Busy Sunday at Whitstable RNLI

For the second time this year Lewisco the Whitstable B-Class Lifeboat found herself ousted from her boathall when the space was occupied by numerous smaller craft .

Having earlier this year filled the hall with a selection of model lifeboats the Herne Bay based Heron Model Boat Club returned on Sunday with a selection of model boats and ships for their annual exhibition at the RNLI station.

Chairman Robin Graham said “ a great day was had by all with 25 models on display, and we had 1120 people come into the boat house. As ever we asked visitors to vote for the best model and the vote was very close this year, Tim Pearce with his incredible Mississippi Hunters shack, a fully operational radio-controlled boat, not just a model.

During the morning a married couple in a Porsche 911 attempting to visit all the RNLI stations of the UK and Ireland met volunteers from Whitstable Lifeboat as they continue their journey around the coast.

Belinda and James Richardson, from London, are travelling 8,500 miles in their Porsche 911, hoping to visit all 238 lifeboat stations in 911 hours. After starting in Morecambe on Friday 23 August, the pair called in at Whitstable Lifeboat Station.

Jayne George, RNLI Director of Fundraising, said: ‘We are so grateful to Belinda and James for taking on this huge challenge and look forward to welcoming them at all of our lifeboat stations around the coast.

‘We are only able to save lives at sea thanks to the generous support of people taking on challenges like this, and we’re honoured Belinda and James have decided to raise even more money to fund a new D class inshore lifeboat and to donate to their challenge, visit https://rnli-911challenge.co.uk/

Later in the afternoon several members of the crew took part in the Oyster Festival Mud Tug held at low tide on the Long Beach.

Around seven teams took part in this annual trial of strength and we are pleased to report that those representing the station emerged from the mud victorious and the trophy has returned to the station for the second time.

Notes to editors

• Whitstable RNLI Lifeboat Station was established in 1963 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and is one of 237 lifeboat stations around the shores of the UK and Ireland. The volunteer crews provide a maritime search and rescue service for the Kent coast. They cover the area between the Kingsferry Bridge on the Swale, in the west, around the south-eastern side of Sheppey and along the coast through Whitstable and Herne Bay to Reculver in the east and outwards into the Thames Estuary.

• The station is equipped with an Atlantic 85 lifeboat named Lewisco, purchased through a bequest of a Miss Lewis of London who passed away in 2006.

• She is what is known as a rigid inflatable inshore lifeboat, the boat’s rigid hull being topped by an inflatable sponson. She carries a crew of four people.

• RNLI media contacts

• Chris Davey, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
  07741 012004/ [email protected]

• Julie Rainey - Regional Communications Lead : 07827 358256

• Hatti Mellor - Regional Communications Manager :07724 801305

  For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789

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 142,700 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.