A ceremony to dedicate the town’s new RNLI lifeboat will be held at St Mary’s Church on Saturday. The new D-class lifeboat will be named after the late Mrs Georgina Taylor, who personally donated over £10,000 towards the build cost. Mrs Taylor was a very generous supporter of the RNLI and this will be the third inshore lifeboat she has funded at Tenby. It will be named by executor Richard Gray, during a ceremony attended by Tenby Junior School Choir and The Salvation Army Band.
The new lifeboat is faster and more manoeuvrable than the station’s former D-class lifeboat. It has already been put to good use having launched four times and rescuing six people since arriving on station on 8 December 2009. The new RNLI lifeboat actually proved her worth just days after arriving at her new home. She was called out on her first rescue mission on 13 December to a teenage boy lying motionless in the sea, just below the Paragon on the south side of Tenby.
Freddie Broomhead, who will accept the lifeboat on behalf of Tenby RNLI Lifeboat Station says:
‘The D-class lifeboat has been the workhorse of the RNLI fleet for over 40 years. It is small, approximately five metres long, but highly manoeuvrable. Compared with her predecessor, the new lifeboat’s features include a more powerful electric start engine giving improved performance and a higher top speed of 25 knots.
‘It is equipped with a GPS navigation system, VHF radio and many other features. The three man crew are trained in righting the lifeboat in the event of a capsize and the engine is inversion proof to give easy starting in the event of a capsize. The volunteer RNLI crew at Tenby have already attended four call-outs on board their new lifeboat and have noticed how well she performs.’
The new D-class vessel will work along side the station’s current Tamar class all-weather RNLI lifeboat. Mr Broomhead adds:
‘As a charity, the RNLI relies on voluntary donations and legacies for income and 60 per cent of our income comes from legacies. We are so grateful to Mrs Taylor for remembering the RNLI and Tenby in particular in her Will. Her legacy will live on saving lives at sea for many years to come.’
Mrs Taylor also funded the two previous inshore lifeboats at Tenby the Stanley Taylor in 1993 and Georgina Stanley Taylor in 2001 memory of her husband. The RNLI have received a further £2,000 towards the build cost that has been donated locally in lieu of flowers in memory of Peter Lowe who died in October and £3,000 from various other local donations.
The committee and crew of Tenby RNLI lifeboat station have expressed their kind thanks to Mentzendorff for donating the champagne for the naming and particularly Sainsbury’s, Tenby for their generous sponsorship of all the costs of hosting the ceremony and service.
Event: Tenby RNLI Naming Ceremony. Handing over ceremony and service of dedication of Tenby’s new D-class IB1 inshore lifeboat
Venue: St Mary’s Church, High Street, Tenby
Date: 20 March 2010 at 11am
