Wells RNLI's new lifeboat Duke of Edinburgh arrives to sunshine and cheers
by RNLI 11 Oct 2022 07:32 BST
8 October 2022
Wells RNLI's new lifeboat Duke of Edinburgh arrives to sunshine and cheers © Leanne McColm
Wells-next-the-Sea RNLI's new Shannon class lifeboat Duke of Edinburgh arrived in the town on Saturday 8th October and was greeted by sunshine and cheers.
The Launch a Memory lifeboat arrived in Wells Quay at 5.30pm, carrying with it 15,000 names of loved ones in its decals, 'RNLI13-46'.
The state-of-the-art Shannon class lifeboat, named Duke of Edinburgh in memory of the late HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, made the final part of its voyage home this weekend.
It was accompanied into the Quay by the station's current Mersey class all weather lifeboat Doris M.Mann of Ampthill and their D class inshore lifeboat.
They were also joined by the lifeboat station's previous Oakley class lifeboat Ernest Tom Neathercoat, which served between 1965 and 1990, and the Liverpool class lifeboat Lucy Lavers, which served as the station's relief lifeboat in 1962 and from 1963 to 1964.
To mark the lifeboat's arrival, Blakeney Old Wild Rovers sang sea shanties and invited everyone to join in.
The Shannon class is the fastest all-weather lifeboat in the RNLI fleet. It was funded in part through an appeal in the local Wells community, and by the Civil Service charity The Lifeboat Fund.
Although the new lifeboat station is not yet open to the public, further information on when there will be opportunities to see the lifeboat, will be released in the coming weeks.
Peter Rainsford, Chair of Wells Lifeboat Management Group, said: "It was incredible to welcome RNLB Duke of Edinburgh into the town today. The sun was shining, and it was lovely to see so many smiling faces. Our volunteer crew has been looking forward to this moment for so long and we can't wait to start the next 50 years of lifesaving."
Peter added: "The 'Launch a Memory' campaign, while a fundraiser for the charity, is also a way for us to say thank you to those people who support the lifeboat service and our volunteer lifeboat crews. It's humbling to know that every time our new Shannon class lifeboat launches it will carry the names of 15,000 loved ones. We're incredibly thankful to all those who have helped to make this happen."