Tall ship Tenacious sailed into Dartmouth last week, and the opportunity was used to conduct a RNLI training exercise.

Measuring 27.5m tall and 54m in length, Tenacious is the largest wooden tall ship of her kind. She was crewed by cadets from University Royal Naval Units when she visited the port on May 24. The ship is run by the Jubilee Sailing Trust and has a permanent crew of nine, with the capacity for up to 44 trainee crew onboard. She’s been adapted to be accessible for wheelchair users and also features a speaking compass for blind crew, as well as state-of-the-art navigation instruments. No paper charts are required.

A RNLI spokesperson said: “The crew disembarked at Dartmouth and visited Dart RNLI Lifeboat Station for a tour and to learn about being a volunteer lifeboat crew member. They watched videos of some recent rescues, including the whale at Blackpool Sands and big ship rescues with local all-weather lifeboats from Torbay and Salcombe.

“They were then shown round both of Dart’s boats: the D-Class, a five-metre inshore lifeboat kept in the boathouse on the trailer of Thomas the tractor, and the Atlantic, an 8.5-metre inshore lifeboat moored on an aqua-dock at the end of the walk-on pontoon. The crew of Tenacious asked lots of questions and hopefully we’ve inspired some future Lifeboat crew. Later that day, Tenacious set sail from Dartmouth, on route for Alderney.”

The spokesperson said the RNLI used the visit as an opportunity to conduct a training exercise.

They said: “The Atlantic B-Class, helmed by Captain Rich Eggleton, came alongside Tenacious past the river mouth to practice a crew transfer. Maintaining the same steady speed as the tall ship of around 3.5 knots, they kept the lifeboat close enough to Tenacious for trainee crew member Tatty Pettigrew to climb up the ship’s ladder and onto the deck.

“In a real-life scenario, the lifeboat may have to do this if there was a medical emergency onboard and we needed to get a trained casualty carer onto the vessel. Tatty was welcomed by the crew, who she’d met earlier at the lifeboat station tour and was given a quick tour of their helm and navigation station. She was then back down the ladder to re-join the lifeboat.

“The crew of Tenacious waved goodbye as the lifeboat crew returned to Dartmouth to complete their training exercise and Tenacious disappeared over the horizon on her way to Alderney.”