New Looe lifeboat ready for action
The Ollie Naismith II is set to begin its life saving work today
Looe's new lifeboat, the Ollie Naismith II, is ready to begin saving lives at sea.
The new boat replaces the previous Ollie Naismith, which has reached the end of its operational life.
An appeal for a new D Class inshore lifeboat was launched in March 2021, with the aim of raising £78,000 - it ended up smashing its target, raising £111,000 when it closed a year later.
The extra money raised will go towards operational costs.
The boat is named after Ollie, a popular local teenager who died in a crash in 2009 - its official launch date of the 19th of November would have been his birthday.
Dave Haines, RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager at Looe, says, "The D Class lifeboat Ollie Naismith has proved to be a vital asset to the town and the volunteer crew in Looe are looking forward to the arrival of the Ollie Naismith II to continue Ollie’s lifesaving legacy into the 2030’s.
"The Ollie Naismith will be returning to the RNLI’s inshore lifeboat centre in Cowes for a refit before entering the reserve fleet. During her service to Looe the Ollie has launched on service 236 times, assisting 168 persons and saving 8 lives."