About the project

Launched in 1928 as Thomas Markby, Ambler began her life as a lifeboat for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in Swanage, UK. Designed for harsh weather and open-sea rescues, she was built to embody reliability, strength, and the selfless spirit of her volunteer crew. Over the course of 29 years, she was launched 67 times and saved at least 27 lives.

When her RNLI service came to an end, Ambler was reimagined as a long-distance sailing vessel. For more than four decades, she roamed the globe — from Cape Horn to the Cape of Good Hope, from the South Pacific to the Caribbean — as a liveaboard home and workshop. She carried her owners across oceans and through generations, quietly collecting stories, storms, repairs, friendships, and deep-sea miles.

In 2018, her caretakers sought someone new — someone younger, passionate, and ready to continue her story. She was passed on with care, not as a relic, but as a living vessel. Since then, Ambler has continued under sail, gradually restored by hand while moving from island to island. In 2023, she arrived in the Rio Dulce in Guatemala, where the final phase of her restoration is underway, including re-planking her century-old hull.

The goal is to return her across the Atlantic to her original home in Swanage in 2028 — in time for her 100th birthday.

But this is more than a refit. It’s about honoring a piece of maritime history. It’s about celebrating traditional craftsmanship, building community across borders, and sharing the magic of a boat that has touched so many lives.

Throughout this journey, Ambler continues to gather people — sailors, boatbuilders, dreamers, and those drawn to her quiet strength. Her story will soon be captured in an illustrated book, currently in development, that brings together her past, her travels, and the hands that have kept her afloat.

This is her story — and yours, too, if you’d like to be part of it.