The Atlantic 21 is part of the B class of lifeboats that served the shores of the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution 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 ...

(RNLI) inshore fleet. The Atlantic 21 was the first generation rigid inflatable boat (RIB), originated at and by Atlantic College in

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

, the birth place of the RIB after which the craft is so named. The school was also one of nine locations where the RNLI first established lifeboat stations using smaller inshore watercraft.

Atlantic College Lifeboat Station Atlantic College Lifeboat Station (based in Atlantic College, South Wales, a United World College) opened in 1963 (shortly after the school had been launched the previous autumn) as one of the first experimental inshore lifeboat stations establ ...

was commissioned by the RNLI in 1963 and decommissioned in 2013. Nearly all of the Atlantic 21s have been retired from service by 2006, one of the notable exceptions to this being the boat allocated to Walmer in Kent. RNLB ''James Burgess'' (B-589) was retired to the relief fleet in December 2006. It was replaced by an

Atlantic 85 The Atlantic 85 is part of the B-class of lifeboats that serve the shores of the United Kingdom and Ireland as a part of the RNLI inshore fleet. The Atlantic 85 is the third generation B-class Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) developed from the an ...

Description

The Atlantic 21 can be launched from a davit, trolley or floating boathouse depending on the location of the station and the available facilities. The boat carries a variety of equipment which includes two VHF radios, first aid kit and oxygen,

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...

navigation system,

night vision equipment A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The dev ...

, self-righting system, anchor and various warps, toolkit, towing system, illuminating and distress

pyrotechnics Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating such things as fireworks, safety matches, oxygen candles, explosive bolts and other fasteners, parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, quarrying, and demolition. ...

, spotlight, torches. The rollbar assembly installed above the engines contains a self-righting bag which is operated by a member of the crew activating a gas bottle.

Fleet

Air-sea rescue exercise in Bangor Bay (4 of 8) - geograph

External links

RNLI FLeet

*

RIB History (2017 video) at UWC Atlantic College
{{RNLI lifeboat classes