Changing the guard

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After almost twenty years of service, it was time to change the guard at RNLI Littlestone last Sunday when their Atlantic 75 lifeboat, B785 ‘Fred Clarke’ was retired and replaced by the latest Atlantic 85 model, named B922 ‘Jean McIvor’

Members of the Littlestone crew, all volunteers from the local community, paid homage to ‘Fred Clarke’ with a lively and impressive display on the waterfront by the station, alongside the replacement, ‘Jean McIvor’. Both vessels were named after generous supporters of the RNLI whose donations have helped finance operations.

Matt Crittenden, lifeboat operations manager at Littlestone said; “ Our Atlantic 75 has served faithfully for over twenty years and we will be sad to see her go but what we have with the new replacement is ‘Star Wars’ in comparison.”

Operations Manager, Matt Crittenden, alongside B785 Fred Clarke

Higher speed, endurance, and the latest navigational aids come with ‘Jean McIvor’, but Matt added; “All crew will tell you boats become like family. Fred is like comfy slippers. The new boat will take a while to adjust to, but we’ll get there.”

B785 Fred Clarke will be retiring to the Humber to serve as a guide boat.

The Atlantic 85 is the preferred lifeboat for the RNLI who are currently in the process of updating all their stations with this model.

Read more about RNLI Littlestone here.

Image Credits: Chris Lawson .

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