RNLI hovercraft, Morecambe, Lancashire
When we visited Morecambe in north Lancashire recently we watched this orange hovercraft on quite a fast training run out at sea. Then it turned towards the beach and came out of the water, seeming to gently slide this way and that as it picked its way between the fishing boats. It finally came to rest at the base of the ramp where the RNLI Lifeboat Station is.
The first RNLI rescue hovercraft was placed on service in 2002 and Morecambe is now one of only four stations operating a hovercraft alongside conventional lifeboats. Typically, the hovercraft operates on large areas of tidal mudflats or sand where the surface is too soft to support land vehicles and where the water is too shallow for boats. Each year, these areas see a number of incidents where people are caught out by the rising tide or trapped in quicksand or soft mud. Unless help is provided rapidly, such situations often result in tragedy.
The station also operates a fast small D-class inshore lifeboat.
Source: rnli.org/what-we-do/lifeboats-and-stations/our-lifeboat-f...
RNLI hovercraft, Morecambe, Lancashire
When we visited Morecambe in north Lancashire recently we watched this orange hovercraft on quite a fast training run out at sea. Then it turned towards the beach and came out of the water, seeming to gently slide this way and that as it picked its way between the fishing boats. It finally came to rest at the base of the ramp where the RNLI Lifeboat Station is.
The first RNLI rescue hovercraft was placed on service in 2002 and Morecambe is now one of only four stations operating a hovercraft alongside conventional lifeboats. Typically, the hovercraft operates on large areas of tidal mudflats or sand where the surface is too soft to support land vehicles and where the water is too shallow for boats. Each year, these areas see a number of incidents where people are caught out by the rising tide or trapped in quicksand or soft mud. Unless help is provided rapidly, such situations often result in tragedy.
The station also operates a fast small D-class inshore lifeboat.
Source: rnli.org/what-we-do/lifeboats-and-stations/our-lifeboat-f...