Kippford RNLI Open Day a huge success
The volunteers at Kippford RNLI held their annual open day on Sunday 27th July welcoming visitors to the station alongside visiting lifeboat and coastguard teams from around the Solway Coast.
Visitors to the station were treated to the sight of six lifeboats from around the Solway coast demonstrating their capabilities in Kippford. Kippford’s D Class Ronnie Sinclair was joined by Workington RNLI and their Shannon Class Dorothy May White as well as Atlantic Class boats Sheila Stenhouse from Kirkcudbright RNLI, Elaine and Don Wilkinson from Silloth RNLI and independent lifeboats St John from Nith Inshore Rescue and Spirit of Maryport from Maryport Rescue.
The lifeboat fleet arrived in formation berthing at the public pontoon in Kippford allowing members of the public to get a close look at the different types of boat providing a life saving service around our coast. Also attending on shore were volunteer Coastguard teams from Portling, Kirkcudbright and Isle of Whithorn who spent some time talking about their role and how all the teams work together.
The boat house was open with tea, coffee and home baking served up by the fundraising team whilst the shop volunteers had their busiest afternoon of the year so far. Water Safety Officer, Keith Armstrong-Fleming, was kept occupied all day with visitors learning about seaside and water safety.
Towards the end of the afternoon the volunteer crews boarded their lifeboats and proceeded to demonstrate the speed, strength and manoeuvrability of the fleet. The watching crowd along the shore line enjoyed seeing the spectacle before the visiting boats departed for their home stations.
Over £500 was generously donated by members of the public on the day which will be used to help save lives at sea. As a charity the RNLI relies entirely on public funding to operate their fleet of lifeboats from 238 stations across the UK and Ireland.
Lifeboat Operations Manager at Kippford, Gareth Jones, said: ‘Once again I have to thank everyone involved in organising our open day. To be able to have so many lifeboats from around our coastline is a huge treat for visitors and we are grateful to all the volunteers who give up their time to support the event. Next year we will celebrate 60 years of Kippford Lifeboat Station and we look forward to sharing details of our events for that.’
Notes to editors
· Kippford Lifeboat Station has been operating since 1966. To learn more about the station go to https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/kippford-lifeboat-station
· Attached photos from the open day
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Laura Wilson, Lifeboat Press Officer, 07756 125917, [email protected]
Natasha Rushby, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for Scotland, 07826 900639, [email protected]
Martin Macnamara, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for Scotland, 07920 365929, [email protected]
RNLI Press Office, 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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