Lucy Lavers is a WINNER!

05/04/2016

We are thrilled and delighted that Lucy Lavers, our Dunkirk ‘Little Ship’ lifeboat which made a commemorative Channel crossing to France last May, has been awarded a prestigious national prize. Lucy Lavers is the proud winner of the Classic Boat Awards 2016 ‘Powered Vessels Under 40ft’ category, as nominated and voted for by the public. Representatives of Rescue Wooden Boats will collect the prize on her behalf at a London ceremony on 12th April. 

Classic Boat’s annual awards celebrate the best in the world of classic yachting – new classic boats, restorations of classic boats, the people behind the stories, and more. For Rescue Wooden Boats, this award is a testament to the skills and dedication of everyone involved in Lucy Lavers’ restoration, and her commemorative voyage. 

Since Lucy Lavers was donated in 2010, our first mission was to restore her, tell her story, and send her back to Dunkirk. Days after she was relaunched in early May 2015, Lucy Lavers made the momentous return journey from Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, to Dunkirk, France, for the 75th Anniversary of Operation Dynamo. She covered 385 nautical miles on her voyage, was visited by more than 200 schoolchildren, crossed The Channel alongside nearly 60 other ‘Dunkirk Little Ships’, and carried more than 50 crew members along the way.

Now Lucy Lavers is soon to be put back in the water at Wells-next-the-Sea, ready for this year’s season of educational trips to help people appreciate, experience and enjoy our maritime heritage. Her story continues to be told, through films, photographs and displays, at Rescue Wooden Boats’ Maritime Heritage Centre in Stiffkey, Norfolk, NR23 1QF – open on weekends and Bank Holidays from March to end of October.

 

Take a look in our shop for Return to Dunkirk commemorative gifts...