Lifeboat named in fond memory of Chris

FRIENDS and family turned out to remember a Southport man as a lifeboat was renamed in his honour.

A ceremony was held last weekend as Southport Lifeboat named their newest inshore vessel after Christopher Taylor, who died in the River Avon in 2001.

Christopher, who was a chemistry student at the University of Bath, lost his life after a desperate police rescue effort. The lifeboat will now serve as a permanent memorial to the talented sportsman and beloved brother and son.

The D-Class IB1 lifeboat was blessed and renamed at a ceremony at on Saturday, April 21, at the Waterside Lodge. Its £67,000 purchase came after Southport Lifeboar, an independent charity, was a awarded a £33,000 grant by the Department for Transport. The rest of the cost was raised through donations, the Lifeboat Lotto and the trust’s charity shop in Birkdale.

The Christopher Taylor is the same class used at more than 100 RNLI stations around Britain and benefits from an improved design from the older model previously used at Southport.

It is primarily used for shallow waters and on the Marine Lake, but is currently acting as the main vessel for Southport while the Heather White lifeboat is away for a refit.

Mark Hesketh, a coxswain of the Southport Lifeboat, said: “The new lifeboat vastly improves our ability to perform rescues on the Marine Lake and in shallow water off Southport, providing a

Christopher Taylor’s family and friends at the event The crowd at the ceremony The new lifeboat is launched after the naming and blessing Christopher’s dad, Mike Taylor, receives a photograph of the boat from senior coxswain Keith Porter