As well as the thousands of photographs, videos and stories I’ve regularly shared on my social media channels over the years, did you know that I’ve also been making audio recordings since the early days of the project?
The interviews and ambient sounds add a rich, often emotional dimension to the story of the RNLI lifeboat volunteers around our shores.
In the fullness of time, the recordings will be publicly available in all kinds of ways. You can listen to a handful of them below but I publish many more in the Members’ Area of The LSP Society from just £1 per month .
Scroll down to hear some sounds…
FEATURED PREVIEWS
5 minutes previews of recordings in the Members’ Area
CUPPA WITH A COXSWAIN: TONY COWELL, FLEETWOOD RNLI
Recorded 9th April 2022 / Published 15th December 2022
“If you send that mayday out, you know there’s only one ship that’s going to come and save you. While others are turning back, they’ll be coming out.” ~ Tony Cowell’s grandfather on the RNLI
9th April 2022: A chat with Tony Cowell, former Fleetwood RNLI Coxswain and current volunteer crew member. Tony talks me through the maritime history of the area including the formation of the lifeboat station. Also, his continuation of long traditions not only on the Fleetwood lifeboat but also the Wyre Estuary Ferry.
Listen to the full conversation in the Members’ Area:
FROM HOT BATH TO HOVERCRAFT
The Dover Lifeboat Coxswain’s Account of the 1985 Hovercraft Disaster
Recorded 1st October 2018 / Published 22nd July 2021
1st October 2018: Tony Hawkins talking to me about a very unusual call for the Dover lifeboat — the rescue of passengers from the Princess Margaret SRN4 Cross Channel hovercraft following a fatal collision with the harbour wall on 30th March 1985.
Read more in the members-only blog post From Hot Bath to Hovercraft .
These are 5 minute previews from longer recordings.
Full membership to The LSP Society starts from just £1 per month:
SOUNDS FROM THE COAST A few minutes of coastal escapism
SLIPWAY SOUNDS: HIGH TIDE AT BARROW LIFEBOAT STATION
Recorded 13th April 2022 / Published 4th December 2022
13th April 2022: Before leaving Barrow, my final station on Mission 21, I recorded the gentle high tide sounds of Barrow’s slipway and made them into this soundscape for you.
Read more in this public blog post
SONIC PORTRAIT OF A LIFEBOAT FENDER No. 2
Recorded June 2016 / Published February 2021
Kirkwall (on Mainland Orkney) was one of the first places where I really noticed the squeaking and creaking of a lifeboat’s fender.
Once again, I couldn’t resist putting my microphone right next to it resulting in a sonic experience that perhaps sounds more akin to rubbing an inflated balloon, listening to one side of an imaginary conversation or something else altogether!
STEP ABOARD THE TYNEMOUTH LIFEBOAT Recorded February 2018 / Published April 2020
Step aboard the mighty Tynemouth RNLI Severn class lifeboat with the mechanic while he fires her up to work on the two 1600hp MTU engines — high quality headphones or speakers recommended!
This episode — the first in a new series of mini soundscapes — is free to listen to here.
Subsequent episodes will accompany my extra podcasts, films and posts in the Members’ Area:
MAKING THE ILFRACOMBE CREW PHOTOGRAPH Recorded June 2015 / Published May 2020
Moments buried on my hard drives for 5 years, until now…
A fly-on-the-wall soundscape in Ilfracombe on a hot summer’s day in 2015, a day we made a photograph that was to become one of the project’s cornerstones.
You’ll hear the logistical conversations, the ensuing lifeboat manoeuvres, the banter…even an insight into the moments I briefed the crew before the crucial exposure of the glass plate — the latter is an aspect of the project that I’ve never published before.
And that’s not all…
…I’ve also published a bonus few minutes behind the scenes in Neena between making the first and second plates at Ilfracombe — the very moments I prepared the piece of glass that subsequently carried such an important photograph for the project.
Full recording available in the Members’ Area
SONIC PORTRAIT OF A LIFEBOAT FENDER No. 1
Recorded March 2020 / Published May 2020
While working in Plymouth, the 149th lifeboat station on my journey and the penultimate before the COVID-19 lockdown, the squeaking and creaking of the lifeboat’s fenders formed a permanent aural backdrop.
Before leaving, I couldn’t resist putting my microphones right next to one of the fenders to make this recording. I held one mic and naval historian Iain Ballantyne held the other!
I then used this clip to close the recent podcast featuring a conversation with Plymouth Coxswain, Dave Milford (see previews below).
The fender recording stirred a lot of interest in its own right, so I’ve made this standalone clip for you all to enjoy.
POSTCARDS FROM THE COAST A deeper conversation about lifeboat life
“NOBODY MAKES AN APPOINTMENT FOR US”
Recorded June 2016 / Published February 2021
“I was about three months old and the first introduction I had to the lifeboat was being carried in my father’s boiler suit… ” — Dupre Strutt, Kirkwall RNLI Station Mechanic
This is very much a recording of two parts. The first takes us to the 18 minute mark when I thank Dupre because I think the conversation has reached a natural conclusion.
However, he became a little more relaxed after that point so we kept the tape rolling and learned even more.
