The original RNLI Queensferry Lifeboat Station opened in 1967 at the Hawes Pier and was of a wooden construction, which was previously the ticket office for the ferries which ran between South and North Queensferry prior to the opening of The Forth Road Bridge.
In 1989 it was replaced by a specially built Station which has been home to four Lifeboats the last of which was “The Donald and Ethel Macrae”.
The new Atlantic 85 Lifeboat the “Jimmie Cairncross” was named by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and is housed in the even newer Station, complete with a new tractor.
The new Station, with an impressive boat house enables the Lifeboat to launch straight down the pier, thus saving vital minutes. The new facilities are especially appreciated by the ladies in the shop , who have operated in all weathers exposed to the elements and now have warm premises with a toilet and a small kitchen. The crew can now enjoy good locker space, shower facilities and the boat house boasts a welcome dedicated area for the mechanic. Upstairs there is ample office space, kitchen area and a very impressive crew lounge / training and meeting area featuring port hole windows and panoramic views up the Forth to Crombie and down to Inchcolm.
At the time of writing (7 March 2017) Queensferry Lifeboat has launched 1796 times saving 187 lives and assisting 2766 people since opening 50 years ago in 1967.
To find the cache, you need to find a few nearby details, work out a couple of things, and apply this to the coordinates;
A quick word of warning first. Although I have added the 'Suitable for Children' attribute, the area you will be walking in is next to a drop into sometimes deep water. Please ensure that young children are watched carefully in this area whilst collecting information.
When you are at the starting coordinates, you should be standing on a metal manhole cover, which has the name of a US state beside it. I'll come back to this. To get all the answers you need to walk from the lighthouse, back over the manhole cover, and just to the front of the lifeboat house.
A - The stone lighthouse, just beyond the shop from where you are standing has a wooden door. What colour is it?
Brown = 1, Blue = 2, Green = 3, White = 4, Red = 5
B - The shop has opening hours displayed. The shop closes at a time displayed in 24hr format. Convert to 12hr time and multiply by 2. In setting this I am worried that there may be seasonal changes. If they change without me knowing, the fact that there is a check-sum should help you.
C - The US state in the concrete beside the manhole cover. How many letters from the word 'Lifeboat' match the state's name?
D - How many yellow-topped mooring points can you see heading down the pier before you get to the yellow and black bollard (this is approximately the mark of highest high tide, which covers some of them some of the time...)?
E - What is the total of the three small black numbers you can see on the lower parts of the windows alongside the boat house? It looks like something is slotted into the white frames to protect the glass at high tide.
F - How many spotlights are above the big door facing down the slipway?
G - What is the speed limit within 50m of the pier in knots (kts)?
Cache can be found at N 55 59.AE(C/2+C) W 003 2(B-E).D(E+F)(E-G)
Check-sum = 36
Lifeboat Stations UK Eire Channel Isles and Isle of Man https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_RNLI_stations It is hoped to make a series of Lifeboat Stations for more information please message Flexburyites at: - http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=707ea5c0-f263-44c9-b15b-9e9c3d98f609&wid=53df9d53-960c-481b-bd57-0df16194d23a&ds=2