WHITSTABLE
LIFEBOAT
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LATEST NEWS AND EVENTS
Lifeboat ousted from boathouse
as model ships put on a show
Whitstable Lifeboat will
be ousted from its own boathouse by dozens of much smaller craft when the Heron
Model Boat Club from Herne Bay holds its annual exhibition in conjunction with
the lifeboat station on Sunday (18th May) The exhibition has been a
regular feature at the lifeboat station for many years and on display will be
dozens of model boats and ships built by members of the club ranging from
yachts, fishing boats, tugs, lifeboats, merchant ships and warships. The models
are the result of hours, if not months of painstaking work by the club members.
As usual the stations shop will be open selling tea and coffee and lifeboat souvenirs will also be on sale. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funeral
held for former Lifeboat station founder member Pat Kemp Over 250 people attended
the funeral on Friday of former Whitstable Lifeboat Helmsman and Deputy
Launching Authority Pat Kemp who died unexpectedly on 26th April. The was standing room
only for the service in St Johns Church as family, friends representatives of
the RNLI, Coastguard and numerous lifeboat stations heard the Rev David Marshall
pay tribute to Mr Kemp who worked for 28-years in the motor trade before
becoming a fleet mechanic for the RNLI. Pat Kemp was a founder
member of the station in 1963 and as well as the Whitstable Lifeboat and the
RNLI, he had been active with the towns Methodist Church, the Canterbury and
District Model Engineering Society and the Heron Model Boat Club. Following the service Mr Kemp was buried in All Saints Churchyard. He leaves his wife Joyce, son Paul and daughter in law Theresa, daughter Dawn and partner Mark and granddaughters Laura, Hannah, Megan and Katie.
Pat Kemp Whitstable Lifeboat
Station has been saddened at the unexpected death of Mr
Pat Kemp, a founder member of the station who
served as a helmsman, launcher and Deputy Launching Authority over many years of
service to the Whitstable Lifeboat as well as working for a number of years as a
full time engineer for the RNLI. Born in Flimwell, Sussex
where his parents ran the village store and sub Post Office, he attended
Skinners School for boys. He was apprenticed to a company of agricultural
engineers in Lamberhurst and when the family moved to Whitstable in 1950 his
apprenticeship was transferred to Caffyns in Canterbury where over a 28 year
period he rose from apprentice to Depot Manager of the commercial vehicle
workshops. He married in 1957 and with his wife Joyce set up home in a flat in Tower Parade opposite the harbour. With the arrival of son Paul in 1961 the family moved to a newly built bungalow in Russell Drive, Swalecliffe and bought a larger boat “Our Lass” which he used for fishing and also rescue boat duties for the Whitstable Yacht Club. On
the formation of Whitstable Lifeboat Station in 1963 Pat joined the crew as a
helmsman on the original
D class inshore lifeboat and later on the larger and faster Atlantic 21
Lifeboat. In 1967 he went into partnership with Mike Judge (Senior) and they purchased the “Rose of Rye”, a twenty eight foot beach boat which they used in their spare time for trawling and Pilot Duties for ships entering and leaving the harbour. When
the Caffyns commercial vehicle workshops closed in 1978 he Later he joined the RNLI as a Fleet Mechanic and served as a machinery examiner covering lifeboat stations between Dover and Exmouth, a position from which he retired in 1993. After his retirement from full time work he continued his involvement with the Whitstable lifeboat station until 2002 as a Deputy Launching Authority. In the early 1970’s he
became a member of the Canterbury and District Model Engineering Society
having rekindled his interest in Throughout his life
his practical skills were put to good use in all sorts of ways, one example
being the construction of the lectern for the St Johns Methodist
Dates for your diary
Sunday 11th May 10 mike sponsored walk Contact Christine on 01227 369407 or Diane 01227 262305 Sunday 18th May Heron Model Boat exhibition 10am till 4pm at the boathouse Saturday 12th July Flag Day Saturday 19th July RNLI Station Open Day / Harbour Open Day Whitstable Harbour 10am till 4pm Sat 19th/Sun 20th July Regatta Tankerton Slopes 10am till 4pm Saturday 27th September Nosh & Knowledge Boathouse, 7.30 for 8pm Saturday 15th November Christmas Fair Boathouse 10.30 till 12.30
Easter Fair
Thanks to everyone who supported our Easter Fair on Good Friday. The total raised was £929 which, although down slightly on previous years, was still a good result considering the weather conditions.
The Oxford branch provided the funds to pay for our present Atlantic 75 lifeboat, Oxford Town & Gown, and it was Kay who named the boat in 2008. Twice a year, John & Kay return to Whitstable to visit "their" boat, and to make sure we're looking after her properly.
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