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Volunteers needed to crew Anstruther’s new £2.5m lifeboat ahead of Spring arrival

Sea trials of the new Shannon-class lifeboat begin at the end of the month and recruitment is now under way.

The new Anstruther lifeboat will sail into port this spring.
The new Anstruther lifeboat will sail into port this spring. Image: Supplied by RNLI

Anstruther’s new £2.5 million lifeboat is due to sail into port this spring.

And the RNLI is looking for new volunteers to help crew it.

The state-of-the art Shannon-class boat will halve response times in what is believed to be the UK’s second busiest waterway.

HE NEW aNSTRUTHER LIFEBOAT WILL HALVE RESPONSE TIMEs
The new Anstruther lifeboat will halve response times. Image: Supplied by RNLI

It will replace the Mersey-class vessel, Kingdom of Fife, which has served the East Neuk base for almost 33 years.

And it will be housed in a new £7m lifeboat station to be built near the harbour.

The lifesaving boost comes as the RNLI celebrates its 200th anniversary.

And with training for the new boat due to begin at the end of this month, recruitment is well under way.

New station will replace existing home

The Anstruther crew are to leave their current harbourside base once the new lifeboat is fully operational.

It has been their home since 1904 but is too small to house the Shannon, its launch vehicle and carriage.

The current Anstruther lifeboat station. Image: Steve Brown / DCT Media
Designs of how the proposed new Anstruther lifeboat station will look.
Designs of how the proposed new Anstruther lifeboat station will look.

A temporary compound and slipway will be created next to the existing building until the new, permanent station is ready.

This means the lifeboat will be in place in time for the busy summer season.

Fife Council granted permission to demolish the existing station in 2020, despite a campaign to save it as a community hub.

And talks are ongoing regarding the building’s future.

Despite this, excitement is building for the new vessel’s arrival following an announcement in 2022 it would be a “Launch A Memory” boat.

Apply to join the Anstruther lifeboat crew

This gave people the chance to add a name to the side of the Shannon in tribute to a loved one.

Almost 5,000 people took the opportunity.

And the Anstruther team is now looking at how to offer people a chance to see the names close-up once the new, permanent base is open.

Anstruther lifeboat
The new Anstruther lifeboat. Image: Supplied by the RNLI

Shannon-class training will begin when a vessel from the RNLI’s relief fleet arrives at the end of January.

However, the Mersey-class will remain on service for emergency calls until the crew are fully competent on the new lifeboat.

An RNLI spokesman said: “The current Mersey-class lifeboat has been on station for over 32 years and is all that the current crew have ever known.

“This will make for a demanding first half of the year for Anstruther’s volunteers as they learn the ropes of a new lifeboat.”

Applications to join the team are open until Sunday and further details can be found here.

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