St Mary's Lifeboat Station
St Mary's Lifeboat Station is located in Cornwall
St Mary's Lifeboat Station
St Mary's, Isles of Scilly
General information
TypeRNLI Lifeboat Station
LocationSt Mary's Lifeboat Station, Harbour Bay, Hugh Town, St Mary's, Isles of Scilly, UK
CountryUK
Coordinates49°55′8.4″N 6°18′25.2″W / 49.919000°N 6.307000°W / 49.919000; -6.307000
Opened1837
Owner Royal National Lifeboat Institution

St Mary's Lifeboat Station is situated in St Mary's Harbour, Isles of Scilly and has been an important station for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution since the service began in 1837, however without a service between 1855 and 1874.

History

A lifeboat station was provided in 1874 at a cost of £280 (equivalent to £27,700 in 2021).[1] In 1899 this was replaced by a new station at Carn Thomas with a slipway, at a cost of £1,500 (equivalent to £179,600 in 2021).[1] In 1902 the slipway was extended by 40 feet (12 m)[2] by Robert Hicks[3] to enable the lifeboat to be launched at any state of the tide.

The lifeboat house was adapted in 1914 to receive a new motor lifeboat, but this didn't arrive on the station until 1919.

St Mary's Lifeboat RNLB Whiteheads
St Mary's Lifeboat RNLB Whiteheads

St Mary's Lifeboat RNLB The Whiteheads

Since the arrival of the Robert Edgar in 1981, the lifeboat has been moored in the harbour, rather than the lifeboat house.

St Mary's Lifeboats

ON[lower-alpha 1] Op. No.[lower-alpha 2] Name In service[4] Class Comments
[5] Unnamed 1837–1839 20ft Norfolk & Suffolk-class (P&S)
[5] Unnamed 1840–1855 26ft Norfolk & Suffolk-class (P&S)
[5] Henry Dundas[6] 1874–1890 37ft Self-Righting (P&S) 37 feet (11 m) long, 9 feet (2.7 m) wide with rows of 12 oars, double-banked. Paid for by Mrs. S.J. Dundas.
271 Henry Dundas 1890–1991 42ft 7in Self-Righting (P&S) (later renamed Tom & Jenny)
[7]
313 Henry Dundas 1891–1899 38ft Self-Righting (P&S) 38 feet (12 m) long, 8 feet (2.4 m) wide[8]
434 Henry Dundas 1899–1919 38ft Watson-class (P&S)
648 Elsie[9] 1919–1930 45ft Watson-class First motor lifeboat at station. 45 feet (14 m) long, 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m) wide with a 60 BHP Tylor motor and Gardner reverse gear, giving a speed of 8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h).
728 Cunard[10] 1930–1953 45ft 6in Watson-class Given by the Cunard Steamship Company. Two 40 hp engines giving a speed of 8.25 knots (9.49 mph; 15.28 km/h). Cost £8,500[11] (equivalent to £571,700 in 2021).[1]
926 Guy and Clare Hunter 1955–1981 46ft 9in Watson-class Last slipway launched boat. Speed 8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h). Cost £32,000[12] (equivalent to £893,200 in 2021).[1]
1073 52-18 Robert Edgar 1981–1997 Arun-class Speed 18.5 knots (21.3 mph; 34.3 km/h)
1229 17-11 The Whiteheads 1997– Severn-class Speed 25 knots (29 mph; 46 km/h)
  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.

Awards

St Mary's Lifeboat has received fifty-six awards for gallantry, including 26 RNLI medals for bravery, comprising one gold, nine silver and 16 bronze. The most recent was in 2004 when bronze medals were awarded to Coxswain Andrew Howells and Crew Members Mark Bromham and Philip Roberts for the rescue of an injured man from a yacht on 29 October 2003.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  2. ↑ "Station history". RNLI. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  3. ↑ "Islands of Scilly". Cornishman. England. 25 September 1902. Retrieved 9 October 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ↑ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2023). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2023. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–128.
  5. 1 2 3 Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021 (2021 ed.). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–18.
  6. ↑ "Scilly Islands Lifeboat". The Cornish Telegraph. England. 5 August 1874. Retrieved 9 October 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ "Royal National Life-Boat Institution". Shields Daily Gazette. England. 10 May 1890. Retrieved 9 October 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ "The Lifeboat Service". The Cornish Telegraph. England. 8 October 1891. Retrieved 9 October 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ "New Life-Boat for the Scilly Islands". Cornishman. England. 22 October 1919. Retrieved 9 October 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ↑ "New Lifeboat for Scilly". Cornishman. England. 14 August 1930. Retrieved 9 October 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ↑ "New Lifeboat. Naming of the Cunard at St. Mary's". Western Morning News. England. 12 August 1930. Retrieved 9 October 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ↑ "£32,000 Lifeboat". Portsmouth Evening News. England. 13 December 1955. Retrieved 9 October 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ↑ "St Mary's Lifeboat Station: history". RNLI. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
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