A husband and wife fund raising team are well on their way to buying a new RNLI lifeboat after visiting Swanage Lifeboat Station in Dorset, as part of a round Britain tour.
Belinda and James Richardson are travelling 8,500 miles in their Porsche 911, nicknamed Splash, on a strict schedule to visit all 238 lifeboat stations in 911 hours – raising the £110,000 needed to fund a relief D class inshore lifeboat.
Belinda and James Richardson met the crew of Swanage on a tour of the UK’s 238 lifeboat stations
Swanage leg sponsored by Priory Hotel
After arriving in Swanage on the evening of Tuesday 17th September 2024, they then faced the tightest timings in their 39-day challenge – to travel from Purbeck to the Channel Islands in less than 24 hours to visit the four lifeboat stations on Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney.
Having just managed to arrive back in Dorset on schedule to restart their journey through the South West from Weymouth, the Porsche team is now on the last leg through North Wales and Lancashire, and should arrive at their final destination on the Isle of Man at 09.11 on Monday 30th September 2024.
The Swanage leg of their lengthy journey was sponsored by The Priory Hotel in Wareham, following a visit that Belinda and James had previously made to Purbeck.
When discussing their RNLI challenge with Martin Coward, part of the garden team at the hotel who also used to volunteer for Kimmeridge Coastguard, they discovered that the former owner of the hotel, the late Anne Turner, had been a great supporter of the RNLI.
Lifeboat Operations Manager Rob Pullman and Martin Coward from The Priory accept the bespoke puzzle
Puzzle presented to lifeboat crew
Anne Turner had a long established connection with the charity, carrying out a lot of fundraising for the RNLI and as a result the hotel, where Anne’s daughter and granddaughter are still involved, generously decided to sponsor the event in her memory.
Martin Coward attended Swanage Lifeboat Station on the day to meet Belinda and James again, along with some others who have been tracking Belinda and James’ journey around the country in their Porsche 911.
When Belinda and James arrived, they presented a specially commissioned puzzle and some lifeboat Top Trump cards to the Swanage Lifeboat crew, and the games have already been played during a late night callout while the shore crew was awaiting the return of the lifeboat.
Belinda and James Richardson on their journey around the UK by Porsche
Hoping to reach final target by Christmas
Belinda Richardson told the Swanage team:
“We specifically wanted to buy a relief D class lifeboat in celebration of the RNLI’s 200th anniversary in 2024, and have raised more than £83,000 so far. We hope to reach our target of £110,000 by the end of 2024 – wouldn’t that make a great Christmas present?!
“I’m a big fan of both the RNLI and Porsche Carreras – both the Porsche 911 and the D class lifeboat first went into production in 1963.
“The D class is the same length and the same width as a Porsche Carrera and when we buy the new lifeboat it will be given the number 911.
“We did need to get special permission from the RNLI for that idea, as it is out of the normal numbering sequences allocated to new lifeboats.”
A Porsche named Splash, which caused quite a stir on its journey through Swanage
Thanks sent to all sponsors
Belinda added:
“We live on the Thames where there are four RNLI lifeboat stations. I’ve always wanted a Porsche since I was a child and when we saw an episode of Saving Lives At Sea we decided to drive round Britain and call into a few lifeboat stations.
“We previously did this challenge in 2018 and made it round the UK with seven minutes left on the clock, so now we’re aiming for a personal best of at least eight minutes to spare!
“It would be so great to raise enough money for a D class, but it’s not us who has raised the money, it is all our sponsors who have jumped on board and everyone who has donated, who we can’t thank enough for helping to achieve such a fantastic thing.
“Our D class inshore lifeboat will be called RNLI 911 Challenge and will be part of the relief fleet, meaning it could be used to save lives at sea anywhere around the coast of the UK and Ireland.”
An amazing Swanage Lifeboat Week in August 2024
Swanage Lifeboat Week raised £24,000
Meanwhile, the RNLI has confirmed that Swanage Lifeboat Week raised an incredible £24,000 for the service during nine days of activities in August 2024.
More than 500 visitors passed through the lifeboat station for its open day and nearly 2,000 ducks launched for the annual duck race, as the weather held fair for outdoor theatre and open air cinema events.
Swanage Royal British Legion generously hosted the lifeboat darts and quiz which were both well attended, and Swanage Sailing Club and Swanage Sea Rowing Club held races in aid of the RNLI.
The lifeboat loop running race became part of the Purbeck Trail Running series and attracted nearly 200 runners for the challenging route to the lighthouse and back.
And the lifeboat festival culminated with the build-a-boat competition that saw 12 boats built in four hours – with those that passed sea trials racing across Swanage Bay.
Swanage Lifeboat week’s build a boat competition was as hotly contested as ever
“It was a relief to have some fair weather!”
Swanage Lifeboat coxswain Dave Turnbull said:
“The week was a huge success with great attendance for all our events. We are very grateful that so many people gave generously to help us to raise such a significant amount towards our lifesaving work.
“None of it would have been possible without our team of volunteers who work throughout the year and during the week itself to organise, set up and host the events.
“My thanks go to all our volunteers and to our sponsors who enable the week to go ahead. It was also a relief to have some fair weather this year so that people could enjoy our outdoor events!”
Dates for next year’s Swanage Lifeboat Week have already been set, with events running between Saturday 9th August and Sunday 17th August 2025.
Nearly 2,000 ducks were sold and released for this year’s duck race
Further information
- Keep up to date with all the latest from Swanage Lifeboat Station
