Spectacle! As three generations of lifeboats and scores of people turn out to welcome Rhyl's new £2.2m Shannon

IT HAS been a fantastic historic day in Rhyl as crowds lined the promenade to greet the town's new £2.2m lifeboat!

RNLI volunteers set off from the charity's headquarters in Poole, Dorset, on Wednesday and started the journey to bring the new Shannon class all-weather lifeboat Anthony Kenneth Heard to Rhyl.

Mechanic Callum Robinson is welcomed ashore by Darrel Crowther, Rhyl Lifeboat Operations Manager

Former Oakley class lifeboat Har-Lil, current lifeboats Lil Cunningham and the station’s current D-class lifeboat Mary Maxwell greeted the new lifeboat this afternoon (Sunday) and provided a spectacle for viewers in the harbour.

RNLI volunteers from Flint also attended with their D-class lifeboat to show their support.

Prior to her arrival, Martin Jones, Rhyl RNLI Coxswain, said: "Bringing this lifeboat home will be one of the proudest moments in my RNLI career.

Darcy Payne-Burgoyne who donated her pocket to close the appeal

"We cannot thank the community enough for doing their bit to make this a reality."

The modern, state-of-the-art lifeboat is larger, faster, more manoeuvrable and safer and has the potential to save more lives off the North Wales coast.

In recent weeks, the volunteer crew have been undergoing intense training in order to get to grips with the modern lifeboat.

The community pulled out all the stops to raise £150,000 towards the modern new vessel in less than a year - exceeding all expectations.

The appeal was closed by the charity’s biggest fan Darcey Payne-Burgoyne, who donated her £150 pocket money to close the appeal earlier this year.

The Ysgol Bryn Hedydd pupil was delighted to see the eagerly awaited lifeboat arrive home and brought bags of goodies for her favourite crew.

The new lifeboat brings 21st century technology to Denbighshire.

Driven and steered by water jets instead of the conventional propellers and rudders, the Shannon can turn in her own length or stop almost instantly making going alongside a casualty to take off casualties a much safer option.

The increased speed of 25 knots as against 17 knots for the current Mersey class lifeboat on Station at Rhyl mean that casualties can be reached sooner in desperate situations where conditions are rapidly deteriorating.

The Shannon is designed for the safety of the crew, as well as rescued survivors, with better seating and full seat belt safety harnesses. The design of the vessel’s electronics (called SIMS – Systems Information and Management Systems) with a display at all seats mean that crew members do not need to get up to change seats if changing roles in severe weather. A press of a button will allow the functions required to control the vessel to be transferred between the seating positions.