RNLI 'so grateful' to couple who plan to visit every lifeboat station in Britain and Ireland in fundraising drive

Belinda and James Richardson with their 911 Porsche, which they will take to visit RNLI stations as part of a fundraiser. Picture: RNLI

An English couple is attempting to visit every RNLI lifeboat station in Ireland and Britain as part of 911-themed fundraising effort.

Belinda and James Richardson will embark on their mammoth task to visit all 238 stations in 911 hours, starting at 9.11am on Friday August 23, at the RNLI station in Morecambe.

The RNLI-911 Challenge will see the retired interior designers, from London, drive 8,500 miles, boarding 36 ferries and taking four flights to non-drivable stations.

They aim to finish before 9.11am on September 30.

The couple will land in Ireland on Saturday at Larne before arriving in Youghal on Tuesday at about 10.15am, the first of the Cork stations. They will then go on to visit other Cork-based stations, including Kinsale, Baltimore and Castletownbere, before driving to stations further along the Wild Atlantic Way.

The couple have raised €97,000 for the lifesaving charity since 2018, when they completed a similar challenge, and are now hoping to raise enough money to fund a D-class inshore lifeboat — the workhorse of the RNLI — which costs in the region of €129,000.

The idea for the fundraiser came when the couple bought Belinda’s dream car, a Porsche 911, shortly after their retirement in 2018 — they planned to drive around Scandinavia to celebrate but the trip fell through.

“After a moment of sulking, I said to James, ‘why are we bothered driving around Scandinavia when we could drive around Britain?'” Belinda said.

“We saw a lifeboat and we said, ‘what a mad idea but we could visit all the lifeboat stations',” she added.

RNLI director of fundraising Jayne George said they were 'so grateful to Belinda and James for taking on this huge challenge'. Picture: RNLI

The couple are not directly connected but have been fans of the organisation since owning a boat on the River Thames 20 years ago.

The charity costs more than €211m to operate annually and 94% of its income comes from donations.

RNLI director of fundraising Jayne George said they were “so grateful to Belinda and James for taking on this huge challenge”.

“We are only able to save lives at sea thanks to the generous support of people taking on challenges like this, and we’re honoured Belinda and James have decided to raise even more money to fund a new D class inshore lifeboat.” 

The numbers behind the fundraiser are also linked to the charity.

“We start on August 23 because it’s the 23rd day of the eighth month of the year, which reads as 23-8, the number of RNLI stations," James said.

“We do 911 hours because the car is a Porsche 911 and we start at 9.11am for the same reason.

Donations to the D-class lifeboat appeal can be made here.