Lord Mayor of Canterbury visits Whitstable Lifeboat Station
Lord Mayor of Canterbury Cllr George Metcalfe and Lady Mayoress Lillian Metcalfe visited Whitstable Lifeboat Station on Sunday 7th May as one of their final duties in their year of office.
They were shown around the station and the Atlantic 85 Lifeboat by Mike Judge, Lifeboat Operations Manager and Diane Randall, acting Chairman of the Fund Raising Branch and met and chatted with members of the crew and branch before watching the lifeboat launch on an exercise.
Said Cllr Metcalfe "I had much wanted to visit our brilliant RNLI station in Whitstable to see for myself the training its dedicated volunteer crews go through which enables them to turn out day or night in any kind of weather to rescue countless lives all year round. I was also astonished to learn how fast these highly specialised rib lifeboats can travel. At over 30 mph our lifeboatmen can get all the way to the Isle of Sheppey, a distance of miles in only eight minutes."
“Although the lifeboat was launched on exercise rather than a real emergency it was in quite rough seas and happily the crew returned safely.
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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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.