
HRH The Princess Royal visits Ramsgate
The crew of Ramsgate RNLI Lifeboat Station were requested by Estuary Services Ltd for the use of their pontoon and station to host Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal at the naming ceremony of their newest pilot boat, 'Estuary Elise', on Wednesday 11 September 2024.
The Princess Royal was greeted on arrival at Ramsgate RNLI by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Kent, The Lady Colgrain, who presented the High Sheriff of Kent, Dr Gillian Fargher, Chairman of Kent County Council, Mr Bryan Sweetland, Chair of Thanet District Council, Debra Owen-Hughes, Chief Executive of Thanet District Council, Mr Colin Carmichael, Mayor of Ramsgate, Cllr. Pat Moore, Member of Parliament for East Thanet, Ms Polly Billington, and Managing Director of Estuary Services Ltd, Mr Robert Brown.
Her Royal Highness was then escorted to the pilot vessel, Estuary Elise where The Princess Royal enjoyed being shown the controls of this English built boat before being introduced to the staff and crew of Estuary Services and representatives from Port of London Authority.
After a few words of welcome, Her Royal Highness was invited to name the new boat with the traditional maritime act of providing an offering to the sea and wind gods with champagne on her hull.
With the offering successfully made, the party adjourned to the nearby Royal Temple Yacht Club where Commodore, Mrs Karen Cox, and her Vice Commodore, Mrs Judy Pearson-Parish, were introduced to The Princess Royal by Mr Robert Brown before proceeding to the dining room for a reception.
At the reception, five volunteers from Ramsgate RNLI had the honour of being presented to Her Royal Highness, including volunteer crew and organiser of the Ramsgate RNLI Junior Fishing Competition, Jason Parrott, volunteer crew and the youngest female RNLI coxswain, Becky Cannon, volunteer crewmembers Jodie Winch and Maz Critchley, and volunteer shop manager Margaret Wright.
Also present were coxswain Ian Cannon and his brother, deputy coxswain Paul Cannon who took great pride in introducing their crew to The Princess Royal.
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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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