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'Sea'ing success
Following its return home, the Mary Joicey lifeboat is riding the wave of success with restoration work on the former vessel given a real boost thanks to a volunteer day.
Members of the Mary Joicey Maritime Trust were joined by employees from Northumbria Water as part of their 'volunteer for a day' scheme which provides free labour to community projects.
The day involved a variety of tasks including cleaning down, scraping off old paintwork, woodwork repairs and painting.
In addition pupils from Newbiggin Middle School joined the team to help bring the boat back to its former glory. Their efforts were rewarded with the presentation of certificates of merit.
Chair of the Mary Joicey Maritime Trust Richard Martin said; 'The concept of the day and indeed the basis of this whole venture is to allow volunteers to get involved in new opportunities and devlop new skills in the process."
"The day's events would not have been possible without the support of Lord Tool Hire, Blyth, Metro Painting Contractors, RTM Group Services and International Paints."
As well as the volunteer day apprentices from the Swan Hunter Shipyard at Wallsend are working on the refurbishment of the lifeboat's launching carriage. The track system on the carriage had become seized after many years of standing.
Mary Joicey was the lsat offshore lifeboat to be stationed at Newbiggin and was succeeded in 1981 by the smaller faster Atlantic 21 class inshore lifeboat. Mary Joicey returned to the region in May2005 following a 24 year exile, spending many of those years outdoors, displayed at a Reading park.
The Mary Joicey Maritime Trust aims to secure funding for a new visitor experience for Newbiggin where the lifeboat will be one of the main display items.
