INTERVIEW: Couple's fundraising super car to visit all 238 lifeboat stations starting in Morecambe

Wednesday, 7 August 2024 12:08

By Greg Lambert @greglam72

James and Belinda with Beyond Radio's Beth Pipe and the Porsche 911

A couple will set off from Morecambe in a Porsche super car to visit all 238 lifeboat stations across Britain and Ireland to raise money for a new life-saving boat.

James and Belinda Richardson will embark on their journey in a Porsche 911 from Morecambe Hovercraft Station on August 23 at 9.11am - aiming to visit all the stations in 911 hours.

They are taking part in the 911 Challenge to help celebrate the lifeboat service's 200th anniversary this year.

The Lifeboat Orange Porsche, named 'Splash', will sport the number 60, the percentage of lives saved by the D Class lifeboat.

The Richardsons are aiming to raise funds to raise money for a new relief D Class lifeboat.

The recently retired couple from London are big supporters of the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) and have already raised more than £83,000 towards the lifeboat, which costs £110,000.

On Saturday, James and Belinda brought their Porsche to the Morecambe Hovercraft Station fun day to celebrate 200 years of the RNLI, where Beyond Radio spoke to them about the challenge.

LISTEN to Belinda and James talking about the challenge

Morecambe RNLI volunteers will be in attendance at the grand departure on August 23, with both the inshore lifeboat and hovercraft (service permitting), to shadow the transit down the promenade.

The couple will drive clockwise around the whole of the British Isles and Ireland, including Shetland, Orkney, Outer & Inner Hebrides, Isle of Man, Isles of Scilly, Isle of Wight, Alderney, Guernsey and Jersey, covering over 8,500 miles, boarding 36 ferries and four flights en route.

They aim to finish at 9.11am in the Isle of Man, birthplace of the RNLI, on September 30.

More details on the challenge can be found HERE.