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New
Quay Lifeboat Station
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The lifeboats at New Quay serve the coastal area between Cardigan and Aberystwyth lifeboat stations. These two stations are equipped with fast inshore lifeboats: –
The lifeboats at New Quay serve the coastal area between
Cardigan and Aberystwyth lifeboat stations. These two
stations are equipped with fast inshore lifeboats: –
Cardigan in the south has a B class Atlantic lifeboat,
‘Tanni Grey’ and a D class lifeboat, ‘Elsie Ida Meade’ - Aberystwyth in the north also have a B class Atlantic lifeboat, ‘Spirit
of Friendship’. Operating offshore for long periods, in difficult weather conditions and at night requires a very different type of lifeboat. The Mersey class All Weather Lifeboat (ALB) based at New Quay performs this role. Covering a very large area of sea and coast, the station is flanked by two ALB stations – Fishguard in the south with their Trent class lifeboat, ‘Blue Peter V11’ and Barmouth in the north with a Mersey class lifeboat, ‘Moira Barrie’.
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New Quay is part of the RNLI West Division comprising 31 lifeboat stations around the coast of Wales from Penarth in the south to Rhyl in the north. Five stations around the Isle of Man are also included within the Division. The two lifeboats at New Quay, the Mersey class ALB ‘Frank and Lena Clifford of Stourbridge’, named after the main donors who along with several other people left legacies to enable the lifeboat to be purchased by the RNLI in 1992. |
CREW NOTICE
To be announced
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The Hon Mrs. Audrey Lawson Johnston presented the D class
inshore lifeboat (ILB) ‘Amy Lea’ to the station in 2004.
Along with her parents and other members of her family who
were passengers aboard the Lusitania, she survived when it
was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine off the coast
of Ireland on 7th May 1915. |
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Naming the lifeboat ‘Amy Lea’ in memory of her mother Amy Lea Pearl.
Mrs. Lawson Johnston was only 3 months old at the time of the disaster. Significantly, she presented the lifeboat at a naming and dedication ceremony in New Quay on 7th May 2004, the 89th anniversary of the sinking and in her 89th year. Now 91 years old, together with her family she maintains an active interest in the lifeboat station and the service performed by the lifeboat she generously donated.
left: The Mersey class life boat 'Frank and Lena Clifford of Stourbridge'.
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The first lifeboat station in New Quay was built in 1864 . The first lifeboat, rowed by 12
oars, was Forester. At this time, New Quay was becoming
important as both a fishing port and a centre for boat building. By 1848 shipbuilding had become a major industry
in New Quay and in this year it is recorded that there were 10 vessels on the stocks at one
time that required the skills of some three hundred workmen.
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Forester
1864 - 1872
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William Cantrell Ashley
1907 - 1948
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Birds Eye
1970 -
1990
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William Cantrell Ashley was the New Quay
lifeboat from 1907 to 1948, and was the last sailing
lifeboat in the RNLI. After retirement from the lifeboat
service, it went to the Outward Bound Sea School at
Aberdovey where it was renamed 'Outward Bound'.
The new boathouse was built in 1992 to
accommodate the Mersey class life boat 'Frank
and Lena Clifford of Stourbridge'.
New
Quay Lifeboat Station News 2010:
RNLI New Quay rescues broken down yacht
The crew of the all weather lifeboat at New Quay were
rudely awoken from their post Saturday night slumber by a
7.30am call from the Coastguard on Sunday morning, July
25th. The mission was to rescue a broken down catamaran
positioned south of Aberporth head.
The problem was an engine failure, possibly caused by fuel
problems, and the only solution was a tow into New Quay
harbour. Two crew members went aboard, fixed a tow rope
and the yacht was successfully brought to New Quay in calm
sea conditions with light winds.
Coxswain Daniel Potter , who took a seven person crew
commented, "This was a very straightforward operation. The
crew are trained to respond quickly whatever the time of
day or night and a 7.30 am call on a Sunday presents no
problems."
This rescue followed another call on Friday afternoon to
rescue three people stranded by the tide on rocks near
Traeth Gwyn in New Quay. The inshore lifeboat was quickly
despatched to the scene and the three people brought back
to the harbour.
RNLI New Quay opens its doors to the public -
The RNLI at New Quay offers a warm
welcome to everyone when it holds its Open Day on
Sunday,15th August. The station has a proud history dating
back to 1864 when New Quay took possession of its first
lifeboat, the Forester. This was a sail and row boat, a
far cry from the sophisticated Mersey class all weather
lifeboat which has served the area since 1992 along with a
D class Inshore lifeboat. The station today has twenty six
trained volunteer crew together with a supporting shore
crew and a small team of station officials. Doors are open
at 11am and the day will give an opportunity to meet and
chat with the crew, see the lifeboats and look around the
boathouse. Family attractions will include a "welly
wanging" competition, screen washing for the car, and a
chance to photograph the children on the inshore lifeboat.
