Lifeboat hero immortalised
HUNDREDS turned out to witness the naming of a new inshore lifeboat after a former coxswain who died at sea while on a rescue mission.
Pwllheli RNLI volunteers held a special ceremony at the lifeboat station to name their £48,000 D-class lifeboat the Robert J Wright.
Volunteer coxswain and Pwllheli councillor Bob Wright MBE passed away at sea during a lifeboat rescue mission in September 2015.
Mr Wright, 66, was on a call-out to aid the crew of a yacht which had run aground when he suffered a suspected heart attack.
After his death, the crew, with the support of the community, helped raise the money for the new vessel.
Pwllheli RNLI crew member Tomos Moore said of the naming ceremony: “It went really well. It was great to have fine, sunny weather. We’ve had the boat for nearly a month and it has been on a couple of shouts.
“After Bob died, we raised £24,000 in the first month and we were boosted when a local Pwllheli lady supported us with a large contribution.
“All this money has been raised locally. It hasn’t come from the RNLI HQ in Poole or from another large pot of money. It’s money raised by local people and visitors and from collection jars around the town. This is truly a boat funded by the community.”
Coxswain Clive Moore said: “It’s always great to see a new boat arrive – even more the new D-Class, as it means so much to the crew and local residents of Pwllheli. “It’s a rare and appropriate tribute to our former coxswain Robert Wright.It’s great to know Robert J Wright will live on ‘in service’ for many more years to come.” The honour of formally naming the D-class lifeboat was given to Pwllheli resident Mary Jones, who has spent a lifetime supporting her local lifeboat station.