RNLI 200th anniversary time capsule relay launches in the North West
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) Coast to Cobbles time capsule is setting sail at a launch event in Silloth on Saturday [28 September] as it heads down the coast on its way to Manchester.
Coast to Cobbles is a lifeboat relay linking all the RNLI’s North West stations before arriving in Salford Quays for a finale coinciding with the anniversary of the world’s first street collection, when a lifeboat was paraded through the streets of Manchester.
The relay will see a specially designed time capsule pass from lifeboat to lifeboat, with each RNLI crew given the opportunity to add something before it is put on display in Lytham St Annes Lifeboat Museum.
People are invited to come to the launch to see the time capsule being filled with keepsakes, and celebrate the launch of this event which marks the RNLI’s 200th anniversary in the region, commemorating its contribution to the charity’s two centuries of saving lives at sea.
Sophie Wood, RNLI Community Manager said: ‘This event is a fantastic way to close our 200th anniversary year in the North West. We are commemorating the lifesavers of the past that have contributed to our history, celebrating our crew today, and hopefully inspiring the next generation of supporters, lifeboat volunteers and fundraisers.
‘For 200 years, we’ve relied on the generosity of everyday people – from seafaring crew to fundraisers and supporters, they’re all lifesavers and make the RNLI in the North West what it is, so this is for them.
‘It’s important that we’re connecting our people in this way and collecting mementos from each station to be sealed away for fifty years, so those crew that we inspire on this journey can look back in 2074, when the charity is 250 years old.’
The capsule will be transported via the lifeboats of the eight stations in Cumbria and Lancashire before travelling on to Albert Dock in Liverpool, where the RNLI’s three Merseyside stations and lifeguards will add their keepsakes to the capsule.
In the capsule will be an RNLI Navigational Chart plotting each leg of the journey to be signed by representatives from each station and the charity’s chief executive, crew tea and coffee lists, and RNLI clothing, among other items. Also included will be a special Notebook for the public to share thoughts, messages of support, of what the RNLI means to them today.
The journey to Liverpool, and onwards to Salford Quays will be in a Shannon class all-weather lifeboat powered by a biofuel – Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) – supplied free of charge by one of the RNLI’s fuel suppliers, Certas Energy.
The time capsule’s journey will take 11 days from 28 September until 9 October, to ensure it reaches Greater Manchester in time for the anniversary of the world’s first street collection on 10 October.
The first Lifeboat Saturday took place in the streets of Manchester on Saturday 10 October 1891, a lifeboat was paraded along the cobbles in order to drum up support for the charity following a disaster. Five years earlier, 27 men from Southport and St Anne’s died while trying to rescue sailors from the stricken vessel Mexico.
Following the lifeboat relay, the culmination of Coast to Cobbles will be a new Lifeboat Saturday, with events in Manchester and across the UK.
Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its volunteer crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives – this equates to an average of two lives saved every day for 200 years.
To find out more about Coast to Cobbles and all the events taking place as part of the relay, visit https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/events/coast-to-cobbles/coast-to-cobbles
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
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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.