
RNLI 200 bicentenary scroll to travel on Fowey lifeboat in day of celebrations
Fowey RNLI lifeboat station and Mevagissey RNLI shop have been chosen as host destinations for the RNLI’s 200th anniversary Connecting our Communities scroll, which will be signed in special event ceremonies at Fowey’s lifeboat station and in Mevagissey on Saturday April 6.
The scroll will be arriving in Fowey on Saturday April 6 and the signing ceremony will take place at 1pm at Fowey lifeboat station. The ceremony forms the highlight of a Water Safety Day which is being run at the lifeboat station from 10am – 3pm.
At 3pm, Fowey’s Trent class all-weather lifeboat, will launch from her pontoon to take the scroll to Mevagissey. On arrival in Mevagissey at 3.30pm, the scroll will be handed over to representatives from the Mevagissey RNLI shop for a signing ceremony on the quay at 4pm.
Chairman of Fowey Lifeboat Management Group, Adam Luck said: ‘The scroll is part of the RNLI’s commemorative events this year to mark their 200th anniversary. In an Olympic Torch-style relay called Connecting our Communities, starting on Monday March 4 at a commemorative service in Westminster Abbey, and finishing in the Isle of Man in October, a specially made scroll will travel around the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Hundreds of communities expressed their interest in hosting the scroll, and we are delighted that Fowey lifeboat station and the Mevagissey RNLI shop have been chosen as host locations.’
On the scroll is the phrase: ‘Signed in 2024 by representatives of the RNLI’s lifesaving communities, on behalf of all who strive to save every one’, which has been translated into Cornish, as well as Irish Gaelic, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Ulster Scots and Manx, to represent all RNLI communities.
Adam continues: ‘This year Fowey RNLI is commemorating 165 years of lifesaving at Fowey lifeboat station. Originally based in Polkerris, the station opened in 1859 before moving to Fowey in the 1920s. The scroll signing and water safety day in Fowey is the first of our commemorative events to mark our 165th anniversary as well as the 200th anniversary of the RNLI. We hope as many people as possible can come along to either the Fowey or Mevagissey events, to help us witness and celebrate this historic occasion.’
Fowey’s all-weather Trent class lifeboat will be open for tours from 10am till 2.30pm, and the D class crew will be demonstrating man overboard recovery in Fowey harbour. The coastguard and water safety teams will be giving demonstrations and water safety advice throughout the day, including talks on cold water shock and how to ‘float to live’. The lifeboat shop will be open all day and there will be music and refreshments, with Stormy Stan making a special appearance. In the afternoon The Press Gang will be performing shanty songs live at the station and will sing to accompany the scroll onto the lifeboat.
Throughout Fowey’s water safety day there will be lifejacket maintenance sessions on how to service and check lifejackets, which all sailors should do at least once a year. TMS from Par will be there selling spare parts for lifejackets, and for those who want to have safety equipment professionally serviced, TMS will provide a facility for booking in lifejackets and returning them for collection from Fowey Chandlery once serviced.
Fowey’s volunteer lifeboat crew will launch the all-weather lifeboat at 3pm in Fowey with the scroll onboard. On arrival in Mevagissey at 3.30pm, the scroll will be handed over to representatives from the Mevagissey RNLI shop for a special signing ceremony on Mevagissey quay. This will be followed by tours of the Fowey lifeboat and celebrations on the quay and jetty with shanty singers, a treasure hunt and events in the harbour. The Mevagissey RNLI shop will also be open to visitors. The lifeboat will depart from Mevagissey at 5.30pm.
People can find out more about the scroll and this exciting relay event, and also follow the progress of the scroll on its journey around the UK on an interactive map at
rnli.org/200relay
Find out more and get up-to-date information on Facebook at FoweyLifeboat.
All events on the day will be subject to weather and operational needs.
Activities for Fowey’s scroll signing and water safety day include:
10am Inshore lifeboat launch
10.30am Lifejacket maintenance demo
11am Cold water shock talk
11.15am Float to live demo
11.15am Inshore lifeboat man overboard demo
12pm Lifejacket maintenance demo
12.30pm Cold water shock talk
1 – 2pm Connecting our Communities Scroll Signing Ceremony.
2-3pm The Press Gang shanty group singing live
2.15pm Lifejacket maintenance
2.15pm Float to live demo
2.30pm Cold water shock talk
2.45pm Inshore lifeboat man overboard demo
3pm Scroll departs from Fowey to Mevagissey, carried onboard the Fowey all-weather lifeboat, which will launch from her pontoon at 3pm.
Activities for the Mevagissey scroll signing event on the quay and jetty include:
3.15pm Shanty singing
3.30pm Welcome Fowey lifeboat with the connecting communities scroll
4pm Scroll Signing Ceremony on the Quay
4-5.15pm Tours of Fowey lifeboats
5.30pm Fowey lifeboat departs
A stall selling shop merchandise. Throughout the afternoon there will a chance to meet Stormy Sam, choirs of shanty singers and a children’s shop window treasure hunt with prizes. Inflatable lifeboat rib on Jetty and a display giving a history of the Mevagissey lifeboat in conjunction with Mevagissey museum.
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, Twitter 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.