18/07/2026
Yesterday was a momentous day for all the crew at Southampton Independent Lifeboat (SILB) - our new Lifeboat arrived to start sea trials and the fitting out process!
With huge thanks to Mark at Specialist Small Craft and to Martyn at Tohasu in Lymington, the new Southampton Lifeboat quietly arrived at our lifeboat station in SWAC. Within minutes, a volunteer crew mysteriously appeared and had launched the boat, keen to put the boat through its paces!
The new Southampton Lifeboat is a purpose designed and selected Kontra R450CC hull equipped with a versatile and powerful 60hp 4-stroke outboard, providing exactly the capability the area richly deserves. Our operational aim is to be able to launch within 10 minutes of being paged, and at 25 knots with a low wash shallow planning hull, to be anywhere near Redbridge, Eling or Cobden (where waters allow) within 10 minutes. Uniquely in such a small craft, we are working to have a person recovery system and space onboard to lay 3 casualties down if they need lifesaving medical treatment.
Our crew have been training hard since January using RIBs from the University of Southampton (Great support, thank you!) but there is a long way to go yet.
The equipment requirements list is huge and our charity pockets are not lined with silver. We have already been donated a Defibrillator & 6 VHF marine radios (thank you Southampton Round Table members) and everything we now select to buy has to be carefully considered for the area we operate in, the type of casualties we expect to encounter, and the coding requirements that allow us to operate as a declared facility for HM Coastguard, as an emergency response SAR asset.
With your help and support, and the dedication of our great team of volunteers, we will get there!
We are proud to be the first dedicated lifeboat for Southampton - Proud to be SILB!
PS - Anybody know a kind soul who might provide and fit a professional fendering solution for us?
Hamble Lifeboat
Specialist Small Craft Ltd - Marine Distribution
Tohatsu Outboards International
