A piece of history for Kilkeel Lifeboat Station was made last week when some of its crew took part in a traditional bell-ringing ceremony, marking the first time its much-anticipated new vessel entered the water. Earlier this year, it was confirmed that the station had been allocated a state-of-the-art Shannon all-weather lifeboat.
At last week’s ceremony at RNLI headquarters in Poole, the 13-strong delegation witnessed their new boat leaving the production line and entering the water. Led by the station’s Operations Manager, John Fisher, and in what was undoubtedly a very memorable day for the Mourne station, the group was present to see the new £2.7m lifeboat and to tour the facility where it was built. The vessel has been named ‘Bobby Cameron.’
RNLI Chief Executive Peter Sparkes was also on hand to welcome the group and witness the ceremony. Last week’s trip to England also provided the perfect opportunity for the Kilkeel crew to meet with the engineers and technicians who had built the lifeboat and to hear about its capabilities.
The lifeboat will not yet be coming to its new home. First, there will be a period of intensive seagoing trials in Poole, in which lifeboat crew will travel from Kilkeel to take part. Then, the lifeboat will make its journey to its new home later this year.
In the full story Kilkeel RNLI operations manager John Fisher explains why this is so significant.
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