Parade of sail celebrates Weymouth RNLI lifeboat stations 150th anniversary
Sunday the 28th July. The sun shone in a clear blue sky, the boats came in their hundreds and the people in their thousands to witness the parade of sail to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Weymouth RNLI lifeboat station.
At the strike of 11 o'clock the sound of a cannons roar from the Nothe Fort started the Parade of sail.
The Parade was led by Weymouth's RNLI Severn class all-weather lifeboat 'Ernest and Mabel' and ten other lifeboats both current and historic.
Behind the lifeboats came a fleet of hundreds of craft of all shapes and sizes. From luxury cabin cruisers to the small work boats, from the fast to the slow, from the huge top sail schooner HMS Pickle to the tiny rowing gigs of Weymouth and Portland, from yachts and motor boats of all sizes, they all came to join in the celebrations for Weymouth RNLI lifeboat station.
Every few seconds for an hour and 20 minutes the parade slowly made its way past the cargo stage where the salute of the parade was taken by the Lord Lieutenant of Dorset Angus Campbell and Weymouth Town Mayor Graham Winter.
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.