COWES lifeboat service celebrated two birthdays in style last weekend as they marked the 30th anniversary of the independent service and the tenth anniversary of the replacement RNLI operation.

People involved in one or both services gathered at the lifeboat station to witness a re-dedication by chaplain Rev Andrew Poppe and hear speeches from Maj Gen Sir Martin White, Hugh Robotham, chair of the lifeboat management group, and Mark Southwell, the station's operations manager.

Hugh, a former member of the independent lifeboat and now chairman of the RNLI station, recalled how the move to establish a lifeboat in Cowes came out of a tragic collision between a Red Funnel hydrofoil and a fishing boat in 1987.

The following year, Cowes Rescue came into being.

Cowes Rescue had to work hard for the next 20 years to raise funds before inviting the RNLI to take over the running of the service.

Mark, a former Cowes customs officer, spoke of how he became involved in the one million pound appeal for the new station and its official opening by the queen.

He said: "We got there by the quality of the volunteers who have turned up to run this station. It is a true team effort. Everyone who is a member of this station should take immense pride in what they have achieved."

There was praise for the station and its volunteers from Maj Gen White, who is also president of the RNLI's IW Lifeboat Board.

The double anniversary was further marked over the weekend with an impressive photographic exhibition, open to the public at the Regatta Centre thanks to the Cowes Combined Clubs.