Ilfracombe Lifeboat Station has officially received a new launch vehicle
The Trooltrak has been designed by Loglogic in conjunction with the RNLI so that it can cope with the wide variety of launch conditions found throughout the UK and Ireland.
This is the first allocated Tooltrak of the latest design and since its arrival at Ilfracombe RNLI in December it has been used extensively on training exercises, and has completed three service launches.
The most notable of which was to launch The Deborah Brown ll, to the assistance of two anglers who had been cut off by the the tide at Combe Martin, and was a case of two lives saved.
Her official naming ceremony was on Friday 16 March. The Tooltrak has been named Denny Booker after an innovative engineer who was full-time engineer on the Ilfracombe Lifeboat in the 1970s.
Denny was a dedicated crew member who served on The Lloyd’s ll lifeboat. Denny died in 2013 . His wife, Heather, donated the cost to the RNLI in his memory.
Helm for the Deborah Brown II Leigh Hanks said: 'Denny Booker, is a wonderful addition to our fleet, and we are very grateful to Heather for donating the funding in Denny’s name.'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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