The Tamar class all weather lifeboat ‘Alan Massey’ paid a brief visit to Youghal yesterday ( 14th Feb 2012) on the way to her new home at Baltimore Lifeboat station in West Cork. The lifeboat will replace the Tyne class Hilda Jarrett.

The lifeboat left Poole RNLI in Dorset (the home of RNLI training) last Friday then visit lifeboat staions on her way including Weymouth in Dorset, Brixham in Devon, Newlyn in Cornwall before crossing the Celtic Sea to Kylemore Quay in Wexford, then on to Youghal Harbour in Co Cork, Crosshaven and finally to her new base in Baltimore where she is expected to arrive today, Wed 15th Feb. 2012.

The seven crew members on board the 3 million euro state-of-the-art lifeboat were met off Ardmore Head by the Youghal Lifeboat crew on board the ‘Patricia Jennings’ and escorted into Youghal Harbour during the brief visit. The crew consisted of five members of the Baltimore Lifeboat station – Kieran Cotter – coxwain, Cathal Cottrell – mechanic, Pat Collins, Gerry Smith, Ronnie Carthy and Owen Medland, staff training inspector lifeboats Ireland and Michael Carmody, Deputy divisional engineer lifeboat Ireland.The Tamar class all weather lifeboat Alan Massey is expected to arrive in Baltimore on 15th February 2012 to replace the Tyne class Hilda Jarrett.

Alan Massey 16-22

ON1302 Tamar class all-weather lifeboat

Length: 16.3m

Range: 250 nautical miles

Beam: 5.3

Crew: 7

Displacement: 32 tonnes

Speed: 25 knots

Construction: Fibre reinforced plastic (FRP)

Introduced: 2005

The Tamar class was introduced in 2005 and commissioned in Baltimore in March 2012. Tamar represents the culmination of many years of hard work by her combined design team. The hull is composite (glass and epoxy resin – with a foam core sandwich structure above the water).  Although lightweight, it is incredibly strong, with one square metre able to withstand a force of 68 tonnes.  It is built in 2 halves, which are then stuck together, and her deck and wheelhouse are a single moulding, which is made upside down and then flipped over and stuck on top of the hull – just like putting the lid on the box.

Tamar’s power comes from her 2 Caterpillar C18 marine diesel engines.  Each of these engines generates 1,000 hp (that’s a bit more than a formula 1 racing car), and driving her 2 propellers they give Tamar a top speed of 25 knots.  They also provide her with a towing capability of up to 7 tonnes, which means that she can tow most boats or even hold a coaster off the shore while other help arrives.

The top speed of 25 knots can be maintained for up to 10 hours, giving her a range of 250 miles and to achieve this she carries 1000 gallons of fuel.

The features and benefits of the new Tamar class Alan Massey, when compared to the older Tyne class Hilda Jarrett, can be summarised as follows:

It is bigger: 16 metres as opposed to 14 metres for the Tyne.
It is faster: travelling at a top speed of 25 knots, rather than 17 knots.
It provides more safety features: research shows that some accidents could be prevented if crew remain sitting, rather than moving around the lifeboat, during rough weather. Part of the reason for installing the computerised ‘Systems and Information Management System’ (SIMS) is to allow the crew to control many of the on-board functions without leaving their seats.
It has improved ergonomics: a faster speed means greater physical loadings on the crew as the lifeboat crashes through waves; the new seat design will significantly reduce the impact of these loadings on the crew.
It is better equipped: the Tamar class carries a powered ‘Y boat’, which is a larger and more powerful inflatable than the manually propelled ‘X boat’ carried on board a Tyne. The Y-boat is stored behind a transom door which allows immediate deployment whereas the X-boat was stowed below in a deflated state.

One of the biggest risks for crew members aboard a lifeboat in rough seas is being injured while moving around. A bespoke RNLI solution known as Systems and Information Management System (SIMS) addresses this using the latest in computer technology. SIMS means that many on-board controls for operating and controlling lifeboats can be managed remotely and the crew can remain in their seats for longer. Using the system also allows better task sharing between crew members as various functions can be monitored and controlled from virtually any location on the boat. SIMS is built using solid-state technology and incorporates a chain of back-up systems. In the unlikely event that all back-ups should fail, the lifeboat can still be operated using conventional systems.

