Lyme Regis Lifeboat Week programme fuller than ever
Lifeboat Week, always a highlight of the Lyme Regis season, promises to even bigger and better than usual when it starts on Saturday 21st July.
There is still time for last-minute bookings in Lyme Regis accommodation - so what’s on offer for visitors?
The week begins and ends in spectacular fashion. That first Saturday evening sees the return of the Red Bull Harbour Reach - 14 of the best wakeboarders from across Europe competing in dramatic high-speed jumping across the harbour wall. Preceding them is the outstanding Red Bull Matadors aerobatics display, flying a pair of single-engined propellor-driven Sukhoi planes. On the final Sunday, 29th July, at 4.00pm the more familiar Red Arrows will once again grace the skies over Lyme Bay with their mix of artistry and daring. And always jumping at the opportunity to join in, the RAF Falcons Parachute Display Team will drop on to the beach at 3.00pm on Friday 27th.
There’s plenty of earth-bound activity for ordinary mortals to join in. Almost every evening sees live music in one of the local pubs, with other musical events in the Performance Area of the Marine Parade Shelters. For children there’s sand sports, crab fishing, treasure hunting, sand sculpturing, pavement art, a Teddy Bears’ picnic - and the traditional Duck Race for children of all ages. Foodies can take part in a paella-eating contest, join Mark Hix and friends for ‘Food Rocks’, or even take their chances with a barbecue prepared by the Lifeboat crew. There’s an art exhibition in the Shelters, two separate displays of classic cars, the wonderful ‘illuminated boats’ display and the Sailing Club’s RNLI Pennant Race.
Adventurous visitors can enjoy taster sessions of windsurfing and Stand-Up Paddle Boarding, take part in the swimming race from Cobb Gate to the harbour or the fun run on Marine Parade, risk the Yard of Ale competition at the Cobb Arms, or more safely take on the Lifeboat crew at skittles.
For those who prefer to watch, look out for the Somers Day Parade on Wednesday 25th, the wacky Bath Tub Race from Cobb Gate to the harbour on Saturday 28th,and the firework display on the same evening. Or try the various rescue services displays: Lifeboat rescue and Coastguards mud rescue, both on the first Saturday, the Fire Brigade exercise on Monday 23rd, and the Coastguards cliff rescue (at the Shelters!) on Thursday 26th.
Lyme Regis has recently acquired a new Lifeboat, the Spirit of Loch Fyne, already put to excellent life-saving use. This new craft will be formally named at a ceremony on Sunday 22nd at 4.30 - a particularly important moment of serious reflection among Lifeboat Week’s many festivities.
This gives only a flavour of the more than fifty events and activities scheduled for Lyme Regis Lifeboat Week 2012.
Chris Boothroyd,
Published on 10/07/2012.
