Buckie RNLI pit stop for fundraising 911 challenge

An unusual fundraiser for the RNLI has been roaring its way across the north coast.

Buckie’s RNLI lifeboat station recently played host to the RNLI 911 The Last Blast Challenge. Given a warm welcome were retired London couple James and Belinda Richardson, who are on a mission to raise £110,000 to fund a brand new D class lifeboat for the maritime search and rescue charity’s relief fleet. They also stopped by Macduff’s lifeboat station directly after calling at Buckie.

They are aiming to drive a Porsche 911 - named Splash - round all 238 RNLI lifeboat stations in Britain in a total of 911 hours, a mission which began at RNLI Morecombe on on August 23 and is due to end on September 30 at RNLI Peel on the Isle of Man.

The island was to provide the inspiration for the creation of what is now the RNLI by local resident and philanthropist William Henry back in 1824.

The epic journey will cover some 8500 miles, 36 ferries and four flights.

Belinda said: “We live on the Thames and around 20 years ago James bought a RIB.

“Before he bought it he contacted the RNLI to see what type of RIB they used, which was the Avon, and decided that if it was good enough for the RNLI it was certainly good enough for him.

“Since then we’ve been huge fans of the RNLI, they’re an incredible bunch of volunteers and families, just amazing and very genuine people.

“They’re a great bunch at Buckie lifeboat station and we enjoyed meeting them and having a few laughs.”

Lorna Cameron, from Buckie RNLI lifeboat station, said that although the visit had been brief it had nevertheless been very well-received.

She continued: “Belinda and James arrived at the station through the thick fog at around midday on September 7, and unfortunately due to the strict timetable they were on and delay coming over from Inverness meant they were only with us for about 10 minutes.

“Belinda presented the crew with a couple of presents, a deck of Top-Trumps especially made for the RNLI, with all the 238 stations having their own card, and a 500-piece jigsaw challenge for the crew to complete, made even harder by there being no picture to follow.

“The couple chatted about their last visit to the station when they did the Porsche challenge a couple of years back, and told us about the birth of their first grandchild, which they were super excited about.

“The crew are in awe of their challenge, everyone that managed to meet them were very taken with the car Splash, it's very cool and inspired by the couple and their dedication to the RNLI.”

The Richardsons are no strangers to Buckie RNLI, having previously done separate tours of the lifeboat stations in the Home Nations. This tour, Belinda said, would be their final hurrah, hence the name of the tour, The Last Blast.

Belinda continued: “As well as raising money for a new D class it’s a chance to drive round the country in this magnificent machine [the Porsche 911].

“I’ve wanted one for 35 years!

“When we finished the tours of the Home Nations and friend of ours said ‘You’ve got this far, why stop now?’ so we decided to do The Last Blast.”

She went on to point out that there was an “awful lot of synergy” between the history of the two machines. The 911 and D class were first launched in the same year - 1963 - and at that point cost roughly the same. They are the same width, the driver’s position is the same and they are both rear engined.

While there have been many challenges involved in the tour, there have been more than enough compensations.

Belinda explained: “A lot of planning is require and the devil is very much in the detail.

“It took four or five months of planning; it’s not just the route is things like accommodation, ferries and so on. We wanted to get the parts of the route which involved taking ferries done before autumn when the weather often starts closing in.

“The best thing about this has been the people we’ve met, there’s no doubt about that. We’ve met so many amazing people.

“Early on in the tour James and I started getting this ache in our jaws and we eventually realised it was from laughing and smiling so much. We’ve met so many truly inspirational people.

“Our funding target is £110,000 - anything north of that will be amazing.

“We’ll be finishing up on the Isle of Man, at RNLI Peel, where it all started for the RNLI. Once we’re done, we’ll be taking the Porsche for a good blast over the island.”

At the time of writing, the campaign had already raised £83,000 - for more information on the fundraiser and to make a donation, visit https://rnli-911challenge.co.uk/

Belinda described the D class as a “workhorse and pocket rocket” in the RNLI fleet.

D class lifeboats are involved in more than 60 per cent of all RNLI rescues. While it is a small vessel, it can sustain three hours at sea travelling at 25 knots. Due to its size the D class can venture into waters which are too shallow for All Weather Lifeboats.

There are multiple launching methods for this class of lifeboat - tractor, trailer or davit.