The Mumbles Lifeboat Station (based in

Mumbles Mumbles ( cy, Mwmbwls) is a headland sited on the western edge of Swansea Bay on the southern coast of Wales. Toponym Mumbles has been noted for its unusual place name. The headland is thought by some to have been named by French sailors, ...

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

) opened in 1835 with a lifeboat that was funded and managed by Swansea Harbour Trustees and was known as Swansea Lifeboat Station. The station was taken over by 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 ...

in 1863 and moved to Mumbles in 1866. The station only officially became The Mumbles Lifeboat Station in 1904. The station currently operates a lifeboat and a lifeboat, and operates from a boathouse at the end of

Mumbles Pier The Grade II listed structure of Mumbles Pier is an long Victorian pleasure pier built in 1898. It is located at the south-western corner of Swansea Bay near the village of Mumbles, within the city and county of Swansea, Wales. History Co ...

History

When the station first opened, it did not have a boathouse and the lifeboat was stored under the cliffs. In 1866 the first boathouse was built and it was replaced with a larger boathouse when a replacement lifeboat needed more room. A slipway was constructed for launching the lifeboat in 1888 and in 1897, Mumbles Railway and Pier Company constructed a new slipway for the RNLI at no cost to the institution. Another new slipway was built in 1916 and it was extended and had alterations made to it in 1922. During a gale on Saturday, 27 January 1883, a German

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...

''Admiral Prinz Aldabert'' was driven on to rocks near the

Mumbles Lighthouse Mumbles Lighthouse, completed in 1794, is a lighthouse located in Mumbles, near Swansea. The structure, which sits on the outer of two islands off Mumbles Head, is clearly visible from any point along the five mile sweep of Swansea Bay. Along wi ...

. ''Wolverhampton'' went out to assist and was washed on to rocks. The lifeboat broke up and four crew drowned and other members missing or seriously injured. In 1947 the lifeboat ''Edward, Prince of Wales'' and her crew of 8 were lost while assisting which had run aground on

Sker Point Sker Point is a headland in Bridgend County Borough on the South Wales coast between Port Talbot and Porthcawl. It marks the south end of Kenfig Sands. The placename ''Sker'' is of Old Norse origin, and means skerry. On April 23, 1947, the '' Sa ...

Today

The ''D''-class lifeboat is the main workhorse of the station, being used for more than 60 percent of the callouts. In 2014 a new Tamar class lifeboat entered service at The Mumbles, temporarily based at Swansea Marina while a new, larger, boathouse and slipway were constructed on the end of Mumbles pier. In 2015 and 2016, Mumbles was the busiest station in Wales, launching 83 times.

Fleet

All weather boats

Inshore lifeboats

Station honours

Four crewmen of the sand dredger ''Steepholm'' were saved by the Atlantic College lifeboat and the Porthcawl lifeboat in partnership with the Mumbles lifeboat in 1968.

References

External links

RNLI website: Mumbles lifeboat station

Facebook page: Mumbles lifeboat station facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mumbles Lifeboat Station Lifeboat stations in Wales Swansea Bay Transport infrastructure completed in 1835