Five crew members from Tower Lifeboat Station took on a gruelling challenge in June, climbing the highest mountains in each of the countries the RNLI serves – England (Scafell Pike), Scotland (Ben Nevis), Wales (Snowdon), Northern Ireland (Slieve Donard) and the Republic of Ireland (Carrauntuohill).

The group, ably supported by a logistics team of RNLI colleagues and friends, set out to raise £30,000 for a new E class lifeboat for the River Thames. They aimed to reach all five summits within 48 hours – and succeeded, with just over half an hour to spare!

Richard Abbott, Kelly Allen, Keith Cima, Matt Leat and Antonia Scarr climbed more than 5,000m in the 2-day period, sleeping in the minibus as they were ferried (sometimes literally) from one peak to the next. After a brief and well-deserved holiday in the Carrauntuohill area, the team are now back on RNLI duty.

The RNLI’s fast, waterjetpowered E class lifeboats have been on service on the Thames for 8 years, and are consistently the busiest in the fleet. They are nearing the end of their operational lives, and a nextgeneration lifeboat is being developed by RNLI engineers.