Torbay RNLI’s StormFest 160 anniversary event raises over £11,500

The event marked the tragedy of the Great Storm in January 1866, the outpouring of community spirit on the night of the Great Storm and in its aftermath, and the establishment of the first lifeboat station in Torbay later that year.

The day began as dawn was breaking in Teignmouth, fuelled by bacon baps kindly provided by volunteers from Teignmouth's lifeboat station. Wives and partners of Torbay’s volunteer crews joined rowers from Brixham's Gig Rowing Club and members of the Teignmouth RNLI crew to pull the gig boat - wrapped in the colours of a 19th-century lifeboat - through the streets and along the seafront at Teignmouth.

Further stops and pulls on a perfect summer morning along Babbacombe Downs and Meadfoot Beach were followed by a final pull along the promenade and around the harbour at Torquay to the support of large crowds.

The boat was then launched into the harbour where a number of the Torbay RNLI crew - and many of the earlier pullers from the gig club - then went on to begin the long row back to Brixham.

Joined out in the bay by a flotilla and gig boats, including a number from Paignton's Amateur Rowing Club, the row back to Brixham saw a tail wind - but not entirely calm waters. Accompanied by present-day RNLI lifeboats from Teignmouth, Exmouth and Dartmouth, as well as four historic lifeboats based in-and-around Falmouth, Plymouth and Salcombe and a couple of Brixham-based fishing trawlers, steady progress was made back to Brixham.

A historical talk and song based on the events of 1866 by The South Devon Players Theatre & Film Company preceded the arrival of the flotilla in Brixham’s inner harbour. As the flotilla moored up, a Service of Commemoration was held by Helen Lovell-Smith of the Fishermen's Mission Devon.

With the morning’s reflection and hard work over, it was then time to celebrate. Mouthwatering local, freshly-prepared seafood was served, alongside a hog roast and delicious locally-made cakes. Locally-brewed ales and cider were enjoyed to accompany the live music performed by the best of the bay's local artists and groups. With dancing and singing long into the evening, along with hand-held glow sticks, the day came to a rousing close at 10pm.

It was a memorable day, supported by many businesses, organisations and individuals who enabled the event to take place. These included headline sponsor Inter-Line Building Supplies celebrating their own 50^th anniversary this year. And several thousand residents and visitors alike came along to support the event and Torbay RNLI. It showed the community spirit that prevailed in 1866 still lives on 160 years later.

A huge team of volunteers helped make it all happen: Volunteers from Torbay RNLI volunteers – the lifeboat crew whose commitment has been helping save lives at sea in-and-around Torbay for 160 years; their wives and partners who support them at all hours - and then go on to volunteer to pull a gig boat on a chilly morning when they could be enjoying a weekend lie-in; the operational shore crew without whom the lifeboats wouldn’t launch; Torbay RNLI's Water Safety advisors, who help share their knowledge to keep users in-and-around our waters safe; and last-but-not-least, the team of dedicated Torbay Lifeboat Fundraisers, without whom the lifeboat station couldn’t continue to exist, and whose help was instrumental in planning and running StormFest 160. It showed the RNLI’s ethos of OneCrew is alive and well in Torbay.

RNLI Media Contacts

For further information, please contact:

Klaus Goddard, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for RNLI South West, [email protected]

Kyle Reed, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for South West England, 07786 668847, [email protected]

Amy Caldwell, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for South West England, 07920 818807, [email protected]

RNLI Press Office, 01202 336789, [email protected]

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.

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