The Tamar has a new design of crew workstation with seats that can move up and down 20 centimetres (7.9 in) as the boat passes through rough seas at high speed, and a networked computerised Systems and Information Management System (SIMS) which allows the crew to monitor and control the boat entirely from within the wheelhouse. The coxswain and helmsman have seat-mounted throttles, trackerball and joystick controls of the rudder. Alternatively the boat may be monitored and control by two controls on the bridge: Dual throttle controls and joystick on the left; dual throttle, wheel and control-screen on the right. All aspects of the vessel may also be controlled from this position

The lifeboat is completely water-tight allowing it to self-right with up to 60 people on board. The boat has the potential to carry a maximum of 120 passengers on board, but without self righting capability. The Survivors Space has room for 10 sitting and 8 standing. The Survivors Space is accessed either through the Wheelhouse or the fore deck Emergency Escape Hatch.

 

15 February 2012

Baltimore RNLI’s new Tamar class lifeboat Alan Massey arrives home to huge welcome

The people of Baltimore welcomed a new addition to their community today (Wednesday 15 February 2012) when the RNLI delivered a €3 million Tamar class to the west Cork village.  It is set to replace the Hilda Jarrett Tyne class lifeboat, which has served Baltimore since 1988. The new lifeboat left RNLI Headquarters in Poole last Saturday calling at a number of lifeboat stations along the way before undertaking the final leg of the journey this morning from Crosshaven to Baltimore Harbour.

Onboard the lifeboat was Baltimore RNLI crewmembers, Coxswain Keiron Cotter, mechanic Cathal Cottrell, Jerry Smith, Ronald Carthy and Patrick Collins along with RNLI Training Divisional Inspector Owen Medland and Deputy Divisional Engineer Michael Carmody. Ferry operators brought passengers out to escort the new lifeboat home and the harbour was full of local school children and residents.

The new lifeboat, which is named Alan Massey (ON 1302) was largely funded through a legacy from Mrs Dorothy May Massey from Watford in England, and has been named in memory of her late brother Alan, who it is understood had a love of the sea.

It was a proud day for Baltimore RNLI Coxswain Keiron Cotter who said, “We have been looking forward to this moment for a long time and we wish to acknowledge our volunteer lifeboat crew both past and present.  The arrival of a new lifeboat to a station is an occasion of great pride and excitement.  The Hilda Jarrett has served us well for over twenty years but as a Coxswain you look forward to receiving the newest lifeboat model with all the latest developments and technology onboard.  We will spend the next month or so training all the volunteer lifeboat crew on her before we say goodbye to our Tyne class lifeboat, which will be returned to the relief fleet in Poole.

We have so many memories onboard that old lifeboat, one of the highlights being the Rambler rescue last August.  However along with the successful rescues there have also been tragedies and most recently we witnessed this with the search for the missing crewmen from the Tit Bonhomme in Glandore Harbour. Our thoughts are with their families today.”

The new Tamar class lifeboat is 16.3 metres in length with a maximum speed of 25 knots compared to the 14.3 metres of Baltimore RNLI’s current Tyne class lifeboat which has a maximum speed of 18 knots.  The lifeboat is self-righting in the event of a capsize and is fitted with an integrated electronics systems and information management system, which allows the lifeboat crew to monitor, operate and control many of the boats systems from shock mitigating seats.

The Tamar also carries a Y boat (an inflatable daughter boat) which is housed under the aft deck and deployed from a hinged door in the transom.  The lifeboat has room for 44 survivors.

RNLI Training Divisional Inspector Owen Medland who made the journey with the lifeboat crew added, “I have been involved with this project for the last few years and today is a great day for everyone in Baltimore.  This lifeboat represents a significant investment in safety along the west cork coastline.  I wish the crew the very best and I know this lifeboat will go on to be a vessel that will save many lives and be a symbol of safety and protection for all those who venture out to sea.”

The Tamar also has a small inflatable powered boat (Y-class), which allows the crew to perform rescues in very shallow areas, close to rocks or caves and transfer personnel. This is stowed under the deck at the stern of the boat and can be ready to go in less than 2 minutes.

The Alan Massey has been primarily funded from the legacy of Miss Dorothy May Massey of Watford in Hertfordshire. Miss Massey died in December 2003 and bequeathed the whole of her residuary estate to the RNLI but requested that her legacy be used to purchase a lifeboat to be named Alan Massey in memory of her brother who it is believed had an interest in sailing. It has therefore been agreed that the lifeboat will be named “RNLB Alan Massey“.