Hoylake and West Kirby RNLI invite community to step aboard their lifeboats
Hoylake and West Kirby RNLI invite community to step aboard their lifeboats
Lifeboats News Release
Hoylake and West Kirby RNLI are inviting the public to step aboard their lifeboats and meet the volunteer crews while supporting the lifesaving charity’s local search and rescue service.
RNLI/Siân Holmes
Visitors are invited to step aboard Hoylake and West Kirby RNLI's lifeboats at the new 'meet and greet' day on 3 September
The ‘meet and greet’ day takes place on Saturday 3 September from 10:00am until 4:00pm at Hoylake Lifeboat Station. Visitors will have the chance to see up close Hoylake’s all-weather Shannon class lifeboat and hovercraft and West Kirby’s inshore IB1 lifeboat.
The stations’ launch and recovery vehicles will also be on display, including Hoylake’s Shannon Launch and Recovery System (SLARS) and West Kirby’s Hagglund BV206 launch vehicle, which is the only vehicle of its type based on station in the RNLI.
The two lifeboat stations’ volunteer crews will be showcasing how they work together with their specialist rescue equipment to save lives at sea and around the region’s coast.
More details will be announced closer to the event date.
Hoylake RNLI Coxswain Howie Owen said: ‘We’re so grateful to our incredible community for supporting their local lifeboat crews, who are always on call 24/7. Hoylake and West Kirby RNLI’s “meet and greet” day will be a fantastic opportunity for our supporters to see the lifesaving boats and kit which their donations help to fund.’
Howie added: ‘Although pandemic restrictions meant we couldn’t host our traditional Lifeboat Open Day in recent years, we’re thrilled to be opening our doors and welcoming our community back to meet the Hoylake and West Kirby RNLI volunteer crews at this new event. We hope to hold other fundraising events in the next year too.’
In 2021, RNLI lifeboats in the UK and Ireland launched 8,868 times, helping 12,903 people and saving 296 lives. But as a charity, the RNLI is reliant on voluntary donations to power its lifesaving work, which last year cost a total of £159.6 million.
Notes to editors
Hoylake Lifeboat Station was founded in 1803 and is one of the oldest lifeboat stations in the UK. It operates the Shannon class all-weather lifeboat
Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood and Inshore Rescue Hovercraft Hurley Spirit.
West Kirby Lifeboat station was founded in 1966 and operates the inshore IB1 lifeboat
Seahorse. It is the only lifeboat station in the RNLI to operate the Hagglund BV206 all-terrain launch vehicle.
Hoylake and West Kirby RNLI’s long-running Lifeboat Open Day has traditionally been held on the late August Bank Holiday on Hoylake Promenade. It was postponed in recent years due to lockdown restrictions on large public events following the COVID-19 pandemic.
RNLI media contacts
For more information, please contact:
Dan Whiteley, Hoylake RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer on 07799 851 316 or email [email protected]
Claire Elshaw, RNLI Regional Media Officer on 07468 353 082 or email [email protected]
RNLI Public Relations on 01202 336789
RNLI/Siân Holmes
West Kirby RNLI's inshore IB1 lifeboat 'Seahorse' will be on display with her unique Hagglund launch vehicle
Hoylake RNLI's hovercraft and Shannon class lifeboat will also be on show for visitors with the volunteer crews ready to demonstrate their lifesaving kit
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.
