RNLB ''Lester'' (ON 1287) is the ALB lifeboat stationed at

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. It is north of Norwich, north-northeast of London and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local government authorities are Nor ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of Norfolk.''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. .

is the first lifeboat station on the east of England coast to receive the latest Tamar-class all-weather lifeboat. The lifeboat became officially operational at 3:55 pm on 6 January 2008. The lifeboat was officially christened ''Lester'' on Monday 8 September by

the Duke of Kent Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of peerage of Great Britain, Great Britain and the peerage of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom, most recently as a Royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom, royal dukedom ...

. The lifeboats name ''Lester''Cromer Lifeboat, A pictorial history, By Nicholas Leach & Paul Russell, Pub; Landmark Collector’s Library, has been created by using parts of the surnames of Derek Clifton Lethern and William Foster, both of whom have been long-term supporters and members of the RNLI. Mr Lethern left £1.23m to the RNLI when he died in 1992 and asked for a new lifeboat to be bought in memory of him and his friend Mr Foster.

Design and construction

''Lester ON 1287'' is a Tamar class slipway launched lifeboat, designed to replace the Tyne-class lifeboat. The Tamar class lifeboat is the most advanced vessel in the RNLI fleet. The ''Lester ON 1287'' is loaded with new technology, including fly-by-wire joystick steering, suspension seats to protect crew in severe weather, and an onboard computer system called Systems and Information Management System or SIMS. SIMS allows complex tasks such as engine and navigation management to be displayed on a single flat LCD screen, six of which are positioned around the vessel, to allow crew to operate all the systems without moving from their seats. In the stern section of ''Lester ON 1287'' there is a built in recessed chamber which house a small inflatable daughter boat. Access to the inflatable daughter boat is by means of lowering the transom, and lifting a section of deck. This allows the tender to be launched and recovered on to a ramp provided by the lowered transom section. On the ''Lester ON 1287'' the Y class boat has the official number Y-207. The lifeboat's hull was manufactured at Green Marine in

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...

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, and is constructed from Fibre reinforced plastic (FRP). The fitting out was completed at the yards of DML in Devonport,

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. The lengthy process of fitting out involves all the main components being fitted into the vessel and secured to their mounting points. Once this has been done the component units are removed from the hull leaving the mounts in place and the interior is then painted. The lifeboat was built at a cost of £2.5 million and was launched on 26 April 2007.

Lifeboat house modifications

Extensive work had to be carried out at the lifeboat station to upgrade the 38 metre pier end slipway to take the new- shaped vessel as well as alterations being carried out to the boathouse. The work on the station was carried out by the platform rig ''Haven Seaway'' between August and October 2007.

Career

After her launch the ''Lester ON 1287'' underwent a long period of sea trials. Around 30 Cromer crewmen took part in these trials to familiarise themselves with their new lifeboat. On 8 October 2007 the lifeboat crew took part in a week of training aboard the new lifeboat at the RNLI Lifeboat college in

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. The lifeboat finally arrived at Cromer on 9 December 2007 and was recovered, for the first time, up her new slipway in to the boathouse. and the vessel was officially operational from 6 January 2008.

First service

''Lester ON 1287'' was launched on her first service on 14 January 2008. She attended the car carrier ''MF The City of Sunderland'' which had gone aground in the early hours of the morning on the southern edge of Happisburgh Sands.
Report on incident, Car Carrier aground The car carrier had been on passage from

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (, from: ''Brugge aan zee'' meaning "Bruges at Sea", french: Zeebruges) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeeb ...

to Tees Port near

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. When the Lester arrived at the scene, two tugs from

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northeast of London. His ...

were attempting to tow the vessel off the sands. Assisting with the operation the crew of the lifeboat kept a watchful eye on the situation and stood by while the vessel carried out essential checks to her steering and propulsion systems once she was re-floated. The Lifeboat finally left the scene at 23:50 and made her way back to the pier boathouse for recovery.

Service and rescues

Gallery

File:RNLI LESTER ON 1287.JPG, Profile image of Lester ON 1287, taken from an information board outside Boathouse at Cromer beach File:Cromer Pier Lifeboat Station2.jpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lester On 1287 Cromer lifeboats Tamar-class lifeboats 2007 ships