Calshot Lifeboat Station
white double building with dark grey roofs beside a tall brown tower
Calshot Lifeboat Station
Calshot Lifeboat Station is located in Hampshire
Calshot Lifeboat Station
Location of Calshot Lifeboat Station
General information
TypeRNLI lifeboat station
LocationCalshot Activity Centre, Calshot, Hampshire, SO45 1BR
CountryEngland
Coordinates50°49′12.8″N 1°18′30.1″W / 50.820222°N 1.308361°W / 50.820222; -1.308361
Opened1970
OwnerRoyal National Lifeboat Institution
Technical details
MaterialMasonry, brick, on concrete stanchions

Calshot Lifeboat Station[1][2] is located on Calshot Spit[3] near the village of Calshot, Hampshire,[4] and is on the southern bank of the open end of Southampton Water, on the south coast of England. The station is owned and operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and operates two inshore lifeboats: an Atlantic 85 called Max Walls (B-860) and a D-class (IB1) called RNLB David Radcliffe (D-880).

History

Until its closure in 1961, Calshot Spit had been the site of Royal Air Force station RAF Calshot, which was the primary seaplane/flying boat development and training unit in the United Kingdom.[5] After the departure of the RAF, Hampshire County Council opened an educational activities centre on the site, which was The centre was constantly being asked by HM Coastguard to use its boats to go out and rescue people in trouble off shore. The administrators of the centre decided that they would contact the RNLI with a view to there being a more formalised rescue service for this busy stretch of water. The RNLI spent a year evaluating this proposition and as a result opened a lifeboat station on the site in 1970.

1960–1985: early lifeboats

The first lifeboat to be stationed at Calshot was a 40 ft (12 m) Keith Nelson-type lifeboat made of fibreglass or glass-reinforced plastic. She was called Ernest William and Elizabeth Ellen Hinde (ON 1017) and had the operation number of 40-001.[6][7] Although lacking in self-righting capability, she was viewed as a successful experiment in the use of fibreglass for lifeboats.[7] She cost £24,559 (equivalent to £404,144 in 2021).

In the evening of 10 January 1976, during gale force 8 to 9 winds and a choppy sea the lifeboat Ernest Williams was called to help a small motorboat which had been driven ashore on salt marsh in the Ashlett Creek channel.[8][9] As the water was too shallow for the lifeboat, the crew of the Ernest Williams waded through the marshes, dragging the lifeboat's inflatable boarding boat while they looked for the vessel. Eventually the vessel's three crewmen were located and rescued. The Calshot crew were awarded RNLI bronze medals for the difficult rescue.[8]

The second lifeboat at the station was the Brede-class lifeboat RNLB Safeway (ON 1104), which was moored just off Calshot Castle.[9][10] The crew used a davit-launched boarding boat when called out on service. Safeway, which was funded by and named for the Safeway supermarket chain, was built by Lochin Marine at Newhaven, East Sussex in 1985.[11] Like the Ernest William she had a fibreglass hull but was self-righting due to her watertight cabin.

1996–2007: new facilities and lifeboats

In 1996, the RNLI funded the construction of new shore facilities for Calshot Station, constructed on concrete stanchions to prevent flooding.[9] Hampshire County Council provided a new boarding jetty for use jointly by the lifeboat station and the Calsholt Activity Centre.[9][12]

The Arun-class lifeboat Margaret Russell Fraser (ON 1108)

The Safeway was withdrawn from service in December 2001 and replaced by the former Poole-based Brede Inner Wheel, which was itself replaced after only a few months by the Arun-class lifeboat Margaret Russell Fraser (ON 1108).[13] Margaret Russell Fraser had come across the Solent from Yarmouth Lifeboat Station on the Isle of Wight, where she had been a part of RNLI's relief fleet.[13] She arrived in 2002 and was replaced in 2004 by another Arun-class, the Mabel Williams (ON 1159).[14]

In 2003 the station was given its first D-class (EA16) inshore lifeboat from the relief fleet. She was called Marlborough Club (D-407). 2003 also saw improvements made to the station facilities. At the cost of £266,424 an extension was added to the side of the station.[15]

The Tyne-class Alexander Coutanche (ON 1157) - service 21 January 2010 to 2012

Arun-class lifeboats were withdrawn from service in 2007. The Mabel Williams was replaced by the Tyne-class Sarah Emily Harrop (ON 1155), which was moved to the relief fleet in January 2010 and replaced by the Tyne-class Alexander Coutanche (ON 1157).

2012–present: reorganisation

In 2012, the Calshot board of trustees decided that Calshot would cease to be an all-weather station; consequently the Tyne-class lifeboat was withdrawn on 4 April. In its place an Atlantic 85-class inshore lifeboat was sent to the station, necessitating improved facilities had been made at the station to accommodate the new lifeboat and its required launch tractor, a new lifeboat arrived and the Alexander Coutanche was withdrawn. On 11 July the new Atlantic 85-class Max Walls[16] was placed on the station along with a new New Holland Launch tractor and the Calsholt was officially re-designated as an inshore lifeboat station.

