The RNLI has begun operations out of its brand-new base at Wandsworth Riverside, bringing to an end a 25-year stint at Chiswick Lifeboat Station.
The team of 65 volunteers and 10 full-timers have already responded to four incidents on the Thames since they moved on 22 September.
The refurbished base has provided a welcome relief from the cramped quarters of the Chiswick station, where night shift workers used to sleep on mattresses on the floor.
Operations manager Andy Mayo, 57, told the SW Londoner: “We’d outgrown Chiswick Station – we needed to find somewhere else.
“Wandsworth Riverside has opened up a whole new world.”
The new centre, funded by donations to the charity, is ten times bigger than the centre in Chiswick, which they partly shared with another organisation.
On the top floor it boasts comfortable dormitories, a conference room, lounge spaces and a fully-equipped kitchen.
On the ground floor there is an expansive kit room, state-of-the art washing and drying facilities and a function room for fundraising and community events.
The kit room in particular is a significant upgrade for the rescue team, who had to bring all their gear, often soaking wet, to and from home when they were based upstream.
But this doesn’t mean they don’t look fondly upon their years in Chiswick, where they were greatly loved by the local community.
Mayo, recalling the leaving party thrown for his team by Chiswick residents in September, said: “It was a really humbling experience… we must keep the connection there.”
The Wandsworth lifeboat team is still responsible for the same stretch of water as before, and hopes that its new and more central location will reduce response times.
As the second busiest RNLI team in the UK and Ireland, they have attended more than 5,600 incidents since they were set up in 2002, and rescued more than 2,500 people.
In the new function room, shop and terrace they hope to run water safety courses, as well as guest talks, community outreach events and fundraisers.
Mayo encouraged those interested in volunteering to come down to the station or apply online.
When asked to describe the RNLI ethos, he said: “We’re caring, we look after people, and we want to rescue those in danger – that’s all we want to do.
“We want to bring people home, back to their loved ones.”
Featured image credit: David Jardine
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