Tsunami Rescue Boat Project announced
A groundbreaking boat-building project was announced last week, rejuvenating the Inshore Rescue Boat service at UWC Atlantic College’s seafront. In a Friday Lecture given by alumnus Robin Jenkins and head of IRB Mich Creber, the details of the ambitious venture were disclosed to a room packed with AC students and staff.
Students have been challenged to create the first ever boat specifically designed to cope with the aftermath of a tsunami. Generous investment from alumni have allowed design, testing and manufacture to commence immediately. The college is already hard at work generating innovative ideas as the deadline for the prototype boat is June 2015, when it will travel to Japan.
Industries in northern Japan expressed their interest in working with Atlantic College when they heard of its boat-building legacy. Kamaishi was decimated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami and much of its industry has not yet recovered. A proposal was made to members of the Kamaishi community by Mr Jenkins (’92), emphasising that the manufacture of boats designed at UWC Atlantic College would not only revive the area’s withered industry but result in vessels which could save innumerable lives in the event of another tsunami.
With its historic commitment to community service, UWC Atlantic College is uniquely placed to undertake this pioneering project. The legacy of Rear Admiral Desmond Hoare’s invention of the Rigid-Hulled Inflatable boat in the 1960s is still tangible at the sea front. A copy of the legendary cheque which sold the RIB’s patent to the RNLI for one pound is on display outside the boat-building workshop, inspiring the current students as they embark on their own assignment.
Though the brief is ambitious, the necessity of its success is felt by all involved. “That Japanese companies have invested in the concept of the design’s manufacture is a great display of trust and shows the responsibility placed upon the students of Atlantic College,” said Robin Jenkins, “not to mention the lives that could potentially be saved with the invention of a tsunami vessel.” As a design lecturer at University of the Arts London, Mr Jenkins travelled to Japan as a consultant for Future Lab Tohoku. The organisation consists of a collaboration of artists who work with tsunami victims to set up design-related projects, hoping to rebuild small industries and communities.
Work began promptly as, in eight months time, the completed prototype will undergo rigorous sea trials consisting of an expedition around the British coast, beginning on the 25th of July, before being transported to Kamaishi. A team of students are researching the characteristics of the Japanese coastline in order to make bespoke initial designs. They are also in charge of the project’s logistics, its branding and documenting its progress on social media, not to mention the boat’s construction and subsequent thorough testing in the Bristol Channel.
However, the team would still benefit from the assistance of enthusiastic alumni. Any experience in boat construction and design would be valuable, but knowledge of organising and running a project, public relations or fundraising is just as vital for the project’s success.
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