New Oban lifeboat named at dedication ceremony
The new Shannon class lifeboat to serve the maritime, coastal and island communities from Oban was officially named and dedicated at a ceremony on the town’s South Pier on Saturday.
The naming of The Campbell-Watson was marked by a member of the crew pouring a quaich of Oban whisky onto her bow.
More than 200 families, fundraisers and members of the local community joined crew members for a dedication service led by the Very Reverend Dr Angus Morrison, a former moderator of the Church of Scotland who was brought up in Oban.
A legacy from Elizabeth Watson, who lived in Northern Ireland, funded much of the cost of the £2.3 million lifeboat. She had been the daughter of an Oban merchant navy captain and widow of a merchant navy engineering officer who had died at sea in 1989. The Campbell-Watson was handed over on her behalf by her representative Caroline Moorhead.
“Mrs. Watson herself worked in the drawing office of Harland and Wolff in Belfast, so she too had a lifetime connection with the sea,” said Mrs Moorhead. “She always held the RNLI close to her heart.
“Mrs. Watson would have been delighted that her donation has helped provide a new Shannon lifeboat for Oban that carries her maiden name and her married name, which was her dream.”
The vessel was accepted on behalf of the charity by Charles Hunter-Pease, Honorary Vice President of the RNLI, who said:
“It is always a privilege to accept a lifeboat into the RNLI fleet, and I am pleased to hand it over into the care of the crew here at Oban. It gives me the opportunity to say thank you to so many staff, volunteers and supporters who, with their predecessors, have ensured the survival of this charity for two centuries.
“It is quite humbling to realise that, in the last 200 years, we have saved 146,277 lives, about the population of Dundee, and removed from harm's way some ten to 15 times that number.”
Oban Lifeboat Operations Manager, Peter MacKinnon leads a small team of Launch Authorities who liaise with the Coastguard to make the decision on the safe launch of the lifeboat. He said the new vessel is quite different from its predecessor:
“Our last lifeboat, the Mora Edith MacDonald was with us for 29 years and is now part of the reserve fleet, based in Inverness. The new Shannon class vessel differs in many ways from her Trent predecessor. There are waterjets instead of propellers and the engines are electronically managed.
“When we send this lifeboat to sea, we know that the crew, through their training and experience, are very competent and they have the latest and finest rescue equipment to support them.”
The volunteer crew at Oban cover just under 500 miles of coastline, more than 100 islands, and 17 sea lochs. Oban is often Scotland's busiest single vessel all-weather lifeboat station and was the first to exceed 100 callouts in a single year.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
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