Portree community takes on RNLI Mayday Mile fundraising challenge

2 year old Georgie, who lives in Portree, will be taking on the mile a day challenge throughout the month of May to raise money for the lifesaving charity.

Georgie will be donning her yellow wellies and overalls to complete the daily mile by walking or by using her balance bike. She will also be joined by older brother Angus, who is 14, during the challenge.

Dad, Brian, is a volunteer at Portree RNLI and the family are already heavily involved in fundraising activities at the station.

The Portree lifeboat is affectionately known as ‘Daddy’s Boat’ in their household!

Speaking about the challenge, Mum, Annalise, said:

‘Both Georgie and Angus are already involved in fundraising for the RNLI, which is such a big part of our family life. It seems apt that they join in with the national Mayday Mile fundraising campaign to help support the work of the charity. We all know that the RNLI relies on donations to operate, which makes fundraising for it even more important.’

Also taking on the Mayday Mile fundraising challenge is Melanie and William, who are both instructors at A.C.E Target Sports, just outside of Portree.

They will be undertaking their mile a day by any means possible and will be posting regularly on social media with updates on their progress.

Speaking about the challenge, Melanie said:

‘The RNLI are the beating heart of our community on Skye and Raasay. They need all the support they can get and raising money is the perfect way of saying thank you for the crew’s unwavering efforts in all weathers.’

Portree RNLI is currently home to the Trent class lifeboat Stanley Watson Barker (14-16). However, later this year, a brand new £2.78M Shannon class lifeboat – Peter and Mary (13-59) – will officially take over as the permanent Portree lifeboat.

The state-of-the-art vessel, which is powered by water jets rather than conventional propellors, arrived at Portree on Saturday 18 April to a large crowd of welcoming spectators.

The new lifeboat is currently undergoing crew familiarisation trials.

The RNLI is the charity that has been saving lives at sea for over two hundred years.

There are over 5,700 volunteer RNLI lifeboat crew members at 238 lifeboat stations around the UK and Ireland, with a further 4,000 volunteer shore crew members. Our volunteers are on call and ready to respond to calls for help 24 hrs a day, 365 days of the year.

ENDS

Notes to editors

· All photos and videos in this press release should be credited to RNLI/Robert MacInnes.

· Further details about the RNLI Mayday fundraising campaign can be found here: https://fundraise.rnli.org/event/mayday-mile/home

· Please note that the new vessel RNLB Peter and Mary has not entered official service at this stage. There will be several weeks of further training and trials before the vessel becomes the active lifeboat at Portree. RNLB Stanley Watson Barker will maintain the service as normal until the formal transfer of duty is completed.

· Portree Lifeboat Station was established in 1991. To learn more about the lifeboat station go to: https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/portree-lifeboat-station

RNLI media contacts

For further information, please contact:

Robert MacInnes, Lifeboat Press Officer at Portree RNLI: 07950 421829 / [email protected]

Richard Smith, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for Scotland: 07826 900639 / [email protected]

Martin Macnamara, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for Scotland: 07920 365929 / [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.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.