This is the Star of Life, an ambulance boat used around the Isles of Scilly …

This is the Star of Life, an ambulance boat used around the Isles of Scilly off the Cornish coast. It was new in 2003 when it cost £260,000. The boat is vital to transport casualties from the many islands to the only hospital on St. Mary’s.



The Star of Life works alongside Cornwall’s air ambulance. When the air ambulance is not available, due to maintenance or fog for example, the sea-going catamaran boat can transport serious cases to the mainland at Penzance. It can travel the 28 miles at up to 25 knots.



Inside the 36-foot boat is all the normal ambulance equipment including defibrillator, oxygen and pain relieving drugs. It is manned by an emergency medical technician and a coxswain from the South Western Ambulance Service.



The boat has five pairs of folding doors around the vessel that allow the smooth transition of a walking or stretcher casualty from land to sea. The Star of Life replaced the Santa Warna that previously served the Scillonian archipelago.



The vessel at speed in the sea. It is fitted with a blue flashing light to help identify its purpose.