23/10/2008
Blessing Bessie
Next Sunday 26th October will be a proud day
for the volunteer crews and fundraisers at Baltimore Lifeboat
Station. The new RNLI inshore lifeboat Bessie will be officially
welcomed to Baltimore in a blessing of the boats ceremony
scheduled to take place at 3pm on Sunday at Baltimore Pier.
Bessie, an Atlantic 75 inshore lifeboat, is
temporarily located in a purpose built compound at Baltimore
Pier. Measuring 7.3 metres in length with a top speed of 32
knots and an endurance of 3 hours, she is operated by a helm
and crew of two. Currently she is launched by a tractor and
trailer, but ultimately will be slip launched from the lifeboat
station at Bull Point. The inshore lifeboat provides a rapid
response to inshore emergencies.
The Atlantic (B class) lifeboats are Rigid
Inflatable Boats (RIBs) with twin outboard motors and can
operate in conditions up to near gale Force 7. They were first
developed at Atlantic College in Wales under the guidance
of the late Rear Admiral Desmond J Hoare. The first official
B Class Atlantic lifeboat was put on station at Atlantic College
in 1973. Rear Admiral Hoare was the founding Head Master of
the Atlantic College. Born in Cobh, he took early retirement
from the British Navy, where he was a marine engineer and
designer, to set up the College. The RNLI officially gave
Rear Admiral Hoare £1 for the RIB design can you imagine
if the semi rigid concept had been patented by him, what an
income he’d have had from it! He is survived by his
wife Naomi, who also taught at the college and who made the
first neoprene wetsuits for students of the college. The Hoares
played a very important role in the Baltimore Sailing Club
when they retired to West Cork and indeed donated an early
prototype of the RIB as a crash boat to the club.
The new Atlantic 75, Bessie was made available
as a resource to the Irish Coast Guard in June and since then
she has exceeded all expectations in providing a rapid response
to incidents on the Islands and in the waters adjacent to
Baltimore Harbour. To recount just one incident, Bessie and
her crew provided an invaluable service in September when
the crew attended a yachtsman who had had his fingers severed
in a yachting accident on Cape Clear Island. Bessie was able
to make the journey to Cape Clear in just 15 minutes, a journey
that would normally take at least 40 minutes by ferry.
Baltimore is fortunate to have two lifeboats co-located within
the village, the all-weather lifeboat Hilda Jarrett and the
inshore lifeboat, Bessie. They provide a complementary service
ensuring that all incidents can be responded to in the most
effective manner.
In a small community it is quite astounding
to see the level of commitment to supporting the RNLI. Twenty-five
individuals were trained in variety of roles to ensure the
safe operation of the RIB both onshore and offshore. For some
this involved attending the RNLI Lifeboat Training College
in Poole, followed by intensive local training supported by
the RNLI Training Division, Ireland.
Fr. Kevin O’Regan and Rev. Bruce Hayes
will give the blessing accompanied by hymns performed by the
choir of the Church of the Sacred Heart, Rathmore. All are
welcome to this special celebration, which could not take
place without the generous support of sponsors and volunteers.
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