The event raised an incredible £67,000 and will see all funds raised going towards the vital operations of the RNLI across the Isle of Man. The evening saw a fantastic dinner, speeches, a raffle full of brilliant prizes and an exciting auction, alongside plenty of dancing.
Chairperson of Douglas Lifeboat Guild, Gilli Cowley said: ‘All of us at Douglas RNLI would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported our 200th Gala Dinner. It was a fantastic evening celebrating 200 years of RNLI lifesaving here the Isle of Man, the birthplace of our special charity.
‘I also want to say a huge thank you to our headline sponsor for the event Ørsted. Alongside the many other partners and supporters who helped make the evening such a success. Thank you to Appleby, Annexio, Retrospect, KPMG, and Ramsey Crookall.’
‘With everyone’s collective “one crew” effort and the incredible generosity, we raised an astonishing £67,000! Your support goes directly towards our mission, to save lives at sea and we couldn't be more grateful.’
Ørsted, a global leader in offshore wind power, have a long-standing partnership with the RNLI and are currently developing the first offshore windfarm in Manx territorial waters – Mooir Vannin. Ørsted has recently announced a two-year extension to its partnership with the charity.
John Galloway Development Director for the Isle of Man at Ørsted, said: ‘We’ve been a keen supporter of the RNLI and the vital work its crews and volunteers provide here in the Isle of Man and around the UK. We’re delighted to have been involved with such an incredible milestone celebration and we look forward to building on the extraordinary work we’ve achieved together in the past nine years - supporting over 1,800 launches, aiding more than 3,000 people at sea and saving 127 lives.’
Another special RNLI 200 Manx partnership that was highlighted during the evening was with The Fynoderee Distillery. The Ramsey based distillery have already raised thousands of pounds in donations from sales of their RNLI Edition Manx Dry Gin. Now they have created limited edition bottles of their RNLI Refuge Manx Rum.
During the evening’s celebrations, bottle number 1 of the Refuge Manx Rum – which has been aged in the Tower of Refuge throughout 2024, was auctioned off. The bottle was auctioned off at a winning bid of £1,325 with 100% of the money raised going to the RNLI.
Tiffany Kerruish, The Fynoderee Distillery Co-Founder, said: ‘We were delighted with the “Bottle 1”auction result and our grateful thanks goes to everybody who placed a bid, Douglas RNLI and Murrays Auctions for facilitating such a splendid reaction on such a special night.’
The Gala Dinner was the finale event of a special week of RNLI activity, which saw the 200th anniversary ‘Connecting our Communities’ scroll relay complete its final leg on the island after being signed by over 900 representatives from the charity during the course of the 200th anniversary year.
Photo credit: Liam Gilman Photography
