Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) stations are the bases for the

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

's fleet of search and rescue

lifeboats Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen A ...

that cover the coastal waters around the entire

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, as well as major inland waterways. The service was established in 1824 and is operated largely by volunteers. Its headquarters are at

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

and it is a registered charity in both the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

Key

Lifeboat types

The types of boats provided at each station and the launching methods vary depending on local needs. If more than one boat is provided they are sometimes stationed in separate buildings at different locations in the same town. Current RNLI boats fall into three broad groups: * All weather lifeboats (ALBs): , , , , and . * Inshore lifeboats (ILBs): , , and * Hovercraft: ''H''-class

Launch methods

The principal launching methods are: * Carriage – an ALB or ILB is pushed into the water on a carriage by a tractor *

Davit Boat suspended from radial davits; the boat is mechanically lowered Gravity multi-pivot on Scandinavia'' file:Bossoir a gravité.jpg, Gravity Roller Davit file:Davits-starbrd.png, Gravity multi-pivot davit holding rescue vessel on North Sea ferr ...

– an ALB or ILB is lowered into the water by a crane * Launchway – an ILB is pushed into the water on a carriage by hand * Moored afloat – an ALB or ILB is kept in the water alongside the lifeboat station or nearby, in which case a small boarding boat is provided so that the crew can reach it *

Slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

– an ALB slides down a slipway straight into the water * Transporter – hovercraft are kept on the rear of trucks that can transport and offload them anywhere

Regions

The following lists do not include the lifeguard patrolled beaches which also have their own equipment including

inflatable boats An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and hull is often flexible, while for boats longer than , the floor typically consists ...

and

jetski Jet Ski is the brand name of a personal watercraft (PWC) manufactured by Kawasaki, a Japanese company. The term is often used generically to refer to any type of personal watercraft used mainly for recreation, and it is also used as a verb to ...

s. The information is correct to 2009 unless noted otherwise, and is set out like the RNLI's divisional model. As far as possible it follows a clockwise route around the coast. * North and East Region – North East and East England (Berwick-upon-Tweed - Burnham-on-Crouch) * South East Region - South and South East England (Southend on Sea - Swanage) * South West Region – South West England and the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

(Weymouth - Portishead) * Wales and West Region – Wales and North West England and the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

(Penarth - Silloth) * Scotland Region –

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

* Ireland Region –

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Key

Lifeboat types

Launch methods

Regions

List of stations by division

East Division

South Division

West Division

North Division

Scotland Division

Ireland Division

See also

References

External links