Passage to Lowestoft for refit October 2009

On 8 October 2009, the Wells all-weather lifeboat no 12-003 Doris M Mann of Ampthill travelled to Lowestoft on the first leg of her journey to Holyhead for refit. The boat was lifted at Lowesoft Haven Marina onto a waiting lorry trailer for transport by road to Conway where she would be relaunched to complete the trip by sea to Holyhead.

Coxswain Allen Frary and six crew launched from Wells at 0715, arriving in Lowesoft harbour just over three hours later where Lowestoft Port Control kindly offered an early bridge lift to allow the lifeboat to proceed directly to Lowestoft Haven Marina. Here relief Mersey-class lifeboat no 12-25 Bingo Lifeline was waiting to be collected.

The crew transferred appropriate equipment and stores between the two lifeboats, checked both boats and completed handover paperwork. 12-003 was then walked into the hoist to be lifted and lowered onto the lorry provided by Malcolm Elvy Boat Transport.

There was time for lunch and a brief wait before 12-25 was able to join several other vessels for a bridge lift just after 2pm and set off back to Wells. 12-25 arrived off Wells just after 1800 and after a short wait for the tide to make sufficiently to enter the harbour, was recovered on the east side of the boathouse. Weather conditions were surprisingly pleasant for the time of year...