Amble RNLI takes delivery of new Shannon Class lifeboat

The Shannon class lifeboat named Elizabeth and Leonard after a couple that left the RNLI a legacy was met and escorted into the harbour by RNLI Amble volunteers aboard the outgoing Mersey Class lifeboat The Four Boys and the inshore lifeboat the Mildred Holcroft. A Musician Beverly Palin was aboard The Four Boys to pipe in the arrival the new Shannon.

RNLI Amble Volunteer Coxswain John Connell and his crew aboard the Elizabeth and Leonard showed off the new vessel to the gathered crowds by performing a series of manoeuvres within the harbour to display the Shannon’s superior movability.

Volunteer Robert Henderson aboard the Shannon said: ‘We expected family and friends to be present to welcome in the new Shannon class, but we never thought we would see such a magnificent turnout like this.’

RNLI Amble fundraisers launched the two-year Amble Shannon lifeboat appeal in July 2014 to raise £200,000 to help fund the new lifeboat. That total was reached ahead of schedule in June this year. Chairperson of the Amble Lifeboat fundraisers committee said: ‘Today is the culmination of really hard work by the fundraisers; it is quite an emotional day.’

The volunteers at RNLI Amble have been undertaking familiarisation training on a Shannon lifeboat at Amble with a relief boat and some volunteers have also completed training at the RNLI training college in Poole.

The new Shannon should be fully operational very soon which will sadly see the departure of RNLI Amble Mersey class lifeboat The Four Boys. The Mersey has been at Amble for nearly 20 years and has proven to be a tough and reliable lifeboat throughout her service. The volunteers at Amble regard her with great affection and will all wish her well for her future.

RNLI Amble Volunteer Coxswain John Connell said after the Shannon had arrived in her new home ‘he was proud as punch with her arrival and thanked the fund raisers and community for the magnificent effort in reaching the appeal target’.

RNLI Media contacts

For more information please contact: Alan Stewart, Amble RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07919 924704.

RNLI Picture captions

The photographs show Amble RNLI’s new Shannon class lifeboat arriving. Credit: Steve Miller.

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The RNLI charity 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 146,000 lives.

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