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The All Weather Lifeboat

The Royal Thames   12-36

Eastbourne R.N.L.I. has to lifeboats. The All Weather Lifeboat (ALB) R.N.L.B. The Royal Thames, named by Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent on Monday 6th September 1993. The lifeboat is one of the R.N.L.I. designed Mersey Class of Lifeboats. She is made of fibre reinforced composite material, which is extremely strong. The Merseys are powered by two Caterpillar 3208T V-8 engines developing 280 SHP each. This engine fit gives a typical maximum speed of 16.5 knots.

Tankage is provided for 1088 litres of diesel fuel giving a duration of 10.16 hours.

The Royal Thames was provided by funds raised as a result of an appeal to members of the Royal Thames Yacht Club together with the proceeds of a local appeal in Eastbourne, a generous anonymous gift and other gifts and legacies

Royal Thames on exerciose off Beachy Head.

                           Outside Helm Controls                                               Inside Helm Controls

                                     Engines                                                 Communications and navigation

The Inshore Lifeboat (ILB)

Eastbourne Inshore Lifeboat -ILB 'D-744 Laurence and Percy Hobbs'

September 2011  

Thanks to the generosity of lifetime RNLI supporter and Shoreline member Louise Hobbs, the volunteer crew at Eastbourne lifeboat station have welcomed a brand new inshore lifeboat to their ranks.

First launch of new ILB

When Louise sadly passed away in 1999, aged 96 years, she bequeathed part of her estate to Eastbourne RNLI lifeboat station. The legacy was for the specific purpose of funding a replacement for their D-class inshore lifeboat (ILB)

when it reached the end of its serviceable life.

The new £39,000 lifeboat, Laurence and Percy Hobbs, is named after Louise’s father, Laurence John Hobbs, and brother Percy, neither of whom are alive today. The lifeboat replaces the old D-class inshore lifeboat Joan & Ted Wiseman 50, which has been on station since August 2003.

Ronald Hamlin, 92, is the nephew of Louise Hobbs. He said: ‘My aunt Louise was the youngest daughter of Laurence and his wife Eleanor. Laurence – my grandfather – was a merchant seaman, but beyond that there was no other family connection to the sea or the work of the RNLI. I gather Louise was just a great admirer of the life saving the RNLI does. Oddly enough, my own wife used to help fundraise for the lifeboats back when she was a young girl in Grimsby.’

He continued: ‘Although she did not hail from Eastbourne, Louise moved to the town in later life with another of my aunts, Martha. I can only assume she used to see and hear about the town’s lifeboats launching and just had a great admiration for the crews and love for the town, hence she decided to leave a donation specifically for Eastbourne RNLI.’