# Dart Lifeboat Station

Dart Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) inshore lifeboat operations at Dartmouth, Devon in England. The present station was opened in 2007 although an earlier lifeboat was stationed in the town from 1878 to 1896. It operates a D-class (IB1) inshore lifeboat, and a B-class (Atlantic 85) inshore lifeboat.

## History

Dartmouth is a small port on the west side of the natural harbour formed by the River Dart. In the 1860s the Dartmouth and Torbay Railway established more quays on the opposite bank at Kingswear. The RNLI approved that Dartmouth Lifeboat Station be established at Dartmouth in July 1876 but it was 1878 before a lifeboat arrived. During the summer the lifeboat was kept in a boat house at Sand Quay, but during the winter it was kept afloat in Warfleet Creek where it was quicker to respond to any ships in distress. It would prove difficult for the rowing lifeboat to leave the estuary of the Dart if the wind was blowing from the sea unless a tug was able to help. The station was closed in 1896 and during all that time just one effective service was provided. That was on 20 September 1887 when the crew attended a trawler near Kingswear Castle. The boat house is now used by the Dartmouth Amateur Rowing Club.
In 2007 a new lifeboat was sent to Dartmouth, although the new station was to be named the Dart Lifeboat Station after the river, rather than the town. A temporary building with five years planning agreement was erected in Coronation Park. The D-class lifeboat is kept on a carriage and is towed to the river for launching by a tractor; the B-class lifeboat is moored in a Drive-on Aquadock moored in the river.

## Station honours

The following are awards made at Dartmouth:
Albert Medal awarded by Queen Victoria
* Mr Popplestone – 1866 (the first recipient of the award)
RNLI Silver Medal
* Lt. William Lane, coastguard – 1838
* Lt. James Clayton, coastguard – 1842
* Mr William Kelland – 1893

## Area of operation

The Dart ILB has a maximum speed of 25 knots (46 km/h) and can operate for three hours. It covers the River Dart and the nearby south Devon coast. Adjacent lifeboats – both ILBs and All Weather Boats – are at Torbay Lifeboat Station to the East, and Salcombe Lifeboat Station to the West.

## Dartmouth and Dart lifeboats
### Dartmouth (1878–1896)

| At Dartmouth | ON | Name | Built | Class | Comments |
| 1878–1887 | — | Maud Hargreaves | 1878 | Self-righter | 30 ft (9.1 m) boat. |
| 1887–1896 | 129 | Henry and Amanda Shaw | 1887 | Self-righter | 34 ft (10 m) lifeboat. |

### Dart (from 2007)

| At Dart | Op. No. | Name | Class | Model | Comments |
| 2007–2008 | D-520 | Bob Savage | D | EA16 | |
| 2008 | D-523 | Peterborough Beer Festival 1 | D | EA16 | First stationed at Redcar in 1997. |
| 2008–2019 | D-702 | Spirit of the Dart | D | IB1 | |
| 2018–2020 | B-794 | Joan Bate | B | Atlantic 75 | First stationed at Salcombe, after 2020 it was at Weston-super-Mare. |
| 2019– | D-838 | Dudley Jane | D | IB1 | |
| 2020–2022 | B-825 | Norma Ethel Vinall | B | Atlantic 85 | Initially deployed in the relief fleet in 2008. |
| 2022– | B-931 | Frank C Samworth | B | Atlantic 85 | |