Falmouth RNLI lifeboat crew celebrate 150 years with a successful Open Day event
On Saturday 17 June, crew members from Falmouth lifeboat station held a public open day to celebrate 150 years of operations at the station.
Demonstrations relating to RNLI lifeboats and saving lives at sea were on display to the public. These ranged from a Casualty Care equipment display to the team demonstrating a lifeboat capsizing.
John Blakeston, Senior Coxswain of Falmouth lifeboats said: ‘This was a superb way to celebrate the 150th anniversary of saving lives at sea in Falmouth. Congratulations must go to Luke Wills for his organisational skills and to all the voluntary members of the crew who carried out the work that made it happen. Also a big thank you must also go to Linda and Keith West, owners of Cottages for You, who sponsored the day.’
It was an extremely busy day with over 700 members of the public being shown around the lifeboats. Visitors were also lucky enough to witness the all-weather lifeboat being called away on a shout in the middle of the afternoon. This meant that people could get first-hand experience of the crew in operation. Approximately £10,000 was raised on the day for the RNLI, but the exact figure will be released at a later date.
Notes to editors
The enclosed photographs show:
- Falmouth’s all-weather lifeboat Richard Cox Scott and Lizard’s all-weather lifeboat Rose.
- The Falmouth Marine Band in attendance.
- Falmouth's B class Atlantic 75 inshore lifeboat Eve Pank
- Historic lifeboats on display for the day.
- D class inshore lifeboat used in the capsize demonstration
Please credit RNLI/Simon Culliford for all photos.
For more details of all the demonstrations that took place on the day, and to find out more about the history of Falmouth lifeboat station, please visit www.falmouthlifeboat.co.uk/150th/.
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Key facts about the RNLI
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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