Lifeboat departure heralds new chapter for Ilfracombe

She was guided out by lifeboats from other lifeboat stations on the coast and watched by crowds of supporters despite terrible weather.

The procession was led by was the Tamar from Mumbles, Appledore’s new Shannon, and Minehead’s Atlantic as well our D class lifeboat – the Deborah Brown III and our new Atlantic 85 lifeboat. A piper played at the end of the Quay and Ilfracombe Pilot Gig Club stood on the slipway at Larkstone with their oars held high as a mark of respect for the departing lifeboat.

The Shannon lifeboat began her journey to another lifeboat station where she will continue to save lives at sea.

It was inevitably going to be a sad day saying goodbye to the lifeboat that has been in Ilfracombe since 2015 but the station has been preparing for this change since the Spring.

The lifeboat station’s volunteer crews have been training hard on the new lifeboat, an Atlantic 85, the Patrick and Dianne O’Connor. This lifeboat, which can be launched in minutes and is able to reach speeds of 35 knots is going to be far better suited to the sorts of inshore rescues – kayakers, paddleboarder, swimmers, as well as people and dogs who have fallen from the cliffs – than the Shannon lifeboat. Last week the crew finally passed out after weeks of intense practice exercises and the Atlantic 85 is now on service here at Ilfracombe.

Richard Legg, Ilfracombe’s Lifeboat Operations manager says: “Change is never easy, particularly after such a long history of all-weather lifeboats here at Ilfracombe, but the way we save lives at sea has always had to adapt to what is going on around us. This is the start of the next chapter for the Ilfracombe Lifeboat service: a different class of boat and a different way of working, but the same commitment and the same purpose – saving lives at sea. Over the past months an incredible amount of work has gone into getting us to this point and I am very proud of how hard our crew members have worked and their dedication to maintaining our lifeboat service.”