Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2012 | Page 72

ON THE WATER

Cowes RNLI lifeboat (left) meets up at the Needles with sister
vessel from Yarmouth RNLI

the boat had a quarter of a tonne
of cocaine on board, worth about
£40million in those days. But the
whole point of it was to seize the cash,
and the British end of the operation
resulted in the seizure of £600million
from bank accounts around the world.
At the time that was the biggest ever
drugs operation in this country.”
Then in 2000 Mark was part of the
team that seized nearly half a tonne
of cocaine on a beach at Orchard
Bay near Ventnor. He continued: “It
was really crime thriller stuff, with
people running up and down coastal
paths carrying drugs. But the people
involved were so clever they were
not stupid enough to have knives or
firearms, because that would have
taken it to another level.
“It was also very rare that we actually
arrested a ‘Mr. Big’ on the day after
three months of surveillance. I was
told in July that it would happen in
October, and it did. So as far as a
Customs career is concerned it doesn’t
get much better than that, particularly
in the uniform branch.”
Mark was one of four Customs
Officers on the Island at that time,
and he subsequently became the last
one when he retired in April 2005. He
quit partly due to a back complaint
picked up through hours of being out
on RIBS and launches, but it was at
the same time the Government pulled
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the plug on the Island operation.
Mark’s career began as a VAT
inspector for Customs, and by the time
he called it a day he had completed
nearly 31 years of service. He smiled:
“I got into it almost by mistake. I had
a Saturday job in Mac Fisheries when
I was at school, and at the time VAT
had just been invented. I was thinking
of joining the Navy, so only expected
to be working as a Customs Officer
dealing with VAT for a few months.
But after two years I was still there,
and that was when I transferred to the
uniform section.”
Through getting to know some of
the crew members Mark eventually
became involved with Cowes RNLI in
July, 2008. He initially became deputy
operations manager before taking over
the main role a year later.
Perhaps surprisingly, Cowes RNLI
does not have as many volunteer crew
members as they would like, and are
always on the look-out for more. Their
numbers currently stand at around
18, and the RNLI believe the figure
should be nearer 30, with women
as well as men welcome to train to
become a member. Volunteers have to
be between 17 and 50 for boat crew
(recruitment ending at about 42-43),
and up to 65 for shore crew.
Mark was among those who
spearheaded the £1million appeal for
the old Custom House to become their

new HQ. Cowes RNLI are currently
based at Shepards Wharf Marina, but
speed restrictions in the harbour mean
vital minutes are lost when going out
to an emergency in the Solent and
beyond.
“The Custom House has been on
that site for 300 years, so it is nice that
it will continue to be part of Cowes
maritime heritage,” added Mark. “It
is also fantastic that we will be out in
the Solent much quicker. It will save
four minutes each time we launch, and
those four minutes could prove crucial
for someone who is in the water and
needs rescuing.”
Recently the appeal received a
massive boost with a charitable trust,
which wished to remain anonymous,
making a single donation of £285,000.
That took the overall total beyond
£662,000, and donations continue to
roll in, particularly from members of
the public. The appeal is set to run
until this year’s Cowes week.
However, work on converting
the Custom House is already well
underway, and the move is set to take
place during May with an official
opening before Cowes Week, with a
new replacement boat having also been
paid for separately, and being built in
East Cowes.