Our day started early with a drive down to Southampton to catch the Ferry across to the Isle of Wight. The first time our brave bears had been on the water.
Bembridge Lifeboat Station
Our first stop after a short drive was RNLI Bembridge. Unfortunately we were too early for the shop and station to be open but we got the obligatory photo. The Tamar Class is housed in an impressive boathouse at the end of a jetty. We peered through the window and saw the boat sitting cosily in there. The Inshore is housed in a smaller boathouse on land next to the shop. We will be back to see this station as we are planning to book a visit to the Inshore Lifeboat Station in Cowes. More on that on another day.
Yarmouth Lifeboat Station
We drove round the southern coast road and stopped at the Donkey Sanctuary for lunch before heading on to Yarmouth. We spotted the majestic Severn Class moored in the harbour and took some photos. Then popped into the shop and had a lovely chat before being allowed a look in the station itself. We chatted for ages to one of the engineering team and the Social Media officer who very kindly came in to meet us. Thank you so much for your time and generosity.
Cowes Lifeboat Station
Final destination, after an Ice-Cream, was Cowes. We were met by Mark who very kindly gave us a tour of the station including the crew kit room, rest room, office and operations room as well as a good tour of the Atlantic 85 Lifeboat. It sure is an impressive boat closeup and at this station has a unique launch and recovery winch.
So that was our day. We couldn't have asked for better weather after the horrendous conditions the previous day. All boats were out in the rough water for the Round the Island Race on the Saturday and rightly had a well earned rest on the day we visited.
Check out our Gallery for more photos from our trips.
If you feel inspired to help these brave souls and find our journey so far, interesting, please do consider donating to the RNLI directly via our website and JustGiving page.
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