Salcombe and Kingsbridge RNLI Fundraising Crew is facing a £450,000 fundraising challenge to help pay for its new £2.7million lifeboat, with volunteers now stepping up efforts to raise the money before the vessel arrives next year.

The new state-of-the-art Shannon-class lifeboat, which will be named Baltic Exchange IV, is expected to arrive at the station next summer.

The station now has around 12 to 18 months to complete its local fundraising target, with the naming ceremony expected to take place in 2028.

Philip Ward, Chair of Fundraising for Salcombe and Kingsbridge RNLI, said the scale of the appeal was a significant increase on what the station would normally expect to raise.

"On average, over the last couple of years, we've raised around £250,000," he said.

"So it's quite a big step up. But again, I'm confident because I believe our community stands by us."

The new lifeboat will cost £2.7m, with £1.25m of that being raised by the Baltic Exchange, which has supported the Salcombe RNLI station since the 1960s.

The Baltic Exchange has already raised around £650,000 towards its commitment, while around £1m has been secured through personal and legacy donations.

A recent dinner event raised a further £400,000 towards the appeal.

That leaves the local fundraising team with a target of around £450,000. Mr Ward said the fundraising effort was particularly important because the money raised over the next 12 to 18 months would be going towards the Salcombe lifeboat station directly, rather than being distributed across the RNLI's network.

“Normally we fundraise, and those funds go into the RNLI, and then they're distributed around the UK and Ireland to all the various stations," he said.

"However, at the moment, it's different. So all of that money for the next 12 to 18 months is going towards our own lifeboat."

"So it makes it more personal, and it makes it more local, and it also makes it a bit challenging."

Salcombe and Kingsbridge RNLI has around 80 fundraising volunteers, although between 15 and 20 are active on a regular basis.

Mr Ward coordinates fundraising outside the station's Salcombe shop, which has its own management team, with volunteers involved in everything from coffee mornings and bingo nights to larger dinners and sporting events.

One of the station's biggest summer fundraisers this year was the Salcombe Gin Beach Rugby event at South Sands, which raised more than £12,000 in an afternoon.

But Mr Ward said the fundraising effort wasn’t simply about large events.

He divides the work into three key areas: major fundraising events, regular community fundraising and activities designed to raise awareness of the RNLI.

"The vast majority of our fundraising is the sort of events that the general public know about, what I call community fundraising," he said. "And the core of us, of what we do, is community fundraising because the lifeboats and the RNLI, particularly in this area but in every area that the RNLI exists, is such a core part of the community."

He said almost everybody in Salcombe had some connection with the RNLI, whether through a family member, friend, local business or previous fundraising.

The station also runs activities that are not specifically intended to raise money.

Lifeboat tours, for example, give members of the public the chance to see the boat and learn more about the work carried out by the crew.

Mr Ward said these activities were important because the lifeboat ultimately belonged to the public who funded it.

"That big orange boat out there, the all-weather lifeboat, is not our boat. It's the public's boat," he said. "They paid for it through donations."

The cost of keeping the station's two boats operational is also substantial. Mr Ward said the running costs were around £250,000 a year, despite the station relying almost exclusively on volunteers.

The money is needed to get the boats to sea, maintain them and ensure the crew have the equipment and training required to operate safely.

The fundraising team works closely with the lifeboat crew, with Mr Ward describing the relationship as “one big family”.

“We try and work as one crew," he said. "It is a slogan that we have, but in Salcombe it's a reality. It's not just a ‘marketing strapline’."

He said there was plenty of banter between the volunteers and crew, but that the team would support each other even when things went wrong.

"When you get it wrong, which you do, they will still stand by you and go, right, how do we sort it out? How do we do it better? How do we improve things so we don't ever do it wrong again?"

The cost-of-living pressures affecting households have also presented a challenge for fundraising.

But Mr Ward said people continued to donate, even when they had less money available.

"What I've found is that people prioritise their money," he said. "And in most cases, they might give less, but they will still give. Because they still totally and utterly believe in the RNLI and what we do."

He said even relatively small donations could make a huge difference and every amount helps no matter the size. "People will approach you and say, 'I've only got a fiver.' "Five pounds is one of hundreds of five pounds which we get donated, and that pays for fuel; it pays for new kit.”

"So to us, it's never ‘only a pound’, or, ‘only a fiver’."

The station is also looking for more volunteers to help with the fundraising campaign.

Mr Ward said people did not need a particular professional skill to get involved.

"I think the only qualification you need to get onto the fundraising is to be passionate about what you want to do," he said. "Everything else is roll your sleeves up, get stuck in."

He said the volunteers came from a wide range of ages and backgrounds and often brought skills from previous careers with them.

For Mr Ward, one of the biggest rewards of being involved is seeing the lifeboat launch and being a part of a team.

"The most rewarding part is being part of the team," he said. "And the other for me and for most of my volunteers on fundraising is the pride when the boat goes out because they know that that boat is going out because of what they do."

He said many of the fundraising volunteers were too old to serve on the lifeboat crew themselves, “like me,” he quipped, but could still play a vital role in keeping the service running

The fundraising campaign will now continue over the coming months, with the team planning a programme of community events and appeals to reach the £450,000 target.

Mr Ward said he was confident the South Hams community would respond. "I know we can do it because I know the community that we live in and I know all the businesses who support us and just the people on the street around the South Hams," he said.

The appeal comes as the station prepares for the arrival of a new lifeboat which will form a key part of its future service.

For Mr Ward, however, the appeal is about more than raising money.

It is about the community supporting the much-needed equipment that will allow its volunteer crews to continue saving lives at sea for years to come.