£1.5m new lifeboat announced for resort

A NEW £1.5m lifeboat has been announced for Scarborough’s RNLI station, making it one of the first in the country to receive the state-of-the-art vessel.

The new Shannon lifeboat will replace Scarborough’s current RNLI Mersey class vessel, Fanny Victoria Wilkinson and Frank Stubbs, when she comes to the end of her operational life in around three years’ time.

It is being funded by a legacy left in 1995 by Frederick William Plaxton, former chairman of Scarborough-based coach building firm Plaxton, and will be named after its benefactor.

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The Shannon, which has a top speed of 25 knots compared with the Mersey’s 17 knots, has been designed in-house by RNLI naval architects and is the first of the charity’s boats to feature twin water jets instead of conventional propellers, allowing her to operate in shallow waters and be highly manoeuvrable.

The seats are designed to protect the crew members as much as possible from the forces of the sea in rough weather, while it also incorporates SIMS (System and Information Management System) which allows the crew to monitor the lifeboat from the safety of their chairs.

Scarborough RNLI lifeboat operations manager Colin Lawson said: “Everyone connected with Scarborough lifeboat station is thrilled to hear that we will be one of the first in the country to operate the new class of lifeboat.

“The Shannon is a revolutionary vessel, quite different to our current lifeboat, and the volunteer crew at Scarborough are very much looking forward to receiving her on station.

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“We are so grateful for the generous gift from Mr Plaxton – legacies are a very important source of funding for our charity and without people like Mr Plaxton, the RNLI would be unable to carry out its vital life-saving role.”

The new class of lifeboat will undergo full sea trials later this year, the first operational vessels going on station in 2013.

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