Plymouth Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Plymouth in England. The first

lifeboat 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 ...

was stationed in the city in the early 1800s. The station moved to its present site at

Millbay Docks Millbay, also known as Millbay Docks, is an area of dockland in Plymouth, Devon, England. It lies south of Union Street, between West Hoe in the east and Stonehouse in the west. The area is currently subject to a public-private regeneration c ...

in 1992, a

Grade II-listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

three-storey tower. Since 2003 it has operated a all weather boat (ALB) along with an inshore lifeboat (ILB).

History

Plymouth was one of the towns that received one of the Lloyds lifeboats in the first decade of the nineteenth century, but it never saw service. In 1825 a new lifeboat was provided by the new National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (renamed the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1854), but this too saw no use. A new lifeboat station was established in Plymouth in 1862 with a lifeboat house on the West Wharf of the outer basin of

. This was replaced in 1897 by a new boathouse at the Camber (at the seaward end of the wharf) with its own launching slip which allowed the lifeboat to get to sea more quickly. The station's first motor lifeboat was a which had to be kept moored afloat due to its length. A new station was built on the Princess Royal Pier in 1979 and a new mooring was provided alongside. From 1988 until 1992 the lifeboat was moored in Sutton Harbour while the area around the Princess Royal Pier was redeveloped as a marina, but it then returned to Millbay. An Inshore Rescue Boat (IRB) was first stationed at Plymouth in May 1967. After a year when this was a D class inflatable, larger ILBs were provided. Initially in the form of and lifeboats, but since 1983 by s.

Service awards

A number of rescues carried out by the station's lifeboats have been recognised by letters, certificates and medals from the RNLI management, including three that resulted in a total of four bronze medals. *Coxswain Walter Crowther was awarded a medal after the ''Robert and Marcella Beck'' was called out on 13 January 1942 (during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

) to a

Sunderland flying boat The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North East ...

of the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

which had been blown onto rocks in a storm. The lifeboat crew managed to get a rope across to the flying boat and towed her and her crew to safety. *Another medal was awarded to Coxswain John Dare "for his courage, determination and excellent seamanship" on 16 January 1974. A

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

coaster, the ''Merc Enterprise'' had capsized south of

Rame Head Rame Head or Ram Head ( kw, Penn an Hordh) is a coastal headland, southwest of the village of Rame in southeast Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is part of the larger Rame Peninsula. History and antiquities The natural site was used for a pr ...

. The lifeboat ''Thomas Forehead and Mary Rowse'' fought through hurricane-force winds to reach the casualty. A helicopter managed to winch seven people out of the water while the lifeboat searched for other survivors but failed to find any. *The third bronze medal rescue involved the ''Thomas Forehead and Mary Rowse II'' on 15 February 1978. The ''Elly Gerda'' ran aground near

Looe Looe (; kw, Logh, ) is a coastal town and civil parish in south-east Cornwall, England, with a population of 5,280 at the 2011 census. Looe is west of Plymouth and south of Liskeard, divided in two by the River Looe, East Looe ( kw, links ...

in a Force 8 storm. The lifeboat managed to rescue two of the trawler's crew but the heavy seas then washed the trawler off the rocks. The lifeboat escorted it back into harbour and then returned to Plymouth, where it had left its berth nearly 14 hours earlier. The RNLI awarded medals to both the Coxswain, Patrick Marshall, and the Mechanic, Cyril Alcock, "for their courage, determination and seamanship".

Facilities

Since 1992 the all weather lifeboat has been moored afloat in the Millbay Marina, which is on the eastern side of the outer basin. The inshore lifeboat is kept next to it in a floating cradle. Crew facilities and storage are in the old Customs Office on the quay close to the moorings. This is a Grade II

Listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

which was erected in 1850 to the design of

George Wightwick George Wightwick (26 August 1802 – 9 July 1872) was a British architect based in Plymouth, and possibly the first architectural journalist. In addition to his architectural practice, he developed his skills and the market for architectural ...

. It is built from granite, octagonal in plan and three storeys high. This gave the customs officers all-round views of the area.

Area of operation

The RNLI aims to reach any casualty up to from its stations, and within two hours in good weather. To do this the

Severn class lifeboat The Severn class is the largest lifeboat operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). The class, which is long, was introduced in to service in 1996. It is named after the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain. The l ...

at Plymouth has an operating range of and a top speed of . The can go out in Force 7 winds (Force 6 at night) and can operate at up to for 2½ hours. Adjacent all-weather lifeboats are stationed at to the east, and to the west. There is also an ILB at between Plymouth and Fowey.

Current lifeboats

Plymouth Lifeboat 17-35 Sybil Mullen Glover coming alongside

* 17–35 (ON 1264) ''Sybil Mullen Glover'' – on station since 2003 * B775 ''Millennium Forester'' – on station 2004–05 and again since 2006

Former lifeboats

'ON' is the RNLI's sequential Official Number; 'Op. No.' is the operational number painted onto the boat.

Pulling and sailing lifeboats

Motor lifeboats

Inshore lifeboats

Weston-super-Mare lifeboat B769 Coventry and Warwickshire

Notes

References

External links

Official station website

RNLI station information
{{Lifeboat stations in Dorset and South Devon Lifeboat stations in Devon Buildings and structures in Plymouth, Devon Grade II listed buildings in Devon