04-08-2025
Lifeboats from around Solway coast come together for Kippford RNLI open day
The host crew were joined by boats from Workington, Kirkcudbright and Nith Inshore Rescue
Four lifeboats and their crews from around the Solway coast came together for Kippford RNLI's open day on Sunday.
Kippford's D class Ronnie Sinclair boat was joined by Workington RNLI's Shannon class Dorothy May White, the Atlantic class Shiela Stenhouse from Kirkcudbright RNLI and independent lifeboat St John from Nith Inshore Rescue.
The crowds were able to get up close to the boats and chat to the volunteer crews, learning about what they do and their equipment. They could also see vehicles including Kippford's launch tractor, Kirkcudbright RNLI's Land Rover and Nith Inshore Rescue's launch vehicles and small boat.
Portling Coastguard volunteers also came along to talk about coastal safety and the work they do.
Visitors could enjoy tea and home baking in the coastguards as well as a display of posters from local schoolchildren celebrating 200 years of the RNLI. The Kippford RNLI volunteers will pick their favourites at the end of the summer holidays.
The day ended with all four lifeboats demonstrating their manoeuvrability in Kippford harbour in front of an enthralled crowd. The speed and ability to turn was evident across all sizes of boat.
The crews then headed further out to sea to conduct some joint training whilst they had the opportunity.
It was a great chance to practice some of the skills that might be needed if they have to work together on an incident.
Over the course of the day, more than £400 was donated by generous members of the public, which will be used to help save lives at sea. The RNLI relies entirely on public funding to operate their fleet of lifeboats from 238 stations across the UK and Ireland.
Kippford lifeboat operations manager, Gareth Jones, said: 'We had a fantastic open day again this year. I'd like to extend my thanks to the visiting crews who gave up their time to display their boats and create such a great experience for everyone.
'I'd also like to thank everyone who volunteers with Kippford RNLI, it's a big team effort to run these events and plenty of work went into the organisation.'
