SHOREHAM lifeboat's long serving coxswain who is no stranger to perilous conditions at sea is due to take to the air for an altogether different adventure – a wing walk on a plane.
Peter Huxtable MBE will swap the sea for the skies when he does a biplane wing walk on Friday August 15 from Shoreham Airport, ahead of the annual Shoreham air show.
The stunt will also see Peter flying into the record books, as he will be the first ever lifeboat crew member to try the daring act of wing walking.
Peter, who has been on the volunteer crew of the RNLI lifeboat station in Brighton Road for 38 years, will be flying at speeds of up to 150mph.
The wing walk will highlight the fact that the RNLI is always on call and ready to assist when people get into difficulties at sea, for all manner of reasons. Indeed, the RNLI is synonymous with Shoreham and the airshow - in 1980, members of the lifeboat crew rescued a Red Arrow pilot whose plane clipped a yacht and ditched into the sea.
Peter said: "I am really excited about the prospect of doing the wing walk. It feels rather alien for me to be taking to the skies, since my volunteer work with the RNLI and my employment are both marine-related.
That said, as coxswain of Shoreham RNLI lifeboat, I'm hoping that my experience of all manner of perilous situations at sea means I'll be able to handle it when I'm up there."
Peter is hoping that his wing walk will raise awareness of the £1million Shoreham Lifeboat Station Appeal to build a new lifeboat station for Shoreham. The existing boathouse and station, built in 1933, is in need of replacement to cater for the latest, most advanced class of lifeboat, the Tamar.
Don Bean, Shoreham air show organiser, said: 'We have now raised over £1.25million for the Royal Air Force Association (RAFA), which is the main aim of this show, but from time to time we like to show support for other organisations.
"The Shoreham lifeboat crew is steeped in local history and we hope that by allowing Peter to do this walk it will raise awareness of the need for a new lifeboat station."
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Click here to go back to Shoreham news.Where are you? Add your pin to the Herald's international readers' map by clicking here.Email the Herald: letters@shorehamherald.co.ukThe air show itself takes place at Shoreham Airport on August 30 and 31.
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