'You build up an enormous bond with your boat'

"It is tinged with sadness that she is leaving us. You build up an enormous bond with your boat," said RNLI mechanic Jonathon Blakeston.

He has been a coxswain on board Falmouth RNLI's Severn class lifeboat 17-29 RNLB Richard Cox Scott for about nine years.

Falmouth RNLI announced the vessel had reached the end of its operational life and would be withdrawn from service at the end of January.

"The Severn class is the largest in the fleet, you always felt safe and secure," Mr Blakeston said.

The lifeboat began its service back in 2001. Since then, she has been called out more than 500 times, assisting more than 700 people and saving 12 lives.

The coxswain said there had been several memorable jobs over the course of the lifeboat's service, including the time a 16,000-tonne Russian cargo ship ran aground off off Gyllyngvase Beach in Falmouth.

"She's been fantastic, absolutely fantastic," he said.

"I have nothing but praise... certainly happy memories."

Mr Blakeston, who began volunteering at the lifeboat station more than 30 years ago, said: "It's a new chapter for Falmouth lifeboat station and it's time for us to step into the next generation of boating regarding the RNLI."

He said the station had been designated a Shannon-class lifeboat which he said was a smaller all-weather lifeboat but "no less capable".

Operations manager Nick Lewis said: "The Shannon is more manoeuvrable and I believe that with our patch, which is around 90 miles of coastline, she will be very well suited to our area.

"It will be a sad day but we have respect for the new boat that is coming."

The RNLI has organised a series of guided tours of the boat so the public can have a closer look at this little bit of Cornwall's maritime history.

Lifeboat visits officer Andrew Mumford said there was "a great deal of affection" for the boat from Falmouth residents.

He said: "We wanted to offer the opportunity for people to come and say farewell to it and thank it for its years of service."

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