SEVERN Area Rescue Association (SARA) will be launching the latest addition to their fleet of craft on Saturday (October 17).

The new craft, designated SARA-1, was commissioned earlier this year, and was built by the Delta Power Group of Cheshire.

It cost around £220,000 to construct, and was paid for by the Department of Transport, making it the first lifeboat in British history to get government funding.

The launch day begins at 10am with the arrival of invited guests at their Beachley lifeboat and rescue centre. At 10.30am there will be a commissioning cere-

mony, to be hosted by SARA Area Commander, Mervyn Fleming, aided by Rev David Treharne, the vicar of Tidenham.

The official launch of the new craft, and the naming of it, will be held at 10.45am by Forest of Dean MP Mark Harper.

After that, the custom-built rigid inflatable boat, which is eight metres (26ft) long, will give a 30-minute display of its sea agility, under the command of Coxswain Ryan Hewitt. It will be accompanied by other craft from the SARA rescue fleet.

Speaking back in July when the craft was first commissioned, Merv Fleming, SARA’s west­ern division area commander and chair­man of Beachley lifeboat rescue station, said: “We are very excited about the building of this vessel.

“Once again we have challenged Delta to design and build a lifeboat which is specific to our requirements.

“They came up trumps in 2012 with SARA-3 and we are aiming for a unique vessel which will still be ‘state-of-the-art’ in 10 years’ time.”

He added: “The tidal currents in the estuary are fierce – with one of the highest rise and falls of tide in the world. Safety for our crews is paramount as is the need to get to vessels in distress with the utmost speed.”