RNLI Solent 48-004 Highlander

 

Spotted : 19/07/2011
Location: Femo, Southern Denmark
Home Port if Known: On passage
Spotters comments:

This restored lifeboat was seen in Femo, an island in Southern Denmark. Itwas rafted up outside the yacht belonging to friends so it was inevitable that we entered into a conversation with the owner. He was an ex-Dutch Lifeboat Service man who had bought this boat some four years ago. From an Internet service, she had previously been known as Blue Highlander and painted in a blue livery. The latest owner had carried out a lot of work including repainting in RNLI colours and fitting out living accommodation. He was proud of the fact that she still had her original Gardiner engines rerated to 100 hp each giving her a speed of about 9 knots. Based now on Ameland, one of the Dutch islands, she had been on an extended cruise to Oslo. The boat alongside her in the photo is an ex-Dutch lifebaoy, even older but heavily modernised.

The owner is a member of your society, as evidenced by the stickers in the cockpit windows.

We tried to encourage him to visit the East Coast, so you may see him in England sometime.