Littlehampton Lifeboat Station

Littlehampton Lifeboat Station is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station in the town of Littlehampton, in West Sussex, on the south coast of England. The station is on the harbour side on the eastern bank of the River Arun, a quarter mile from the harbour entrance and the pier. The current lifeboat house on Fisherman's Quay was built in 2002. The lifeboat station currently operates with two inshore lifeboats: a lifeboat, and a lifeboat, .

History

The RNLI opened the first lifeboat station in the town in 1884.For Those In Peril – The Lifeboat Service of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Station by Station. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher: Silver Link Publishing Ltd, First Issue 1999. Work:Part 2, South Coast of England – Eastbourne to Weston-super-Mare, Page 74, Littlehampton. It was built on the east bank of the River Arun, near what is now the Harbour Park amusement park. The pulling and sailing lifeboat (a lifeboat using oars and sail, with no engine) was manned by local sailors and fishermen. In 1903 the boathouse was moved closer to the lighthouse. The lifeboats were launched 26 times before this original station closed in 1921 due to lack of qualified staff, and the placement of a new motor lifeboat further west at Selsey.

Reopening and ''Blue Peter'' appeals

Increased leisure boating in the area led to a corresponding rise in marine rescues, including swimmers and small craft washed out to sea, necessitating a faster local response. The station re-opened in 1967 as an inshore lifeboat station operating a D-class lifeboat housed in a garage on the east bank of the river Arun. The cost was defrayed by a fundraising appeal on the BBC programme ''Blue Peter''.Strong to Save – Dramatic first-hand accounts of the RNLI lifeboat rescues around the British Iles. Author: Kipling, Ray and Susannah. Publisher:Patrick Stephens Ltd, re-printed addition – 1998. Work: Blue Peter to the Rescue – references to the Blue Peter appeals and involvement with the RNLI, Page 104. Never Turn Back – The RNLI since the Second World War. Author:Kipling, Ray and Susannah. Publisher:Sutton Publishing, 2006. Work: Chapter 7, page 154, From Whitehall to White City – Blue Peter book appeal, The lifeboat was called . The original ''Blue Peter 1'' lifeboat was replaced five times, funded each time by appeals on ''Blue Peter''; each replacement lifeboat retained the name ''Blue Peter 1'' until 2016.

1979–present

In 1979, a new boathouse was built for the station near Fishermen's Quay, enabling quick launch down a short ramp into the Arun.

In 2002, the station underwent a large re-development to fit in with the recent waterside changes in the area. The new station has been designed specifically as a two-boat station at a cost of £550,000. At this time, the station was provided with a lifeboat, ''Blue Peter 1'' (B-779), at a cost of £100,000.

A new ''D''-class inshore lifeboat, D-631 ''Spirit of Juniper'', was donated by the Campaign for Real Gin in 2004 at a cost of £25,000, and served until 2014. She was replaced by D-769 ''Ray of Hope'', a later version of the D-Class IB1, funded by a private donor at a cost of £42,000.

The final ''Blue Peter 1'' was replaced in 2016 by a boat, ''Rennee Sherman'' (B-891).

The Littlehampton Lifeboat Station was the busiest in the West Sussex area, with 61 call outs in 2020 and 913 between 2008 and 2020.

Fleet

All-Weather Lifeboats

Inshore Lifeboats

Gallery

Neighbouring Station Locations

References

{{reflist, 2

Lifeboat stations in West Sussex
Littlehampton