HERE is Hoylake's new state-of-the-art vessel as it leaves the RNLI's headquarters in Poole for its five-day journey to Wirral.

The Shannon class all-weather lifeboat is due to arrive in Hoylake today, Monday. The £2million lifeboat, named Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood, will arrive by sea at 10.30am.

Hoylake is only the fourth RNLI lifeboat station in the UK and Ireland to receive a Shannon, which is the first modern RNLI all-weather lifeboat to be propelled by water jets instead of propellers.

Designed by an in-house RNLI team, it is the most agile all-weather lifeboat in the charity’s fleet and has been developed with the safety and welfare of RNLI volunteer crews as a key priority.

John Curry, Hoylake Lifeboat operations manager, said everyone at the station has been looking forward to the vessel’s arrival for months.

He added: "The arrival of the new lifeboat will bring Hoylake into a new era of lifesaving as the response times of the station will be dramatically improved.

"The Supacat launch and recovery vehicle travels at ten miles an hour to the water’s edge and, once afloat, the Shannon is capable of speeds of 25 knots – 50 per cent faster than our current lifeboat.

"These factors will enable the Hoylake RNLI crews to arrive at the casualty that much faster and increase the chances of saving the lives of those who find themselves in peril on the sea.' 

"The new lifeboat has been funded in part by a generous legacy left to the charity by Miss Paulette Micklewood, from Oxford, and is named Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood in memory of her father.

A community fundraising appeal also contributed towards the cost of the lifeboat.

The Shannon replaces the station's current RNLI Mersey class lifeboat, Lady of Hilbre, which has operated at Hoylake since 1990. In that time, the lifeboat has carried out 237 rescues, saving 263 people.

The new £1.5M Launch and Recovery rig which accompanies the Shannon has also been funded by a legacy, from local businessman Roland Hough, and will be named in his honour.

This bespoke piece of equipment is capable of operating on the most challenging of beaches due to its all-track drive system.

It operates as a 'mobile slipway' and will make the lifeboat launch and recovery process both faster and safer.

Crew members have already undergone specialist training to prepare for the new lifeboat but following her arrival at Hoylake, there will be a further week of intensive training before the lifeboat is put on service and the Mersey withdrawn.

Matt Crofts, RNLI divisional operations manager, said: "The volunteer crew at Hoylake have shown a huge amount of dedication, spending many hours away from their families and in some cases taking holiday from work in order to fulfill the training requirements that come with a new all-weather lifeboat.

"Their commitment and hard work mean the transition to this new generation of lifeboat will be as smooth as possible and I know they are all very much looking forward to the enhanced lifesaving capability the Shannon will bring to the Wirral coast."