Busy weekend for RNLI crew as new Cleethorpes station opens
The crew was first called out to a broken down motor cruiser, which they towed to Grimsby.They then responded to a small boat, which had capsized near Humberston. The final call-out was to a yacht struggling to reach its mooring at the Humber Mouth Yacht Club.Volunteer Matt McNally told BBC Radio Humberside: "Three call-outs on the first weekend is pretty busy but it was a good shakedown and test of how we operate in this new station".The station has a D Class boat, used for inshore rescues, and a larger Atlantic 85 boat which extends the crew's range and capability. Mr McNally said: "All of the crew are over the moon to finally be in and to be using this fantastic building. We've watched it being built for so long. We have a building that's fantastic for our resort and that's also fantastic for our life-saving service."He said the new station would ensure crew could "respond better, safer and quicker".
Not only do they now have a second lifeboat, the 20-strong crew also have larger changing rooms. The old station, just over the road from the new facility, was so cramped that crew occasionally had to get changed in the street. Plans for the station were announced 2021 but construction was delayed in 2023 when the original contractor Tolent PLC went into administration and the RNLI appointed a replacement, Wynne Construction.
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