Littlehampton RNLI’s Renee Sherman is the cover star of new lifeboat book
Littlehampton RNLI Lifeboat Station’s Renee Sherman lifeboat has been featured on the cover of a new book about the history of Atlantic lifeboats.
The volunteer crew of Littlehampton RNLI are pictured aboard Renee Sherman, off the coast of Littlehampton, on the cover of Atlantic Inshore Lifeboats by Nicholas Leach.
Littlehampton has a strong association with Atlantic lifeboats. In 1972, Littlehampton RNLI was the second station in the country to be allocated an Atlantic – a replacement for the original Blue Peter I, bearing the same name. Littlehampton boatbuilder William Osborne Ltd also built many of the hulls for Atlantic lifeboats. Osbornes was a major builder for the RNLI, building 100 lifeboats, and fitting out and maintaining countless others.
The Atlantic rigid-inflatable boat is one of the most successful designs of lifeboat ever developed, with well over 100 of the craft now in service around the United Kingdom and Ireland. Renee Sherman is Littlehampton RNLI’s Atlantic. Known as a B class inshore lifeboat and manned by a crew of four, it is one of the fastest in the RNLI fleet, with a maximum speed of 35 knots. Renee Sherman is also our first Atlantic not to carry the Blue Peter I name.
Nick White, Littlehampton RNLI’s Lifeboat Operations Manager, said: ‘We are delighted to feature so prominently in Nicholas’ new book. Nicholas is a great friend of the station and wrote our book Littlehampton Lifeboats, about our 50th anniversary, in 2017. His new book is similarly interesting and informative.’
To find out more about the book and to order a copy, visit: https://sites.google.com/view/atlanticlifeboats/home?fbclid=IwAR179qfbvb31X98f1potIr67lmMsnvlSehwOEOcwawfEayAw1W9cOHcndxk
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