Spirit of Guernsey lifeboat undergoes major refit

The refit of the Spirit of Guernsey is expected to take up to 10 weeks

A relief lifeboat has arrived to replace the Spirit of Guernsey while it undergoes a major refit.

The RNLI Severn class lifeboat Roger and Joy Freeman moored arrived on Wednesday to cover the St Peter Port lifeboat station.

The Spirit of Guernsey, also a Severn class, is due to sail to Poole on Thursday for 8-10 weeks of work.

The refit will include electrical upgrades, repairs to the bow thruster controls and a propeller change.

It will also involve the installation of an AIS (automatic identification) unit as part of a roll out to the whole RNLI fleet.

The Spirit of Guernsey arrived in the island in 1997 and her last major refit was in 2008.