Despite the poor weather, crowds flocked to St Davids yesterday (Sunday) to witness the naming of the station's new inshore lifeboat in a special ceremony at St David's Cathedral.

The £31,000 vessel was donated to St Davids' RNLI lifeboat station by Richard Gurr from Solihull in the West Midlands. It was named in memory of his late parents Myrtle and Trevor Gurr.

"I feel hugely proud to be associated with St Davids and the RNLI and to hand over this new lifeboat," said Mr Gurr said.

"My father in particular liked to mess about with small boats, he and my mother would be immensely proud to be associated with this lifeboat."

Because of the inclement weather, the ceremony was carried out in St David's Cathedral by kind permission of the Dean of St David's the Very Reverend Wyn Evans. Local dignitaries and members of the public looked on as the Rev Canon Jonathan Lean blessed the boat.

Captian James Wilcox, lifeboat operations manager accepted the lifeboat on behalf of the St Davids station.

"The crew are delighted with their new lifeboat," he said. "We will always be grateful to the Gurr family."

The new D class inshore lifeboats have several improved feature which will greatly assist the work of the St Davids crew: these include greater speed capabilities and an updated GPS navigation system, which improves the accuracy of locating casualties.

After the blessing Mr Gurr poured champagne over the the new lifeboat, which was stationed outside the cathedral, and officially named her.

"I have huge admiration for the contribution of the crew," he said. "Their bravery and knowledge is something truly to behold, and is a real shining example."