Teignmouth RNLI receive new Atlantic 85 lifeboat

The new Lifeboat Claude and Kath will replace the previous B-class Lifeboat The Two Annes which had been stationed at Teignmouth RNLI for 18 years.

The current generation of B class lifeboat is called the Atlantic 85 – named after Atlantic College in Wales where these rigid inflatable lifeboats (RIBs) were first developed. 85 represents its length – nearly 8.5m, they are one of the fastest in the RNLI fleet.

There have been three generations of B class lifeboat. The first one being the Atlantic 21, which was the first RIB to join the RNLI fleet, serving from 1972 until 2008. The Atlantic 21 was then replaced by the Atlantic 75, which was in service from 1993 until 2022. It has now been replaced by the Atlantic 85, which was introduced to the fleet in 2005. Teignmouth Lifeboat Station was one of the first to receive delivery of the Atlantic 85 back in August 2006, when The Two Annes arrived.

Claude and Kath B-class lifeboat has a top speed of 35 knots, designed to operate in shallow water, ideal for rescues close to shore, near cliffs and rocks – areas inaccessible to the larger all-weather lifeboats. Although she’s an inshore lifeboat, designed to operate in shallower water, the B-class can handle fairly challenging open sea conditions too – force 7 near gale winds in daylight and force 6 at night.

The new lifeboat Claude and Kath has been primarily funded from the legacy of Miss Jean Stevenson.

Jean Stevenson lived in Chesterfield and died in December 2019. Jean was a long-term supporter of the RNLI which started with her father, Claude, who raised funds for the RNLI including organising the local Lifeboat Day.

Jean remembered the RNLI with a generous gift in her Will with requests to fund a lifeboat. Jean had expressed a wish to remember her parents, Claude and Kath, and honour all their volunteering and fundraising for the RNLI by incorporating their names on a lifeboat.

Additional funding was also provided by the legacy of Joan Eileen Kenney, who lived in Dorset, in memory of her late husband, John Kenney.

Charlie Woolnough, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Teignmouth RNLI said, ‘everyone at Teignmouth RNLI is thrilled to welcome the new boat to the station and are honoured that the benefactors were so generous in their legacies, enabling us to continue saving lives at sea’.

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.

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