Model boat auction proceeds bolster Looe Lifeboat Appeal

John Wicks from Truro has been building fantastic model boats for over 20 years. He has strong connections with Looe and was often seen at the Millpool with his motorised models. John has donated 20 model boats to Looe Lifeboat Station for auction to raise funds towards our Looe Lifeboat Appeal - Ollie Naismith II. The model boats were auctioned on Saturday 10 July 2021 by Liskeard auction rooms. The sale raised £3851 which was presented to Looe RNLI Management Chair Ann Watson by Paul Pentland and Phil Harriman from Liskeard auction rooms on Friday 23 July 2021.

Paul and Phil said that Liskeard auction rooms were delighted to be asked by Looe Lifeboat Station to auction the model boats for the Ollie Naismith II lifeboat appeal. They go on to say that there was plenty of interest in the sale and the auction rooms were proud to support the Looe Lifeboat Appeal by waiving their normal commissions. Ann Watson says that everyone with Looe Lifeboat Station cannot thank John Wicks enough for his incredible donation, she marvelled at the hours and hours of work that went into the construction of each model.

Raising £78,000 during a pandemic is challenging for the appeal team, and Ann is delighted to report that the £3851 raised takes the Looe Lifeboat Appeal over 50% of its target. Apart from this auction, traditional donations and street collections, the appeal team and Looe RNLI volunteer crew have been amazed at the creative ways our supporters have devised to raise funds towards our new lifeboat. Alongside several sponsored activities and birthday fundraisers, significant funds have been raised by Ruby Riley’s cycle challenge and Steven Gridley walking the Smugglers way with 12 friends. There have also been raffles, second hand book sales, online dog shows, sales of fused glass, salvage art and Looe tithe maps.

To ensure our volunteers crews remain able to launch on service when the pager sounds, public are still not allowed into the Lifeboat Station which means our popular summer concerts cannot be held in the boathouse. East Looe Town Trust have generously given us permission to hold our choir concerts on East Looe seafront. The first concert with Keltique ladies choir was held yesterday, Sunday 25 July, and future concert dates will be published on our social media pages.

Everyone associated with the appeal cannot thank these fundraisers enough but, as Ann points out, there is still a long way to go to reach the target and we would like to encourage our supporters and followers to carry on being creative with their fundraisers. People wishing to support the appeal can donate and / or fundraise in a number of ways

· Visit our JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/looe-lifeboat-appeal.

· Visit our donate page at http://www.looelifeboats.co.uk/donate.html

· If you want to hold a fundraising event or activity you can setup your own justgiving page by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/Looe-Lifeboat-Appeal and clicking on the “Start Fundraising” button

END

Notes to editors

Photos:

• Ann Watson, Looe RNLI Management chair, receiving a cheque from Paul Pentland and Phil Harriman, Liskeard auction rooms
• Left to right Paul Pentland, Ann Watson and Phil Harriman
• Photo credit RNLI / Ian Foster

Information

• Re-established as an inshore lifeboat station in 1992, Looe RNLI operate two inshore lifeboats
• An Atlantic 85 Sheila and Dennis Tongue II and a D Class Ollie Naismith
•  Looe RNLI have launched the Looe Lifeboat Appeal – Ollie Naismith II to raise £78,000 for a replacement D Class inshore lifeboat Ollie Naismith II www.justgiving.com/fundraising/looe-lifeboat-appeal
• Looe RNLI Facebook page www.facebook.com/LooeRNLI

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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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