Lifeboat heads to Dorset for refit
The Lerwick lifeboat has spent five days at sea – ahead of a major refit taking place in Poole, Dorset.
The Michael and Jane Vernon left Lerwick last Thursday morning and travelled over 750 nautical miles to England’s south coast.
On the way, the crew had overnight stops at RNLI lifeboat stations at Peterhead, Hartlepool, Lowestoft and Newhaven to rest and to refuel the vessel.
They finally arriving at Poole on Monday afternoon.
The crew navigated through the busy shipping lanes of the Thames Estuary and the English Channel, passing landmarks such as the White Cliffs of Dover and the chalk stacks known as the Needles in the Isle of Wight.
With mostly favourable weather throughout, they made good progress each day, reducing speed for areas of poor visibility on stretches of the East Coast and the Solent.
Over the coming months, RNLI technicians will now undertake a major refit of the 28-year old vessel in the specialist facility, which includes two large boat halls used to maintain and manufacture lifeboats in the RNLI fleet.
Propellers and engines will be removed and overhauled, and all major systems inspected, replaced or upgraded where possible.
The condition of the fibreglass hull will also be closely checked before repainting.
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