The barbecue begins at twelve noon and cakes and
refreshments will be served during the day by members of
the fund raising committee.
Roger Couch, Lifeboat Operations Manager commented, "As
a charity we rely totally on the public for our funding
and we are grateful for their strong support, both locally
and nationally. The Open Day is a means for us to say
thank you and give people an insight into how those funds
are used. We hope that lots of people will come to see us
on the 15th August".
RNLI New Quay
hosts Sunday Sea Service - Over seventy people attended
the annual Sea Sunday service held at the RNLI boathouse in
New Quay on Sunday, July 18th. The service was conducted by
Paul and Delyth Wilson, lay readers at New Quay church, and
two members of the local RNLI team, Roger Couch and Simon
Williams, read the lessons. The theme was helping others,
taking the parable of the Good Samaritan as its basis. A
sizeable collection in aid of the RNLI and the Mission to
Seafarers was received and refreshments were provided after
the service by the local RNLI fund raising committee. New Quay and
Aberystwyth RNLI practice their first aid skills - New
Quay and Aberystwyth RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew joined
together on Thursday 24th June to practice vital first aid
skills that will help save lives at sea. Both RNLI lifeboat
crew had a chance to practice their first aid skills after
they received official training beginning of the year. The
New Quay all-weather lifeboat crew and Aberystwyth’s
Atlantic 85 lifeboat crew practiced dealing with simulated
burns, that could have resulted from an explosion on board,
possible poisoning and sea sickness. New Quay inshore
lifeboat crew had the task to practice dealing with burns as
a result of a possible explosion ashore round a campfire.
Sailing
Around Mainland Britain - The ILB 'Amy Lea' launched on
exercise during the evening of Wednesday 9th June with Ben
Billingham and Kelvin Watters on board, to meet the Wayfarer
sailing dinghy "Viper". Helmed by Fran Gibbert and assisted
by some 40 volunteer crew she is sailing around the coast of
mainland Britain to raise money for the RNLI and the Shining
Life Children's Trust. They have now been sailing for 26
days, stopping off in various places, and on the 9th June
sailed up from Fishguard into New Quay overnight. The
pictures show the "Viper" off the coast and with the ILB
giving her some help onto a mooring off the main pier in New
Quay.
Fran has her own web site where her progress around the
coast can be followed together with her blog giving some
interesting details of the many legs of the journey.
www.fransbigadventure.com
Visiting
Lifeboat - A surprise visitor came into the harbour on
Thursday 3rd June - "THE ALWAYS READY" is a Liverpool class
lifeboat built in 1933 by J Samuel White, Cowes, Isle of
Wight. She is of double diagonal construction, mahogany on
oak and has a Lister diesel engine model 1PWS4. She was
built as the Runswick lifeboat and operated there until
1953. In 1934 the name was changed to "ROBERT PATTON THE
ALWAYS READY" after the loss of the Coxswain in a rescue.
Sold out of service in 1954, she became the Sharpness pilot
boat until 1978. After several owners she was bought by her
present owner in 2007 and has since undergone a major
restoration. The pictures show her together with the New
Quay lifeboat " FRANK & LENA CLIFFORD OF STOURBRIDGE".
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Tractor for Launching the ILB
- The station received a new piece of equipment on
Wednesday 19th May - a New Holland 'Boomer 2035' tractor
which is taking over the ILB launch and recovery role
from the old Honda ATV. The tractor will be a more
robust and reliable vehicle, particularly on the slope
of the beach and in soft sand, where the ATV had a
severe weakness. The tractor will also be utilised by
the shore crew at low tides to assist the recovery of
the Mersey class lifeboat, by transporting and moving
the heavy skids. The picture on the right shows the new
tractor. |
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Exercise with the
helicopter: Both New Quay Lifeboats had the annual
helicopter exercise on Saturday 8th May with the RAF
helicopter Sea King 169 from Chivenor that took place off
New Quay bay. The crew carried out a total of nine lifts and
the helicopter landed afterwards on the New Quay football
field and joined the lifeboat crew for lunch and a debrief
in the Penwig hotel.
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New Quay Lifeboat Station, New Quay, Cardiganshire SA45 9PS
Telephone - 01545 560311
Click here to
visit the main RNLI website
Click
here to visit the New Quay section of the RNLI website
Registered Charity Number: 209603
Please note: New Quay Lifeboat
Station is not responsible for the content of external internet
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