60 years of saving lives: The RNLI celebrates the lifesaving anniversary of its Lifeboats
60 years of saving lives: The RNLI celebrates the lifesaving anniversary of its Lifeboats
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Introduced in 1963, the inshore lifeboat continues to be an invaluable asset in the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s (RNLI) fleet as new figures show the charity’s Inshore lifeboats have saved 30,778* lives across 60 years.
The inshore lifeboat has enabled the charity’s volunteer crews to carry out their lifesaving work closer to shore, in areas inaccessible to other lifeboats in the fleet. Designed to be quick and manoeuvrable, inshore lifeboats can operate in shallower water, near cliffs and rocks meaning crews can get as close as possible to those in trouble.
St Davids RNLI first received a D Class inshore lifeboat in 1997 and they have been saving lives at sea ever since. The inshore lifeboats have launched 330 times, saved 23 lives and aided 147 people. A special service was held at St Davids Cathedral in 2019 at which the current D Class lifeboat Marian and Alan Clayton was officially named and accepted into the lifesaving fleet. The inshore lifeboat was funded by loyal RNLI supporter Mr Keith Clayton in honour of his late parents, who had long-standing ties with the charity.
Our inshore lifeboats have been involved in several notable rescues, including the 2008 rescue of three young girls trapped on rocks at Caerfai Bay. The rising spring tide and breaking waves made this a particularly difficult rescue and three of the crew had to enter the sea to assist. The girls were subsequently treated for hypothermia and a collective letter of thanks was received by the crew.
John Williams, Volunteer Lifeboat Operations Manager at RNLI St Davids said:
‘D class inshore lifeboats have enabled our volunteer crew to reach areas close to shore, cliffs and rocks to rescue people in trouble. These fast and highly manoeuvrable lifesaving craft answered the need for a quicker and more agile response to rescues in areas of water that were more challenging to the larger and slower all-weather lifeboats.’
The RNLI builds and maintains most of its inshore lifeboats in house at their Inshore Lifeboat Centre in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. This allows the charity to have greater control over costs and quality ensuring they produce the best lifesaving asset for their crews and spend their supporters’ donations in the most efficient and effective way.
For more information about our Inshore Lifeboats, click here: https://rnli.org/.../timeline/1963-inflatable-lifeboats