12 February 2025

‘Batman’ comes to lifeboat charity’s rescue

Fundraising stalwart Gary Bennett of Hull, aka “Batman”, has visited Hornsea Inshore Rescue to present the lifeboat charity with money raised during this year’s New Year’s Day “Hosedown”.

For the past four years, Gary, a former deep-sea trawlerman who says he does not feel the cold, has entered the cold North Sea on January 1 in full Batman outfit accompanied by family friend Carol Johnson as Catwoman.

In previous years, they have dressed as Minions and American cheerleaders, and Gary once entered the sea in his full referee’s outfit. In every case, shoreline support was provided by Gary’s wife, Val.

Gary not only handed over a cheque for £461 but also donated two framed photographs of him entering the sea in full Batman guise.

The 2024 event marked the final year Gary will be doing the New Year Swim – which was forced to become a “Hosedown” because of sewage overflows – but he said he would continue to fundraise as before.

When asked why he chose to give such dedicated support to Hornsea Inshore Rescue, Gary said: “This is the bravest set of men and women I have ever come across, and they deserve all the support and praise they can get.”

Meanwhile, on Saturday, January 25, a full house of around 50 people attended Hornsea Inshore Rescue to see Ice Warrior Andy Butler’s presentation on cold-water swimming.

Andy is a member of the Ice Warriors cold-water swimming group and has been an open-water swimming coach for seven years.

He had previously competed in triathlons but found the swimming element much more enjoyable and so took up cold-water swimming. As would be expected, Andy has taken part in eight Hornsea Inshore Rescue New Year Swims and regularly swims at Hornsea throughout the year.

Before a very attentive audience, Andy covered all aspects of safety, including equipment, changing robes, tow floats, wetsuit types, and the recommendations to be followed when swimming in the sea, rivers, and lakes, as well as the hidden dangers around waterfalls.

Understanding and using tides was highlighted, as well as details of how to avoid or cope with hypothermia and aftershock.

The presentation was interspersed with lots of anecdotes and stories that held the audience’s attention and provided some humour among the seriousness of the subject.

An item highly relevant to people bathing at Hornsea was how to avoid the rip tides, which are regularly found alongside the groynes and could take people far out to sea.

Andy was thanked by a round of applause from a very appreciative audience, and because of the high level of interest, he will be repeating his presentation at Hornsea Inshore Rescue later this spring.

Hornsea Inshore Rescue is on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is a totally independent organisation run entirely by volunteers and receives no government nor RNLI funding. It is not part of the RNLI.

Visitors and volunteers are always welcome, whether they would like to serve as crew, fundraisers, or general helpers. Anyone interested is welcome to phone Sue on 07796 257989 or Ian on 01964 534302.