ANGLE RNLI’s open day launched to success on Saturday, August 20, with more than 250 visitors braving the stormy weather to see the lifeboats, meet the crew members and tour the £1.2m boathouse, with its spectacular views over the Milford Haven Waterway.

Centre of attention were the £2.6m Tamar class all-weather lifeboat Mark Mason and the £42,000 D class inshore lifeboat SuperG II.

There were tours of the state-of-the-art Tamar lifeboat, which is among the busiest all-weather RNLI lifeboats in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, and close-up inspections of the inshore lifeboat.

Visitors were welcomed by Lifeboat Operations Manager Julian Hammond and RNLI mascot Stormy Stan (Ian Foulstone), and there was something for everyone during the afternoon.

Stalls for refreshments (Elaine Richards, wife of crew member David Richards); RNLI souvenirs (Linda Foulstone, station treasurer); and children’s games (Linda Hammond, wife of Lifeboat Operations Manager Julian Hammond), were kept very busy.

A superb display of working models by West Wales Model Boats included the Tenby RNLI Tamar class lifeboat Haydn Miller and Fishguard RNLI’s Trent class lifeboat Blue Peter VII, from Chris Par; a US Coastguard vessel and the German lifeboat Adolph Bernpohl from Andy Kiernan, and the German King Tiger Tank of 1944-45, and the John Fitch, the world’s first powered boat of 1786, shown by Mike Sheppard.

The model group has had a busy summer, touring with the display throughout the area, and is always willing to bring it to shows and events. It can be contacted by email at westwalesmodelboats@gmail.com or visit the Facebook page, West Wales Model Boats.