An action-packed Newquay RNLI Lifeboat Day helped raise £5,649 and honoured volunteers.

Hoards of locals and holidaymakers headed to the harbour to enjoy the fun on Saturday. 

Gareth Horner, the lifeboat operations manager, said: “Everyone at our station, crew and fundraisers, are over the moon at how successful this year’s event was and it’s safe to say all the hard work they put in to organise this event has well and truly paid off.  

“The support we get from the public is what enables our volunteer crew to go to sea and save lives. We rely on donations and legacies, and we are delighted to say that this year’s lifeboat day has raised in excess of £5,659 with some monies still to come in, this sum is made up from stallholders, the collection buckets on the day and our lifeboat retail shop – a truly successful and thoroughly enjoyable day all round.  

“We cannot thank everyone enough for coming along and enjoying the day with us and donating to the RNLI charity in such difficult times.” 

There was a dramatic start to the day with a parade by Kernow Pipes and Drums, who marched through the town down to the harbour.  

Mayor Margaret North joined the parade by riding in a replica of Newquay’s first-ever lifeboat, The Joshua, alongside the charity’s mascot Stormy Stan and volunteer Carey Thomas, who was one of the main organisers of the day. 

This year saw a change to the event, as the harbour car park was closed and a pop-up market was set up bringing food, drink, a carousel, face painters, a candy floss stall, handmade jewellery and the popular Teddy Tombola. 

Volunteer RNLI crew from Padstow Lifeboat Station brought their all-weather Tamar class lifeboat along, The Spirit of Padstow and a huge queue formed quickly for onboard tours. However, the tours came to an abrupt pause when Padstow pagers wailed to alert the crew to a tasking at Porth Cothan where a mass rescue was in progress.  

Seconds later the pages of Newquay volunteers also rang and visitors were treated to real life action as boat crew dashed up the quay to board the lifeboats. Thankfully a stand down order was received before they all reached Porth Cothan and the crews were able to return to begin demonstrations in the bay. 

Spectators were treated to ‘man over board’ scenarios by each lifeboat crew. 

The final event of the day was the pilot gig race, the Walker Cup, with a crew of RNLI personnel racing against a crew from Newquay Rowing Club. A broken pin for Newquay at the beginning of the race meant that the rowing club crew made a gain, however after losing out by seconds last year, the RNLI crew were determined to get a win and following a close race, the cup was there’s once more.