You’ll hear Dupre rewind the clock to the very beginning. By the end, I can’t help but feel that we’ve really learned so much about what it takes to live and breathe the lifeboat life.
You’ll also hear the moments in which the importance of the lifeboat mechanic’s role became galvanised for me, the point from which I decided to include them in the project
Full recording available in the Members’ Area
“THAT’S THE UNIT, THAT’S WHAT NOBODY ELSE SEES”
Recorded / Published March 2020
“That’s the unit, that’s what nobody else sees…and I absolutely love that.” — Dave Milford, Plymouth RNLI Coxswain
Jack Lowe speaks to the legendary Dave Milford about his career aboard the Plymouth lifeboat ahead of his imminent retirement. The podcast also features additional conversation with naval historian Iain Ballantyne, some indulgent ambient sounds and Jack’s characteristic Easter Egg at the end.
Full recording available in the Members’ Area
“WE MAY NOT COME BACK FROM THIS ONE” Recorded / Published September 2019
“Is anybody else coming in that could relieve me of this fate?” — Mark Mitchell, Portrush RNLI
Mark Mitchell, Portrush RNLI Deputy Coxswain, was on board the lifeboat at the time this iconic photograph was captured by Iain Watson.
30 years on, I spoke to Mark about what it felt like to go to sea in those horrendous conditions.
Full recording available in the Members’ Area
“RIGHT, CONNIE, MAKE SOME NOISE!” Recorded and first published March 2019
Remastered in February 2023
“Beautiful isn’t it? How would you get better than that? The little growl on her. Lovely.” — Brendan Copeland , Wicklow Lifeboat Mechanic
A moment in maritime history: 30 years after Annie Blaker entered service with the RNLI, it’s time for her to make way for a new chapter of lifesaving at Wicklow. The last of her kind in active service, she still purrs and rumbles as beautifully as ever.
Listen to the extraordinary sound of this Tyne class lifeboat’s Detroit engines…high quality headphones recommended!
Recording remastered in 2023 and now available in this public blog post:
“WE CAN’T ALWAYS BE GOD” Recorded / Published March 2019
“There was nothing I could do that night any different to what I did. We had a success story and, unfortunately, somebody did get killed. It happens in what we do. We can’t always be God.” — Ian Sheridan, Howth RNLI Station Mechanic, in conversation with Jack aboard the station’s Trent class lifeboat.
An intimate, heart-wrenching first hand account of an extraordinary rescue in conditions that were too severe to use the lifeboat.
Full recording available in the Members’ Area
Find out all the ways you can support The Lifeboat Station Project here:
LISTEN FREE Meet Wing Munro June 2016
“There was never any occasion when a lifeboat never launched out of Scrabster, be it tide or weather or nothin’ else. ” — Wing Munro, Retired Thurso Lifeboat Coxswain
First published on World Radio Day 2018: Jack Lowe — creator of The Lifeboat Station Project — invites you to meet Wing Munro, legendary Coxswain of the Thurso RNLI lifeboat, the most northerly lifeboat station on mainland Britain. Jack’s conversation with Wing was made on 8th June 2016. Wing retired from the RNLI the following year in October 2017.
This podcast is a tribute to Wing Munro’s distinguished and decorated career as a lifeboatman that spanned nearly half a century. Enjoy the pearls of wisdom and wealth of experience that Wing shares with Jack, as well as an introduction made aboard the imperious Tynemouth Severn Class lifeboat on 7th February 2018.
TECHNICAL NOTES:
For those who would like to know, the main interview with Wing was recorded in June 2016 using a Tascam DR-40 and Røde NTG-2 microphone.
The intro and outro were recorded in February 2018 with the kit that I’m now using — a DPA 4017c microphone plugged into my iPhone 7 Plus using the DPA d:vice MM-A digital audio interface. The mic was housed inside ‘The Windkiller XL’ by Bubblebee Industries.
Recorded on the iPhone using Hindenburg and edited on a MacBook Pro using Hindenburg Journalist.
From Tramore to Helvick Head
September 2017
The Lifeboat Station Project arrives in Tramore (County Waterford, Ireland) with a warm welcome from Fergal and Nóirín. They’re husband and wife, dedicated teachers and lifeboat volunteers. I can’t thank Fergal and Nóirín enough for hosting me so diligently and thoughtfully! You’ll hear us go on a little tour of the area, including a brief station visit to meet Lifeboat Operations Manager Derek Musgrave. Then to the locally famous Guillamene swimming cove where we bump into larger-than-life Frank Nolan, the lifeboat station’s President. After that, a little insight into life inside Neena (my mobile darkroom), rounding off with a musical treat from Power’s Bar in Dunmore East…
The Lifeboat Station Project arrives in Ireland
September 2017
The very first podcast by photographer Jack Lowe as he takes the Project to Ireland for the first time. Snippets of sound from the ferry crossing including a chat with Catherine Lee (P&O representative and lifeboat volunteer), a brief stop at Larne RNLI Lifeboat Station to meet Phil and Derek before heading south, scrabbling for change at a toll booth and a surprise encounter on the dark, rainy streets of Dunmore East…