# Port Erin Lifeboat Station

Port Erin Lifeboat Station is located in the town of Port Erin in the Isle of Man. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution opened a station here in 1883 following requests from local residents.
The station currently operates an B-class (Atlantic 85) inshore lifeboat, Muriel and Leslie (B-813), funded from the bequest of Mr Leslie Hartle.

## History

At a meeting of the RNLI Management Committee on 7 September 1882, it was agreed to form a Lifeboat Station at Port Erin.
The first lifeboat arrived at Douglas, Isle of Man on the 8 August 1883, before being transported over the Island to Port Erin. She was named Ann and Mary of Manchester, a 32-foot 10-oared self-righting boat. Ann and Mary of Manchester saw her first service in 1888 to the Lyra, wrecked in Port St Mary bay. A boathouse was constructed in 1884, opposite the Raglan Pier.
A new larger 37-foot 12-oared boat arrived in 1892, the William Sugden (ON 321) and to make launching easier, a slipway was constructed in 1900. The boat served Port Erin for 20 years, and saved 12 lives.
10 August 1925 saw the arrival of a 40-foot self-righting motor powered lifeboat on station, Ethel Day Cardwell (ON 647), previously on service at Tynemouth. This was the same year that a new boathouse was constructed along the breakwater road, a building still in use today. It is notable by its very steep 1:4 slipway, still regarded as the steepest incline of any RNLI lifeboat station.
The naming ceremony of the sixth lifeboat for Port Erin, a 37-foot Rother-class named Osman Gabriel after her donor, Major Osman Gabriel, was held on 4 August 1973. Between 1973 and 1992, she was launched 70 times, and saved 55 lives.
In 1990, a coastal review determined that a Mersey-class All-weather lifeboat would be placed at Peel, replacing their B-class (Atlantic 21), whilst Port Erin would receive an Atlantic 21 Inshore boat to replace their Rother-class All-weather lifeboat.
Port Erin now have the fastest lifeboat on the Isle of Man, an B-class (Atlantic 85), capable of nearly 40 miles per hour (64 km/h).

## Notable rescues

Just after 6 am on the 9 September 1970, the Port Erin lifeboat Matthew Simpson (ON 823) was launched into a very rough sea in a SSW gale, to reports of the coaster Moonlight in difficulties, 5 miles (8 km) north of Chicken Rock. A life-raft located by aircraft was found to be empty. At 11 am, a second life-raft was spotted, and found to contain just two survivors from the Moonlight. The lifeboat returned to Port Erin at 1 pm. For this service, Coxswain Alfred Dennis Maddrell BEM was awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal.

## Station honours

The following are awards made at Port Erin
* RNLI Bronze Medal
       Alfred Dennis Maddrell BEM, Coxswain – 1970
* The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
       Peter Woodworth, Coxswain – 1978
* British Empire Medal
       Alfred Dennis Maddrell, Coxswain – 1969

## Port Erin lifeboats
### All-weather lifeboats

| ON | Op. No. | Name | In service | Class |
| Pre-660 | – | Ann and Mary of Manchester | 1883–1892 | 32-foot Self-righting (P&S) |
| 321 | – | William Sugden | 1892–1912 | 37-foot Self-righting (P&S) |
| 634 | – | Henry Kirk | 1912–1925 | 37-foot Self-righting (P&S) |
| 647 | – | Ethel Day Cardwell | 1925–1939 | 40-foot Self-righting (motor) |
| 823 | – | Matthew Simpson | 1939–1972 | 41ft Watson |
| 998 | 32-27 | Osman Gabriel | 1973–1992 | Rother |
    All-weather lifeboat withdrawn 1992
    Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

### Inshore lifeboats
#### B-class

| Op. No. | Name | In service | Class |
| B-515 | Vee Webber | 1992–1993 | Atlantic 21 |
| B-594 | Herbert and Edith | 1993–2006 | Atlantic 21 |
| B-813 | Muriel and Leslie | 2006– | Atlantic 85 |
* ↑ ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
* 1 2 Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.