Hunstanton Flyer returns to home station after refit
Hunstanton Flyer returns to home station after refit
Lifeboats News Release
An iconic RNLI search and rescue hovercraft which is one of just four in operation around the UK coastline returned home to Norfolk on Monday 18 November.
RNLI/Chris Bishop
Hunstanton Flyer is lifted off the lorry by crane as she returns home after a refit
Hunstanton Flyer made the six-hour journey from the charity that saves lives at sea's Support Centre in Poole in Dorset, where she has been undergoing maintenance since July.
She had been replaced by relief hovercraft Samburgh, which was flown by the Hunstanton crew on a number of 'shouts' during her stay at the station.
Driver Tony Pony - as he is known throughout the RNLI - expertly reversed his lorry down the narrow lane to the station with inches to spare.
He then deployed its crane to lift the four-tonne craft onto her pad, where she was checked over before she took off for a brief test flight on the nearby beach.
Samburgh was then lifted into position on the rig as the coldest night of the year night closed in, ready for her return journey to Poole.
Volunteers at Hunstanton RNLI cover The Wash, a tidal estuary bordered by Norfolk and Lincolnshire covering an area of around 100 square miles.
At low tide, large areas of its sand bars and mud flats are inaccessible to conventional craft but the hovercraft can simply fly across them.
The 35mph craft, powered by two turbocharged diesel engines, is also able to reach casualties who have been cut off by the treacherous Norfolk tides and return them safely to the shore.
Editor's notes
Hunstanton is one of the busiest lifeboat stations in Norfolk.
Hunstanton Flyer officially came on service with the town's volunteer crew on 25 July, 2003.
Since then, she has been launched more than 250 times, saved 13 lives and assisted more than 150 people who found themselves in difficulty or in danger.
Hunstanton's most recent 'hover shout' was on Saturday 26 October when they used relief hovercraft
Samburgh to rescue three people who had become cut off by the tide at Brancaster.
As well as the hovercraft, the town's crew also operate the fast inshore lifeboat
Spirit of West Norfolk from their base on Sea Lane.
Like more than 200 RNLI stations around the coast of the UK and Ireland, the crew's lifesaving work could not be possible without the kindness of supporters who raise funds, make donations or leave a legacy to the charity that saves lives at sea.
RNLI media contacts
For more information call Chris Bishop, Hunstanton RNLI volunteer Deputy Lifeboat Press Officer on 07584 147219, Clare Hopps, RNLI Regional Communications Manager, North and East on 07824 518641, or the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.
RNLI/Chris Bishop
Hunstanton Flyer is lifted off the lorry by crane as she returns home after a refit
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.