“She has incredible stability in rough conditions,” says Richards Bay station commander Mike Patterson, who has relied on The Spirit of Richards Bay for hundreds of rescues over the past 37 years.
When Mike Patterson first boarded a plane to the UK in 1986, in order to conduct a sea trial on a modified Brede Class vessel made by Lochin Marine for the NSRI, he never imagined it would be the beginning of a 37-year adventure spanning countless sea rescues, hair-raising evacuations and the training of many, many NSRI crew. Yet that’s exactly what happened: The Spirit of Richards Bay has been a steadfast ‘member’ of the Station 19 crew for nearly four decades, where she has been housed out of the water on a launching cradle inside the rescue base boathouse.
In June this year, she will be put up for sale when the station upgrades to the new ORC (find out more here).
“The 12m Lochin was a once-off, designed by Frank Nichols, a well-known racing car entrepreneur at the time,” says Mike, who is one of the NSRI’s longest-serving volunteers, and commander of Station 19. “The original length of the Brede Class vessel was 10 metres, but this was given an extra two metres. It was designed in a wind tunnel, so she has incredible stability in rough conditions. This is a high-performance boat; extremely well built. The hull design enables the craft to operate as a displacement vessel, with excellent stability, and as a planing hull from 16 knots, which allows for high performance with a maximum speed of 28 knots. As the designer said: ‘You have two different boats for the price of one.' The 12m Lochin is the only one of its kind in the country.”
Although he doesn’t have exact figures, Mike says that The Spirit of Richards Bay has been used in ‘literally hundreds’ of rescues over the years. One of the most noteworthy was a 25-hour rescue mission in 2013, to retrieve a 30 metre-long ship, Sea Express ll, which was dead in the water near Leven Point after a lightning strike caused an electrical failure.
The Spirit of Richards Bay was launched in a south-westerly gale, with swells of 10-12m. The crew “gulped a little” on arrival at the scene, as they had not anticipated the size of the ship. Yet the 12m Lochin had no trouble towing Sea Express ll to port, and it remains one of the largest vessels ever towed by the NSRI.
The prospect of bidding farewell to this clearly beloved vessel brings up emotion in Mike’s voice: “I’ve lived with her for 37 years. She’s been with me and with my crew through thick and thin. I’ve been close to death on that boat, and she came through. If possible, I would love to take part in her final voyage, before she changes hands.”
The current asking price is R2 500 000 (negotiable) with or without the launching cradle for the vessel.
The vessel’s last major refit was in 2008 when she was totally overhauled – hull, electrics, new shafts and propellers, and the Cat 3208 engines and gearboxes were replaced with new Cat C7 engines as well as new gearboxes. Since then she has had work done to comply with the SAMSA regulations. Shafts, valve inspections and some electrical work were also done and new Furuno navigation equipment was fitted in 2019.
The vessel is fitted with the following:
Specifications:
Funds raised through the purchase of this vessel will go towards the costs of new vessels for the NSRI’s rescue service. For more information about this vessel, and upcoming vessels for sale, contact the NSRI’s Capital Projects Director, Mark Hughes, on markh@searescue.org.za or call 082 994 1041.
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