RNLB Queen Victoria
RNLB Queen Victoria is an historic shore-based lifeboat, built in 1887, operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), and now preserved at The Shipwreck Centre, Arreton, Isle of Wight.[1][2]
History | |
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Operator: | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
In service: | 1887-1902 |
Homeport: | Bembridge, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom |
General characteristics | |
Class and type: | Lifeboat |
Propulsion: | Oars |
A rowing boat, Queen Victoria operated from Bembridge on the Isle of Wight from 1887 to 1902.[2] It was then purchased by one of its crew, who converted it for use as a houseboat.[2]
In 1989 Martin Woodward, then coxswain of the Bembridge lifeboat, purchased Queen Victoria[2] and, after several years of fundraising, the boat was finally restored in 1998,[1] at the Classic Boat Museum, in East Cowes.[2]
The boat is now under the stewardship of the Isle of Wight Historic Lifeboat Trust, a registered charity, and is seaworthy.[2]
1999 she was taken to the BBC Television Centre in London to appear on the BBC television programme Blue Peter, to mark the RNLI's 175th anniversary.[3]
References
- "The Shipwreck Centre, Arreton, Isle of Wight". The Lifeboat Museum. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
- "Queen Victoria Lifeboat". Isle of Wight Historic Lifeboat Trust. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
- "Queen Victoria Lifeboat". Isle of Wight Historic Lifeboat Trust. Retrieved 24 January 2017.