A SEA rescue charity is celebrating the 25th birthday of its all-weather lifeboat which has helped to save countless people in peril.

Saturday marks 25 years since Harwich RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat Albert Brown was declared operational, making it the first Severn class lifeboat to go into service for the RNLI.

It continues a tradition of firsts for the station, with the RNLI’s first steam-powered lifeboat being stationed at Harwich in 1890.

Today’s 42 tonne Severn class was a new generation of self-righting all-weather lifeboat, capable of 25 knots (29mph) and packed with the latest technology.

Harwich and Manningtree Standard:

At 17 metres, it would be the largest lifeboat in the fleet and an ideal replacement for the 13.4 metre Waveney class lifeboats which had served Harwich since 1967.

With 25 years of responding to distress calls under its belt, there is a wealth of stories.

One notable service came on September 6, 2000 when one of the longest services in recent RNLI history was undertaken to rescue the yacht ‘I like It’ and its two occupants, which was in difficulty some 50 miles out to sea after losing its rudder.

Setting out in a “moderate to rough” sea, the volunteer crew were afloat for more than 20 hours and had to pay a visit to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge during what became “atrocious” conditions.

Originally going into service with a 25-year operational life, the RNLI is now exploring the option presented by experts of a life extension programme, which will see the existing fleet being stripped down to their hulls and rebuilt from the ground up.

It is hoped this process and kitting them out with the latest technology will give the fleet another 25-years of life.

Harwich RNLI manager Peter Bull, said: “I am proud to lead a station with such a rich history, including such notable firsts for the RNLI like having the first operational steam powered lifeboat in 1890, or the first Severn Class lifeboat in 1996.

“As well, in recent months, appointing the first full-time female coxswain - Di Bush.

“None of this would be possible without the generosity of the public, which I find truly humbling.”

Anyone wishing to donate to Harwich RNLI, ensuring the voluteers can respond to calls of distress at sea, can do so via the charity boxes, the RNLI shop attached to the lifeboat station, or via bit.ly/3ogJq1C.