The chance to chat to volunteer crews and learn how a busy modern RNLI station works will be available to residents and visitors on Saturday (July 31) when Minehead holds its annual Lifeboat Day and collections and events will be held around the town.

“Lifeboat Day serves to remind the local communities of the work lifeboat crews do in rescuing those in trouble at sea - and very often saving their lives, an RNLI spokesman said.

“And it acts as a useful focus for fundraising, helping to offset at least part of the cost of keeping those stations open and their boats readied to launch at a moment’s notice.”

Back in the days when the station had traditional wooden lifeboats powered by sail and oar, the boat was paraded around the town behind a team of horses with the crew sitting on board.

But with the huge growth of leisure boating and other sea or coast-based activities in the last 70 years lifeboat stations have become busier and busier: Minehead’s two fast inshore lifeboats will generally be launched to more than 40 incidents in a normal year.

And given the size of the station’s operating area - from Hinkley Point in the east to Foreland Point in the west - every second can be crucial when an emergency call is received.

And for that reason, says the RNLI’s local operations manager Dr John Higgie, the boats must remain at the station.

“I know a lot of people would enjoy seeing at least one of the boats towed around the town as was done years ago - but we simply can’t risk any delay in responding if an emergency arises,” he said.

“On the other hand the station will be open, crew members will be there and we hope people will come and see us to learn how local sea rescues are organised and find out more about the work of the RNLI.

“There are probably a lot of people who have recently moved to the area who don’t even know Minehead has a lifeboat station - even though we’ve been here since 1901.

“We’d love to see them on Lifeboat Day - and they may well discover there are opportunities for practically supporting the work of the RNLI locally perhaps by helping in the shop or joining our fundraising team.”

The Minehead station has recently launched a £250,000 fundraising appeal which has improving already rapid launch times as one of its aims.

The money represents a quarter of the amount the RNLI is spending on upgrading and modernising the station. For the first time volunteers will have a crew room large enough for training sessions, as well as proper showers and changing rooms.

The project - scheduled to start early next year - will also see the building enlarged and reconfigured so that the smaller, D class boat can be kept permanently hitched to its tractor and launched into the harbour via a new set of doors at the rear of the boat hall.

Minehead RNLI chairman Richard Newton says there will be another aspect to the project.

“We shall have proper office and admin space and that’s going to give us the ability to become a sea safety hub for the whole of the West Somerset and North Devon coastline,” he said.

“The RNLI believes that prevention is always better than intervention. If we can drive home the message about sea safety - particularly in the challenging conditions we have on this stretch of coastline - then hopefully fewer people will get into trouble and the demands on our services will reduce.

“But, of course, we shall still be here and always ready to respond when the call comes.”