Peel’s lifeboat operations manager has told the Examiner how a crew from the UK was able to collect a boat from the island.

The town’s new Shannon class boat ’Frank and Brenda Winter’ left for Fleetwood last week for planned maintenance but due to Covid-19, the UK crew couldn’t set foot on the island.

Peel’s lifeboat was taken away by an RNLI crew that arrived aboard a relief lifeboat. The UK-based crew did not land in the island and there was no contact with local RNLI volunteers.

Operations manager Allen Corlett said six RNLI crew members travelled to the island and tied their boat up alongside the Frank and Brenda Winter boat.

He said: ’Keeping Covid off our island is a priority for the RNLI but the boat needed to go for its routine maintenance.

’The crew who came couldn’t set food on island or come into close contact with anyone.’

The UK crew split into two with three taking the Shannon to Fleetwood with the others returning in their own boat.

While the Frank and Brenda Winter is off island, Peel’s volunteers will continue to use the Mersey Class Mary Margaret

Mr Corlett said this year has been ’very difficult’ for the RNLI, particularly in the UK and the Republic of Ireland where Covid-19 measures remain more stringent than the UK.

However, he said for the island’s teams, it has led to finding a balance between the RNLI’s ultimate responsibility of saving lives at sea and not allowing Covid-19 onto the island.

He said: ’We have plans for if crews had to go out outside of Manx waters, we obviously can’t leave someone just because they’re 13 miles away.’

The plans would see the island’s RNLI only take a person onto their boat if it was absolutely necessary, otherwise they would assist and wait for the RNLI from the nearest part of the UK or the Republic of Ireland to reach them.