On a sharp, bracing morning by the harbour, four volunteers gather by the lifeboat shed: Suzanne, Caroline, Chelsea and Abbie. Their laughter mixes with the clank of gear as they ready equipment and check lists — a small ritual that, in the run-up to iwd 2026, has become a way to show the community what their volunteer shifts mean beyond routine maintenance.
Iwd 2026: A local scene that reflects a wider shift
The four women volunteer as crew at Stonehaven RNLI and come from different backgrounds — environmental consultancy, administration and healthcare — each bringing distinct skills to shore and boat roles. Suzanne has been part of the shore crew for a number of years and, after completing shore crew competency training, moved on to take additional responsibilities.
Suzanne passed the tractor driver competencies and became the station’s first female tractor driver and the first in Scotland to pass out on the RNLI new competency framework. She has since progressed to train and pass out as a Launch Authority for the station. “I love the seas, ” Suzanne said. “Volunteering with the RNLI just made sense, as it combined this with helping people and giving something back to the community. It’s also given me the opportunity to learn new skills. It’s great being part of the crew, and we all work well as a team when called out on a tasking. “
Learning on the beach and at sea: roles, training and progression
Caroline joined after responding to a social media advert for a volunteer administrator and, having often seen the crew on the water, was encouraged by her involvement at station meetings to train operationally. After completing shore crew training, she continued to boat crew training, passing out as Tier 1 crew and working toward Tier 2 competencies. “Joining the RNLI and being part of the crew has been one of the most rewarding experiences, ” Caroline said. “Having started out with no maritime experience, the RNLI has equipped me with the training, skills and confidence to succeed within my role. Knowing that I can help make a difference in someone’s time of need makes it truly worthwhile. “
Caroline was selected to attend the Women in SAR Training Week at the RNLI’s facilities in Poole, a week that allowed her to meet women in various operational roles and to train alongside them. The station’s approach shows how shore and boat crew pathways can start from different points — administration or community-facing roles — and lead to operational responsibilities through progressive training and encouragement from colleagues.
New recruits, continuity and community response
Relative newcomers Chelsea and Abbie responded to a volunteer crew recruitment drive by Stonehaven RNLI in spring 2025 and have since begun their journeys with the station. Their arrival underscores how local recruitment efforts replenish volunteer ranks and introduce new energy into routines of maintenance, drills and callouts.
The quartet’s mix of experience — a long-standing shore crew member turned Launch Authority, an administrator-turned-boat-crew, and two recent recruits — highlights how stations rely on layered skill sets. Training, from shore competencies to tractor driving and launch authority, forms the backbone of operational readiness and volunteer retention at the station.
As the lifeboat service marks International Women’s Day, the voices at Stonehaven offer a grounded portrait of volunteer life: months of training, moments of intense teamwork on taskings, and quieter rewards of belonging and local service. For these women, the work is practical, communal and quietly transformative — both for individual volunteers and the community they serve.
Back in the harbour, with gear stowed and the tide shifting, Suzanne checks the tractor while Caroline reviews a training log. Chelsea and Abbie swap notes about upcoming drills. The scene feels ordinary and, in its ordinariness, essential: volunteers preparing for the next call, each step of their training and teamwork another small safeguard for people at sea as iwd 2026 draws attention to their stories.
