It was a historic occasion for New Quay RNLI on Sunday, as the station’s £2.5m Shannon class lifeboat Roy Barker V arrived home.
The state-of-the-art lifeboat received quite a welcome, with a party on the quayside and a flotilla of local boats, including local lifeboats.
Members of the volunteer crew travelled to Poole in Dorset to collect the Shannon. They arrived in New Quay at 1.48pm - the hull number of our new lifeboat (13-48).
Roger Couch, RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager at New Quay said: “Seeing our new Shannon class lifeboat sailing into sight is something that will stay with me for a very long time.
“This really does signify the beginning of a new era of lifesaving at New Quay RNLI. The amount of people who had turned out to welcome her home really does speak volumes for the support we have in this community for which we are incredibly grateful.”
The community celebrated the historic occasion with a party on the pier, the highlight of which was the new lifeboat entering view.
It was an emotional sight for fundraisers who have worked tirelessly to support efforts to raise more than £100,000 to pay for crew training and transportation cost for the Shannon.
New Quay’s RNLI coxswain Dan Potter had the important role of bringing the Shannon home.
It was a historic moment for Dan, who has been an operational volunteer on three different classes of lifeboat – the Watson class lifeboat – the Mersey and now the Shannon.
“Bringing this lifeboat home to New Quay is one of the greatest honour of my RNLI career,” he said.
“It was a humbling and incredibly emotional experience which will stay with me for a very long time. The pinnacle just had to be seeing the crowds who had turned out to welcome us home.
“Whilst the Mersey class lifeboat has served us well, this modern faster and more capable boat will help us to save more lives off the coast of Ceredigion.
“We are incredibly grateful for all the support we’ve received in making today happen.”
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