Hoylake RNLI receives state-of-the-art new lifeboat, crew are hoping for a new era of lifesaving

A new £2m lifeboat arrived in Hoylake RNLI lifeboat station on Monday morning following a five-day journey from Poole.

The brand new Shannon design is the first RNLI lifeboat model to be propelled by water jets instead of propellers, giving more efficient speed and manoeuvrability.

Operations manager at Hoylake RNLI lifeboat, John Curry said: “We are absolutely delighted to be the fourth lifeboat station in the UK and the first on the west coast, to have acquired a Shannon lifeboat.”

“The arrival of the new lifeboat will bring Hoylake into a new era of lifesaving as the response times of the station will be dramatically improved.”

The Shannon is capable of top speeds of 25knots, which is a 50 per cent increase in speed than the current lifeboat models.

Mr Curry said that while 25knots is the classified speed, under tests and on her journey over, the Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood has been performing up to 30knots.

He told YBW a typical launch at midnight with no one in the station currently takes between 20 to 24 minutes, however, with the new Shannon, launch time will be reduced to approximately 12 minutes.

Funding for the new boat has come partly from a generous legacy and in part from local fundraising.

“This has been the first time we have done the fundraising for both the boat and the boathouse all together,” added Mr Curry.

“The locals have been incredibly generous, and it’s fantastic when the general public get behind us, we couldn’t exist without them.”

Paulette Micklewood, from Oxford, bequeathed funding to the RNLI, and the lifeboat has been named after Miss Micklewood’s father, Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood.

The Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood replaces Hoylake’s Mersey class lifeboat, Lady of Hilbre, which has been operating since 1990 and has carried out 237 rescues, saving 263 people.

Crew members have already partaken of specialist training to prepare for the arrival of the lifeboat, and there will be a further week of intensive training before the Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood is launched into service on 11 December.

Mr Curry also said that any members of the public wishing to view the Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood are most welcome. The Hoylake station is open from 10am till 3pm. 

The Shannon, named the Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood, arrives today after her five-day voyage from the charity’s headquarters in Poole.

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