Southwold Lifeboat Station is an
RNLI operated lifeboat station located in the town of
Southwold
Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is ...
in the English county of
Suffolk.
[''OS Explorer Map 231 – Southwold & Bungay''. .]
The station operates an lifeboat called ''Annie Tranmer'' which has an operational range of .
[Bernard’s Southwold lighthouse challenge]
''Lowestoft Journal'', 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2013-01-04. The Atlantic 85 is the third generation
Rigid Inflatable Boat
A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are i ...
(RIB) in the ''B''-class series. The lifeboat has a manually operated self-righting mechanism and can be beached in an emergency without sustaining damage to engines or steering gear. She is easy refloat and is ideal for rescues close to shore and on the sandbanks which are along the coast at Southwold.
The lifeboat is operated by a crew of around 18 volunteers.
Charity abseil events at
Southwold lighthouse raised over £20,000 for the lifeboat in both 2009 and 2011.
History
A lifeboat was first stationed in the town in 1841
[Daring abseilers brave dizzying lighthouse heights]
''East Anglian Daily Times'', 2011-08-15. Retrieved 2013-01-04. with the first motorised boat being put into service in 1926.
[Southwold Lifeboat Station]
RNLI. Retrieved 2013-01-04. The station's lifeboat, ''Mary Scott'', took part in the
Dunkirk evacuation in 1940. She was towed to Dunkirk by the paddle steamer Emperor of India together with two other small boats. Between them they took 160 men to their mother ship, then made a journey with 50 men to another transport vessel. She was abandoned on the beach, recovered and returned to service with the RNLI at Southwold.
An inshore lifeboat station equipped with a D class lifeboat was established in 1963. This was replaced by a B class Atlantic 21 lifeboat, ''Sole Bay'', in 1973. Medal Services – 1972:
Bronze Medal Patrick Pile and Martin Helmer. 1981: Bronze Medal Helmsman Roger Trigg.
Description
The current boathouse was built in 1993 near the entrance to Southwold Harbour at the mouth of the
River Blyth.
A winch and davit are used to launch the boat. These were repositioned in 2012 following essential repair work carried out to the harbour wall.
[Lifeboat station faces closure]
''Eastern Daily Press'', 2007-03-06. Retrieved 2013-01-04.[Southwold lifeboat crew to move back to permanent base]
''Eastern Daily Press'', 2012-09-26. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
The station covers an area of around . Neighbouring lifeboat stations are located in Lowestoft and Aldeburgh along the North Sea coast.
Fleet
All Weather lifeboats
No. 1 station
No. 2 station
Inshore Lifeboats
''D''-class
''B''-class
References
External links
Southwold lifeboat station- RNLI website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southwold Lifeboat station
Lifeboat stations in Suffolk
Southwold