A former all-weather lifeboat that served Peel for nearly three decades has left the Isle of Man following its retirement from service.

The Mersey class lifeboat Ruby Clery, operational number 12-22, arrived at Peel RNLI station in 1992 and remained there until the end of 2019. During that time, it launched on service more than 200 times and was credited with saving 62 lives.

As Peel prepared to receive its new Shannon class all-weather lifeboat, Ruby Clery was transferred temporarily to Ramsey RNLI for three years. It later spent a short period at Douglas RNLI, where it operated as a relief lifeboat.

The vessel was named after the great, great granddaughter of Sir William Hillary, the founder of the RNLI, a connection which made it particularly significant to the Peel lifeboat community. Its christening also carried local importance, having been performed by Karin Bache Nordli, whose father was among 23 people rescued by Peel’s John Monk lifeboat in 1889.

Ruby Clery departed the Isle of Man on Sunday, December 7 for Fleetwood, marking the end of its service around the island. Two crew members from Peel and two from Douglas took part in the final passage.

The lifeboat was crewed by Peel coxswains Jon Corlett and Mike Faragher, alongside Douglas coxswain Emily Heaton and mechanic James Betteridge.

Mr Corlett, who served as passage coxswain, said: ‘We sounded the horn twice in farewell when we left Douglas Harbour. It was a very early start as timing was tight. Our arrival in Fleetwood needed to coincide with the tide and the opening of the lock into the marina, to allow us to catch a flight from Liverpool back to the Isle of Man the same day.’

He described the journey as ‘bittersweet’, with crew members sharing memories of the lifeboat’s years in service.