Lyme Regis RNLI lifeboat parade to celebrate 200th anniversary
Volunteers from Lyme Regis RNLI will parade their lifeboat through the town on Saturday 2 May as part of their commemoration of the lifesaving charity’s 200 years of association with Lyme Regis.
Lifeboat crew and supporters will walk alongside their Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Spirit of Loch Fyne as it is towed through the town. The procession will leave Holmbush car park at midday on Saturday 2 May and proceed down Pound Street and Broad Street arriving at Cobb Gate at approximately 12:30pm. On arrival at Cobb Gate the parade will be met by the Mayor of Lyme Regis Councillor Phillip Evans MBE and members of Lyme Regis Town Council.
Chair of Lyme Regis Lifeboat Management Group Petrina Muscroft said: ‘This is an historic parade for Lyme Regis RNLI. The last time a lifeboat was paraded through the town was in 2012 when townspeople turned out in force to say goodbye to our previous lifeboat Pearl of Dorset. We hope residents and visitors will come out on Saturday to show their support of our current lifeboat and its volunteer crew as we celebrate 200 years in the town.’
In February 1826 the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (which later became the RNLI) approved £18-4s-0d for Lyme Regis to help with the conversion of a local fishing boat for use as a lifeboat. This is the earliest known association of the lifesaving charity with the town.
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Photo1 Caption: Lyme Regis RNLI Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Spirit of Loch Fyne at sea. Photo credit: RNLI/Nick Marks.
Photo 2 Caption: Lyme Regis RNLI’s previous lifeboat Pearl of Dorset was paraded through the town in 2012. Photo credit: RNLI/Richard Horobin
RNLI media contacts
For more information, please contact Nick Marks, volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer at Lyme Regis Lifeboat Station on 07568 187582 or [email protected], or Emma Haines, Regional Communications Manager, on 07786 668847 or [email protected], or contact the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 lives.
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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.