pirates who won by just half a point - it was Nigel Maisey’s birthday too so winning the quiz was a nice birthday present for him. His team won Afternoon Tea at Bayside Cabin so they can all celebrate the win together!”

GAFIRS has seen a leap in incidents during the past week, due to the sunny weather and more people flocking to the coast. If you use a boat, remember to check your equipment and carry out maintenance before going afloat - think about the essentials and remind yourself where all the equipment is located on your boat.

Two of the most important items are a lifejacket and a method to call for help - if you can stay afloat and raise the alarm, emergency assistance is always much easier.

To find out more about GAFIRS and support them, see gafirs.org.uk or you can take part in their Lifeboat Lotto for just £2 per week, with the chance to win up to £5,000. Send an email to [email protected] or phone 0800 009 4357 for more details and you can donate via JustGiving  www.justgiving.com/charity/gafirs

Gary Parker has raised over £6,300 for GAFIRS and a total of over £50,000 for charities across the south. He hosts a quiz every Wednesday at the Sir Joseph Paxton pub, Titchfield. His next quiz to support GAFIRS is on Friday 31st July at Bayside Cabin. To book a table, please email [email protected] Book early as the quiz is very popular.