Fleet

All-Weather Lifeboats

ON[lower-alpha 1] Op. No.[lower-alpha 2] Name In service [17] Class Comments
1017 40-001 Ernest William & Elizabeth Ellen Hinde 1970–1985 Keith Nelson Class
1104 33-11 Safeway 1985–2001 Brede-class
1089 33-07 Inner Wheel 2001–2002 Brede-class
1108 52-34 Margaret Russell Fraser 2002–2004 Arun-class
1159 52-45 Mabel Williams 2004–2007 Arun-class
1155 47-037 Sarah Emily Harrop 2007–2010 Tyne-class
1157 47-039 Alexander Coutanche 2010–2012 Tyne-class 2012, All-Weather Lifeboat withdrawn

Inshore Lifeboats

Op. No. Name In service [17] Class Comments
D-429 RJM 2001–2002 D-class (EA16)
D-418 Unnamed 2002–2003 D-class (EA16)
D-407 The Marlborough Club, Didcot 2003 D-class (EA16)
D-609 248 Squadron RAF 2003–2011 D-class (IB1)
D-748 Willett 2003–2011 D-class (IB1)
B-860 Max Walls 2012– B-class (Atlantic 85)
D-880 David Radcliffe 2023– D-class (IB1)
  1. ↑ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
  2. ↑ Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.


References

  1. ↑ "Home Page of the Calshot Lifeboat Station". RNLI Calshot Lifeboat Home Page. Calshot Lifeboat Station. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  2. ↑ "Calshot Lifeboat Station – RNLI website". Home page of the Calshot station. RNLI © 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  3. ↑ "Zone 8: Calshot Spit" (PDF). nfdc.gov.uk. New Forest District Council. February 2004. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  4. ↑ OS Explorer Map, New Forest, Author: Ordnance Survey. Publisher: Ordnance Survey B4 edition (2013). ISBN 9780319241509
  5. ↑ "RAF Calshot - Air of Authority, A History of RAF Organisation". Details and History of RAF Calshot. courtesy of Steve Clements. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  6. ↑ "Welcome to the NBOC website". Home Page of the Nelson Boat Owners Club. Copyright © 2010 Nelson Boat Owners Club. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  7. 1 2 Never Turn Back – the RNLI since the Second World War. Authors: Kipling, Ray & Susannah. Publisher: Sutton Publishing. 2006 edition. Work: Chapter – Designed for Danger, Page 86, Reference to the name and construction of Ernest William and Elizabeth Ellen Hyde. ISBN 9780750943079
  8. 1 2 Lifeboat Gallantry - RNLI Medals and how they were won. Author: Cox, Barry. Publisher:Spink & son Ltd and the RNLI, 1998. Work:KING Peter James, SMITH Christopher James, STREET John Anthony, Calshot Lifeboat: Page 357. ISBN 0907605893
  9. 1 2 3 4 For Those In Peril – The Lifeboat Service of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Station by Station. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher: Silver Link Publishing Ltd, First Issue 1999. Work:Part 2, South Coast of England – Eastbourne to Weston-super-Mare, Page 80, Calshot station. ISBN 1 85794 129 2
  10. ↑ "33 Foot Brede-class". List of Foot Brede-class lifeboats, includes Safeway ON 1104. Lifeboat World On-Line© 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  11. ↑ "Home Page - Lochin Boatyard Services". Details of the Boatbuilder and there services. All Contents © 2014 Lochin Marine International. Archived from the original on 1 April 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  12. ↑ "Calshot Activities Centre". Home page of the Calshot Activities Centre. © Copyright Hampshire County Council 2014. Archived from the original on 6 April 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  13. 1 2 Arun Lifeboats – An illustrated history of the RNLI Arun lifeboats 1971 – 2009. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher: Kelsey Publishing Ltd. 2011. work: Page 104, Margaret Russell Fraser. ISBN 9781907426216
  14. ↑ Arun Lifeboats – An illustrated history of the RNLI Arun lifeboats 1971 – 2009. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher: Kelsey Publishing Ltd. 2011. work: Page 126, RNLB Mable Williams (ON1159). ISBN 9781907426216
  15. ↑ "History Section - Calshot Lifeboat Station website". RNLI Calshot Lifeboat Station History Tab. Calshot Lifeboat Station. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  16. ↑ "Lifeboats online - B-class Atlantic 85 Production List". List of Atlantic 85-class lifeboats, includes B-860. Lifeboat World On-Line© 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  17. 1 2 Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2023). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2023. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society.
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