THE official naming ceremony of North Berwick’s new lifeboat, ‘Evelyn M’, took place on Saturday.

The new boat has been at the station since June and has rescued 12 people already.

North Berwick RNLI was given the boat thanks to the Miss Evelyn M Murdoch Charitable Trust donating the required funds to build it. Evelyn was a regular visitor to North Berwick for family holidays, taking her nieces to the beach, including Helen Hanson, who is a trustee.

Stewart Auld, lifeboat operations manager at North Berwick, said: “It is fitting that there is now a lifeboat dedicated to Evelyn in the place she enjoyed many happy holidays; she may even have eaten ice cream in the boat shed, which was at that time an ice cream cafe.” Evelyn M does not look much different to the lifeboats placed at the station since it re-opened as an inshore lifeboat station in the 1960s; however, it includes all the latest advancements in technology, such as the new electronic navigation system, which enhances safety and search and rescue coordination by creating a vital record of precisely where has been searched and where still needs to be searched, enabling a faster and more accurate rescue effort.

It has played its part in the rescue of 12 people since arriving, including a recent call-out when the boat assisted four swimmers who were struggling in a 10-foot swell and breaking waves.

Niall Grant, lifeboat helm, said: “Her speed in getting to the casualties was vital in the successful rescue, which saw two of the casualties airlifted to hospital. All made a full recovery.” The lifeboat was accepted on behalf of the RNLI and passed into the care of volunteer crew at North Berwick Lifeboat Station by Sir Peter Housden, permanent secretary at the Scottish Government and RNLI council member.

He said: “I am delighted to be receiving such a great bit of new kit for the RNLI; it’s great to see the RNLI at the centre of the community surrounded by so many supporters.” The service of dedication was lead by the Rev Neil Dougall and named ‘Evelyn M’ by Helen Hanson, trustee of the Miss Evelyn M Murdoch Charitable Trust. The lifeboat was then piped down to the beach by Ross McNicol and launched to demonstrate its capabilities to the crowd of supporters gathered on the shore.

Ian McMinn, chairman of the Lifeboat Management Group, and Ted Hill, deputy launching authority, were awarded long service medals at the ceremony.