Lifeboat Pull is tribute to RNLI heroes

In Weston-super-Mare it is not a rare sight to see the RNLI lifeboat being pulled along the famous promenade.

Yesterday, volunteers joined the town mayor and former lifeboat man Phil Judd to take part in the Pull which has been happening in the town for as long as lifeboats have been around.

The event shows the public what a lifeboat looks like and gives them a chance to throw coins into the boat to show support for the volunteers.

During the RNLI’s history there have been several notable incidents where a lifeboat has been pulled. In 1881 the Whitby lifeboat was hauled 10 miles overland to Robin Hood’s Bay to rescue the crew of the brig Visitor. In 1899, the Louisa, the Lynmouth lifeboat, was pulled over Exmoor to rescue the Forrest Hall, a 1,900-ton ship with a crew of 13 men and five apprentices, on its way from Bristol to Liverpool. Storm winds had prevented a launch at Lynmouth itself. In 1914, the people of Whitby once again pulled a lifeboat more than two miles to help with the rescue of the hospital ship Rohilla. In 1940 the women of Newbiggin, Northumberland, pulled a lifeboat one-and-a-half miles over moors so they could launch to rescue the Eminent’s crew.