£20,000 still needs to be raised for Flying Christine

FLYING Christine III is heading off to the Isle of Wight this morning for the next phase of its refurbishment.

Ambulance and Rescue vessel the Flying Christine III is heading to the UK for refurbishment and yesterday its medical equipment was being removed before the trip by operations lead Stuart Malley. Some went back on board when the boat was called to Alderney. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 33944034)

But £20,000 still needs to be raised to secure the marine ambulance’s future for another 10 years. Last year a significant amount of mechanical work was undertaken locally. This next stage involves work under the water line, including the hull being stripped right back.

And this needs to be done in a shed set to the correct temperature to dry it out.

‘One of the reasons we chose the Isle of Wight is that it is still the epicentre of boat building and they’ve got great big facilities that enable us to turn the boat around as quickly as possible, and get it back to Guernsey and back into service,’ said Ambulance & Rescue service chief executive Mark Mapp.

‘We’re going to try and do a bit of cosmetic work in the treatment area and some route navigation updates so she is fit for purpose for the next 10 years.

‘As a charity we really have to spend the money wisely.

‘It’s donated by the public and so we have to spend the money in a way that is of best interest of the community.’

The 1994 Flying Christine III was originally built with a 30-year life span, but following boat surveys and operational reviews, the board of the emergency service decided to invest in improvements to extend its operational life by another decade.

‘The refurbishment work started a couple of years ago and we worked with our stakeholders to identify whether we should be looking at raising funds for a new vessel or continue refurbishing,’ sad Mr Mapp.

‘The most cost-effective thing to do for the community and us as an organisation is to refurbish the current vessel.’

Today volunteers will be leaving St Peter Port harbour at 7am to take the vessel on the five-hour trip to the Isle of Wight.

It is hoped that it will be back in service in Guernsey by Easter, when the number of calls typically start to increase.

In the meantime, other vessels will be on standby to cover the service.

‘The RNLI is one of them and we have a number of other local chartered boats ready to support the community should we need to get to the other islands,’ said Mr Mapp.

Mr Mapp thanked the volunteers who are giving their time to take the Flying Christine to the Isle of Wight.

Anyone who wishes to provide sponsorship or make a donation, can do in the following ways:

Via the website https://ambulance.gg/

By sending a cheques payable to ‘St John Ambulance and Rescue’ to the Ambulance Station, Rohais, St Peter Port, GY1 1YN

By emailing Ambulance.Rescue@stjohn.gg FAO Chief Ambulance Officer.