A ceremony to dedicate the town’s new RNLI lifeboat was held at the Boathouse on Saturday 15 May 2010. At a cost of £160,000, the arrival of the new Atlantic 85 lifeboat was down to the legacy of the late Mr John Grover Liddington who wanted the boat named in memory of his mother, Annette Mary Liddington, as well as the fundraising efforts undertaken by the lifeboat station’s crew and its associated five RNLI Guilds.
It was named by Mrs Christine Winfield, cousin of Mr John Grover Liddington, during a ceremony attended by Ysgol Gynradd Beaumaris and the Beaumaris Silver Band and concluded with the boat launching with a flypast by a Search and Rescue (SAR) Sea King helicopter from RAF Valley.
The new Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat is the most advanced inshore lifeboat ever produced by the RNLI. Able to reach casualties faster than the previous Blue Peter boat it can reach speeds of up to 35 knots and features state-of-the-art technology to enhance its lifesaving capabilities. It has already been put to good use having launched 17 times since arriving on station on 15 January 2010.
Derek Lumb, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Beaumaris, who accepted the lifeboat on behalf of Beaumaris RNLI lifeboat station says;
“The 8.3 metre long Atlantic 85 is fitted with a radar system, radio direction finding equipment and a sophisticated chart plotter to aid search and rescue operations, particularly in low visibility conditions. It also has the capacity to carry more casualties than its predecessor.
“As the busiest inshore RNLI lifeboat station in Wales during the summer of 2009, this greatly enhances our capability at the station and enables us to provide a faster service along the Menai Strait.
‘The RNLI is a charity which relies on voluntary contributions and legacies and we are very grateful to the late Mr Liddington as well as to the many individuals, businesses and organisations for supporting the RNLI.”
Mr Liddington also funded a second B Class lifeboat for Bundoran Lifeboat station which will be named William Henry Liddington in memory of this father.
