Some information
before you visit our 'BLUE PETER' Lifeboat Station
Portaferry is one
of seven RNLI Lifeboat Stations, and the only one
in Ireland, whose lifeboats have been sponsored by
the world's longest running television programme for
children, the BBC's "Blue
Peter", first broadcast in 1956, fifty
six years ago.
The programme's
name, 'Blue Peter', was
chosen to reflect a ship preparing to leave on a 'voyage
of discovery', when the 'Blue Peter' flag (signal
flag P) would be flown, preparatory to leaving port.
Blue Peter over
the past fifty six years has helped to launch many
children on their own voyage of discovery through
life.
RNLI lifeboats in
Portaferry have been sponsored by CBBC
'Blue Peter' since 1986 through the monies
raised by children from the Blue
Peter 'Pieces of Eight' appeal
that began in 1966 and has now sponsored 25 RNLI lifeboats
over the past 45 years resulting in the saving of
hundreds of lives at sea.
All of our Blue
Peter lifeboats have been named 'Blue
Peter V'.
Our first Blue
Peter V lifeboat was presented to the Station
in 1986 and was an 'Atlantic 21' lifeboat. It was
named, using a bottle of milk, by a 'young' girl aged
10, Paula Trainor, who was a decendant of the Young
family from Cloughey that had been much involved with
the former Cloughey Lifeboat for several decades.
Karon Keating from Blue
Peter attended the naming ceremony.
Our second Blue
Peter V was presented to the Station in
1994 and was a larger lifeboat, an Atlantic 75. The
lifeboat was named by Blue Peter
presenter Tim Vincent.
Our third, and current
Blue Peter V,
was presented to the station on 5 June 2010 and is
an Atlantic 85 lifeboat. Blue
Peter V was named by Blue
Peter presenter, Andy Akinwolere. The
new lifeboat is housed in a new modern and enlarged
Boathouse that was specially designed to accommodate
the Atlantic 85 with its launching carriage and tractor.
The new Boathouse was opened at the naming of
our new Blue Peter V.
Please click here
for more information and photographs of the naming
and opening ceremony.
PLEASE
VISIT US
As a Blue
Peter lifeboat station we especially welcome
groups of school children and their teachers, or other
youth groups, to visit the home of Blue
Peter V and learn more about the lifesaving
work of the RNLI and that of Portaferry Lifeboat.
We also welcome visits
by adult groups and organisations.
Each year we have a
'Station Open Day', usually during the summer
months, when the station is open to children, their
parents and the public. When decided, the date of
our next 'Open Day' will appear on our
Fundraising
Events page.
If you are an individual
or are a group who wish to visit our Lifeboat Station
please contact our Lifeboat Visits Officer, Gerry
Reilly, who is only too willing to arrange such visits.
Please contact him at:
education@portaferrylifeboat.com
In
addition, RNLI Education Volunteers can, on request,
visit schools etc., to give presentations about the
life saving work of the RNLI and offer help to link
their visit to class projects through many of the
RNLI's free educational resources. Please click here
for further information.
Our lifeboat station
is manned solely by volunteers and is only opened
on request, so it really is vital that you contact
us to arrange a suitable date and time for any visit.
We look forward
to welcoming you to our Blue
Peter lifeboat station sometime in the future.
