Wrecked lifeboat back on the water after 20-year restoration

A 100-year-old lifeboat has been relaunched after a 20-year restoration.

The ship, Ex RNLI Manchester and Salford, once rescued sailors from the Manchester Ship Canal and the Irish Sea.

It has now hit the water in Hesketh Bank, Lancashire, after being restored by owner Mark Raynes.

The retired engineer, from Shevington, near Wigan, came to the rescue when the boat, built in 1924, was washed up and abandoned on a beach in Deganwy, North Wales.

“Like most people, I didn’t have the money to buy a dream come true, but being an engineer I thought I could take on a project,” Mr Raynes said.

“I’ve always liked the look of them. I also like sailing so I wanted a Watson (lifeboat class) with sails and so I found it as a shipwreck.

“She was going to be burned to near zero value.

“It was fatal attraction at first sight.”

Mr Raynes said he and about 20 friends had invested “millions of hours” in restoring it and “more money than I care to talk about”.

“I can’t say how much it cost because my wife would kill me,” he said.

“But let’s just say I could probably buy a few Aston Martins with what I spent – at least.”

The 59-year-old said it wasn’t just about “saving an old girl who was an important service during the war” but about the friendship of the group throughout.

“I have an amazing group of friends and without them this wouldn’t have happened.

“We’re really proud, it gives us a lump in our throats to be honest,” Mr Raynes said.