DONE IT! DROVE AROUND THE UK & IRELAND IN 911 HOURS
WHO ARE WE?
We are Belinda & James, a young (at heart) recently retired couple from London.
We have been big fans of the RNLI since owning a RIB on the Thames over 20 years ago.
Although we are not connected to the RNLI we are humbled by this unique organisation's 6,500 volunteers; and wish to put our
'new found freedom' to good use in supporting their gallant efforts by raising funds for a 'relief'
'D' Class Lifeboat.
And we get to drive to some of the most beautiful and diverse coastline around the UK and Ireland in our Challenge car named 'SPLASH’
RNLI-911 CHALLENGES
2018 drove anti-clockwise around the whole of the
UK & IRELAND coastline visiting
ALL 238 RNLI Lifeboat Stations IN 911 HOURS!!!
* 2019 SCOTLAND CHALLENGE
* 2021 WALES CHALLENGE
* 2022 IRELAND (North & South) CHALLENGE
2023 ENGLAND CHALLENGE
2024 drove clockwise around the whole of the UK & IRELAND visiting all 238 lifeboat stations
AGAIN WITHIN 911 HOURS!
* visited all current & past RNLI lifeboat stations
WHEN
Started 1st Challenge: 9.11am on 23.8.18
Last Challenge Finished: 9.11am on 30.9.24
OUR MISSION
1.To raise awareness of this unique organisation which is run by volunteers whose sole purpose is to
‘save lives at sea’
2. To raise funds via sponsorship and donations specifically to buy a Relief ‘D’ Class Lifeboat in celebration of the RNLI's 200th Anniversary in 2024!
AND THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS, DONORS & SUPPORTERS...WE DID IT!
We busted our original target of £52,000 (2018) to over £133,000!
Enough to pay for a 'D' Class Lifeboat, training and kit for 3 crew members and plenty left over for any maintenance of lifeboat number D-911!
HOW PEOPLE HELPED OPTION 1
SPONSOR OUR DRIVE TO A STATION
We invited people/companies to SPONSOR us £238 to drive to one of the 238 RNLI Lifeboat Stations
(or multiples of)
located around the whole of the UK & Ireland
AND for an extra £20 a commemorative gift which was presented to their chosen Lifeboat Station/s
IN RETURN THEIR NAME/LOGO FEATURED:
On our Instagram page
and
on ‘SPLASH’ - the Challenge car.
ADVERTISING ON OUR CAR OPTION 2
CORPORATE ADVERTISING ON THE CAR
Some companies chose to just advertise on 'Splash' our Challenge car which we drove on a 9,000 mile circumnavigation of ENGLAND, IRELAND, WALES, SCOTLAND, SHETLAND, ORKNEY, OUTER & INNER HEBRIDES ISLE OF MAN, ISLE OF WIGHT, ISLES OF SCILLY, ALDERNEY, GUERNSEY, JERSEY,
and everything in between!
The more stations they sponsored the larger their branding presence on the car.
100% of all sponsorship went go towards our
'D' Class Lifeboat Appeal
HOW ONLINERS HELPED OPTION 3
ONLINE DONATION
via this website and Paypal
Every penny donated went towards our
'D' Class Lifeboat Appeal
HOW OTHERS HELPED OPTION 4
VIA OUR COLLECTION POT
Many people stopped to say hi and helped to fill our collection pot!
Every penny of which headed straight towards our
'D' Class Lifeboat Appeal
SPONSOR A STATION
Here is a list of all the lifeboat stations we visited around the British Isles & Ireland.
2024 was our 'last blast' RNLI-911 CHALLENGE at the end of which we hoped to raise enough to buy the
Relief 'D' Class lifeboat.
We were sponsored to drive to any number of stations
@ £238 each, plus for an extra £20 for a
200th Anniversary commemorative gift which was presented to the station volunteers.
We were delighted to have so many sponsors join us along the way and present the gift to the station volunteers.
Some sponsored us to drive to a station close to where they lived, worked or went on holiday or just because they liked a particular station and its crew.
Many companies and individuals sponsored several stations; to help raise awareness of their company whilst demonstrating their support of the
RNLI and its raison d'etre:
'TO SAVE LIVES AT SEA'.
Our sponsors ranged from large corporations, to medium and small companies, families, couples and individuals, in an effort to boost our running total to £110,00 via our
RNLI-911 CHALLENGE 'D' CLASS LIFEBOAT APPEAL
TOGETHER OUR SPONSORS HELPED US RAISE OVER £133,000!!!
WHY THE 'D'CLASS LIFEBOAT
- We were inspired by the children’s programme
‘Blue Peter’ which for 50 years funded 28 inshore Lifeboats at the following 7 lifeboat stations:
Littlehampton, Beaumaris, St. Agnes, North Berwick, Portaferry, Cleethorpes and Fishguard.
The 'D' Class lifeboats are involved in more than
60% of ALL RNLI rescues.
It maybe small but the D-Class can sustain 3 hours at sea travelling at 25 knots – crucial when lives are at risk.
It can venture into ‘inaccessible’ waters that the
larger 'All Weather Lifeboats’ cannot reach and cope with fair to moderate sea conditions & big surf.
Its size enables multiple launching methods; including tractor, trailer or davit.
In the words of Damien Bolton - helm at Port Isaac -
“the 'D' Class is the workhorse and pocket rocket
of the RNLI fleet”
WHY THE RNLI
•The RNLI is a unique national lifeboat rescue charity, founded by Sir William Hillary on 4th March 1824
•Operated and crewed by over 6,500 volunteers
24 hours a day 365 days of the year
•The RNLI volunteers save THOUSANDS
of lives at sea every year
•It costs more than £180m a year to run
•Funded purely by PUBLIC donations
(not by the government!)
AN EXAMPLE PAGE OF OUR ITINERARY (1 of 3 pages)
THE BACKBONE OF THE RNLI STATIONS
LATE NIGHT CHALLENGE VISITS
'SHOUTS' DURING OUR CHALLENGES
CHILD'S PLAY
'SPLASH' PLAYED HOST TO ANYONE WHO JUMPED IN FOR A PHOTO....
...including lots of station volunteers!
CORPORATE SPONSORS
BUSINESS SPONSORS
FRIENDS, FAMILIES & OTHER SPONSORS
EATING ON THE HOOF!
PLANES, FERRIES & AUTOMOBILES
LIVING THE DREAM!
STILL LIVING THE DREAM!
THE THIRD MEMBER OF THE TEAM 'SPLASH' OUR CHALLENGE CAR
WILL MISS BEING ON THE ROAD...UNTIL NEXT TIME!!
Help us to get that boat!!
100% of your donation will go towards our
RNLI-911 CHALLENGE
'D' Class Lifeboat Appeal
RNLI-911 CHALLENGE FOR STATIONS