THE long-serving coxswain at Fowey lifeboat station has taken on a new role.

Jonathan Pritchard, who was the coxswain for the port’s all-weather Trent lifeboat, has become a launch authority.

With the departure of the all-weather lifeboat from Fowey last month, the station no longer has a coxswain role.

Jonathan was appointed coxswain in 2010, having joined Fowey RNLI in 1988, serving first as a crew member on the all-weather lifeboat and as a D-class lifeboat helm, then moving up through the ranks.

Fowey lifeboat operations manager Chris Ogg said: “As a station, we are delighted that Jonathan will continue to be part of the station’s management and launch authority team.

“Jonathan has played a key role at the station for many years and we thank him for his total of 37 years of dedicated service to Fowey lifeboat station.

“It has been a difficult time saying farewell to our all-weather lifeboat after 30 years but, as we enter a new era for the station, we are lucky to have someone as experienced as Jonathan on our launch authority team.”

Jonathan Pitchard with his son, Callum, a lifeboat crew member. (Picture: Fowey RNLI)
Jonathan Pitchard with his son, Callum, a lifeboat crew member. (Picture: Fowey RNLI) (Picture: Fowey RNLI)

When the coastguard receives a 999 call, they contact the lifeboat station’s launch authority who is responsible for authorising the launch. If a launch is agreed, the coastguard will then page the crew.

As the volunteer crew quickly make their way to the station, so does the launch authority, who will collect as much information as possible about the shout so that they can brief the helm of the lifeboat and assemble the crew.

During the summer, members of the lifeboat station passed out as qualified crew on the port’s new relief Atlantic 85 lifeboat.

The crew worked hard with weeks of training both at the RNLI college in Poole and at the station in Fowey. They converted their roles on the station’s inshore D-class lifeboat so they can also crew the Atlantic 85 lifeboat.

Helms and navigators Jan Philp, Callum Pritchard, Kai A’Lee, Adam Russell, Amelia Luck and Ross Jezard, inshore navigators Paul Birkby, Luke Watts, James Dowrick and Graham Middlewood, and tier two crew Liam Barron, Martin Jezard, Peter Parry, Will Maher, Gary Jane, Oli Luck, Jack Taylor and Elliot Toms all passed out.

The Fowey Atlantic 85 lifeboat taking part in the farewell flotilla. (Picture: Fowey RNLI)
The Fowey Atlantic 85 lifeboat taking part in the farewell flotilla as the all-weather lifeboat left the port last month. (Picture: Fowey RNLI) (Picture: Fowey RNLI)

At the time, Jonathan Pritchard said: “I am very proud of what our crew have achieved. It has been a difficult time preparing to say farewell to our Trent lifeboat after 30 years but our crew have stepped up and shown their commitment to Fowey lifeboat station.

“They have been training on the Atlantic 85 almost every day over the past few weeks in order to prepare for their assessments and have put in a huge amount of effort. I would like to thank and congratulate all of them for such an incredible effort.”

Although the Atlantic 85 is an inshore lifeboat, designed to operate in shallower water, the vessel can handle fairly challenging open sea conditions too. The Atlantic 85 is also capable of being beached in an emergency without sustaining damage to its engines.