Aberdeen RNLI hits its target in Inshore Lifeboat funding appeal
Aberdeen branch of the RNLI has reached its £52,000 fund-raising target to replace the station’s ageing Inshore Lifeboat (ILB).
The 5 metre-long ILB is the busier of Aberdeen’s two lifeboats due to its special capability of operating close inshore and up Aberdeen’s two river estuaries.
Aberdeen’s current Inshore Lifeboat and its crew have already saved three young women’s lives in 2017, when a gale-force offshore wind blew their paddle-boards uncontrollably out to sea off Aberdeen beach on 14th March.
The fund-raising project was expected to take 18 months but has exceeded all expectations by achieving its goal in 10 months.
“Everyone at the RNLI is hugely grateful to the people and businesses of Aberdeen for contributing to this special appeal,” says Aberdeen lifeboat coxswain, Davie Orr. “The fundraising effort is, frankly, never-ending: we still need to raise further funds for crew equipment and training on the new craft. But this is an important milestone passed.”
The Aberdeen ILB Appeal was boosted with help from RigDeluge’s ‘Rally Round for the Lifeboat’ project, the ‘Glamour, Glitz and Bubbles’ charity event organised by long-time fundraising supporter Audrey Wood, and substantial donations from Xcite and EnQuest.
Aberdeen Lifeboat Station had its busiest year on record in 2016, with 41 call-outs on active search and rescue missions.
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.
Learn more about the RNLI
For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, 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.