Metcheck Donates To Local Heroes

May 30, 2024

2 minute read

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest lifeboat service charity providing 24-hour search and rescue services from 238 lifeboat stations operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The crew selflessly volunteer to go out to sea, in all kinds of weather conditions, to rescue and save the lives of those in need. One amongst those that have been rescued by the RNLI includes the son of Jeremy West (the mastermind behind Metcheck).

Back in 2003, Jeremy’s son Ed and a friend were rescued at sea by Wells Lifeboat Station, one of the 238 operated by the RNLI around the UK’s coast. They were sailing off Blakeney Point when the boat started to sink due to a broken mast. Luckily, a passing boat spotted them in trouble and alerted the coastguards, who then sent out the crew from Wells Lifeboat Station to come and rescue them. As a way to express their gratitude to the crew for their courageous and heroic acts, Metcheck gifted them a Maximum Maestro Wind Instrument that displays local wind conditions measuring wind speed from 0-100 mph (0-160 km/h) for the lifeboat station.

The old Wells lifeboat “Doris M Mann of Ampthill” retired last year after 33 years’ service, having saved 700 lives in that time. It has now been replaced by a new all-weather lifeboat called the “Duke of Edinburgh.” Jeremy and his son Ed, alongside 500 others, came to bid farewell to the old lifeboat. Ed met with a number of people including coxswain Nicky King, who remembered the rescue well as he was a crew member on the call out.

Due to a recent renovation of the Wells Life Boat Station, the Maestro gifted by Ed and Jeremy West was unfortunately damaged and was in need of repair to get it up and running again. Given the age of the existing unit and that there have since been improvements made to the device, Metcheck decided to donate a brand-new Maximum Maestro to Wells Lifeboat Station, where it has been installed and is in-use in their control room.

We hope the Maestro will continue to serve the community at Wells Life Boat Station for many years to come. We greatly admire the brave efforts of the crew at Wells Lifeboat Station and all the volunteers at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution who risk their lives each day saving lives at sea.