Restoration 're-joicey-ing'

20/10/2005

Water workers got on board a restoration project to save a lifeboat and bring maritime history back to life.

Ten Northumbrian Water employees helped to give Mary Joicey, Newbiggin by the Sea’s former lifeboat, a makeover under the company’s ‘Just an Hour’ scheme.

The ‘Just an Hour’ scheme gives employees, working within the company’s supply area from Berwick to North Yorkshire and across to the Pennines, the opportunity to spend at least 12 hours of paid work time a year improving local communities and the environment.

A ‘big girl’, the 37-foot lifeboat took a lot of scraping, cleaning, priming and painting by the ten-strong team of Northumbrian Water volunteers, including Ian Davison from Ashington who has been a volunteer with the RNLI for 20 years, Paul Laybourne from Washington, Ian Lumley from Sunderland, Beatrice Brindley from Cramlington, Ashley Ferguson from Kingston Park, Newcastle, Andy McLaren and Paul Joyce both from Gosforth, Newcastle, Will Barnett from Tynemouth and Delphine Bourel and Graham Watson both from Durham.

Mary Joicey was the last offshore lifeboat to be stationed at Newbiggin by the Sea and helped to save lives from the North Sea for more than 20 years.  She then spent 24 years in exile in Reading before returning to her hometown earlier this year.

Paul Joyce, who is based at Northumbrian Water’s head office in Durham, said:  “Although hard work, I thoroughly enjoyed helping to give Mary Joicey a makeover.  What a difference 75 hours of hard work made!  The boat will be an essential tool to educate people about the important work that the RNLI do and how important the service is. 

“As a company, Northumbrian Water does not only provide water and sewerage services to millions of customers every day, but also puts a huge amount back into the community – this being a good example.”  

Richard Martin, chair of the Mary Joicey Maritime Trust, said:  “The day was a great success and we will be repeating it in the future.  It also allowed all volunteers to get hands-on experience of the restoration process, learning about how the lifeboat was constructed, how the unique self-righting system operates and they were also able to take a practical role in repairs.”

Among other volunteers were children from Newbiggin Middle School and the Mary Joicey Maritime Trust.  The success of the event was also achieved thanks to the generous support of Lord Tool Hire, Metro Painting Contractors, RTM Group Services and Tarmac Construction.

For further information contact Cara Hall, Northumbrian Water, 0191 301 6720.