By Isle of Wight Observer
There was a good turnout of visitors to the Bembridge lifeboat station on Saturday, August 17 for the annual “Open Day”, with over 1,100 people visiting the lifeboat station during the day.
They took the opportunity to inspect the inshore and all-weather lifeboats and enjoyed the entertainment put on for all ages, both on-shore and in the offshore boathouse.
As well as being a fun event, there was the important message of how to keep safe in, on or around the sea. Bembridge lifeboat’s Coastal Safety team and HM Coastguard gave out valuable advice to all, with around 200 people expressing a particular interest in safety issues.
The Visits and Education team also had a busy day, with many youngsters interested in the work of the lifeboats. Visitors were given guided tours of the all-weather lifeboat by crew members who explained how the ‘high-tech’ craft is operated.
Just after midday, the offshore boathouse was packed with spectators to witness the
launch of the “Tamar” class all-weather lifeboat “Alfred Albert Williams”. Together
with the inshore lifeboat “Norman Harvey” the two vesels entertained the crowds with a
simulated rescue and display, close to the shoreline, demonstrating how the lifeboats can
respond and operate in an emergency.
Over the course of the day, in excess of £3,000 to support the work of the lifeboats was raised from sales of RNLI goods, refreshments, and donations.
