Ex-Olympic safety boat to help save lives in Dorset
A boat used for safety patrols during the Olympics is to be given a new lease of life as a rescue vessel for volunteer lifeguards in Dorset.
The 5.85m-long boat will be used by RLSS Poole Lifeguard and based at Sandbanks.
It was bought with £17,600 raised by local charity The Talbot Village Trust after being offered for sale at less than half its £38,000 value.
It will be named Legacy and replace the lifeguards' previous boat Phoenix.
RLSS Poole Lifeguard chairman David Ayres said: "Phoenix has done us proud but she was really on her last legs.
"We were desperate to find a replacement but didn't have the funds so thought we had no chance of acquiring the Olympics boat - even at half price - until the Trust came up trumps, for which we're incredibly grateful.
"Having this new boat will enable us to continue to preserve life at sea and in the Poole and Sandbanks area."
A naming ceremony for the vessel will be held on Tuesday at the Royal Motor Yacht Club in Panorama Road, Sandbanks.