# Weymouth Lifeboat Station

Weymouth Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Weymouth in Dorset, England. The first lifeboat was stationed in the town in 1869. It currently operates a Severn-class all-weather lifeboat (ALB) and an Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat (ILB).

## History

The Royal National Institution for Preserving Life from Shipwreck (as the RNLI was then known) provided a lifeboat at Portland in 1826 but it was withdrawn in 1851. The Earl of Strafford asked for a lifeboat to be stationed at Weymouth in 1868 and his request was granted when a new RNLI station opened on 26 January the following year. A boathouse was built along with a slipway into harbour. The boathouse was rebuilt in 1921 to allow it to receive a motor lifeboat, although this was not on station until 1924. In 1930 a new Barnett class lifeboat was stationed at Weymouth. This was too large to fit into the boathouse, so was kept at moorings in the harbour, an arrangement that continues to this day. In 2003 access to the boat was made easier by the construction of a floating pontoon.
Since 1995 the all-weather lifeboat has been supported by an ILB. This is housed in a separate boathouse built nearer the entrance to the harbour in 1996.

### Service awards

The volunteer crews of the RNLI do not expect reward or recognition for their work, but many rescues have been recognised by letters, certificates and medals from the RNLI management. The following are just some of the most notable.
In 1948 three people were rescued from the yacht Mite during an operation that lasted eleven hours. For this Coxswain Frederick Palmer was awarded an RNLI Bronze medal. The following year he received a silver medal and Motor Mechanic James McDermott a bronze medal for their rescue of four people from a steam tug.
The rescue of five crew members from the yacht Dehra resulted in the award of a Bronze Medal to lifeboatman Donald Laker in 1965. Another was awarded in 1972 to Coxswain Alfred Pavey following the rescue of an injured crewman from the yacht Nomis.
On 14 October 1976 the lifeboat put to sea in a hurricane to assist the yacht Latifa and her crew of eight. In charge of the rescue was Second Coxswain Victor Pitman. He did not have a full crew of trained lifeboatmen and so two fishermen volunteered to make the crew up to strength. Pitman was awarded a silver medal and all the crew – both regular volunteers and the fishermen – received recognition for their work that day.
A Bronze Medal was awarded to Coxswain/Mechanic Derek Sargent for leading the rescue on 16 October 1987 of the crew of five from the catamaran Sunbeam Chaser during a storm off Portland Bill.
The following are awards made at Weymouth
* Silver Medal
       Owen Lloyd, coastguard – 1825
       John Hansford – 1841
       Pierre Picard, Master of a fishing smack – 1857
       William Flann – 1861
       Joseph White – 1861
       Frank Perry – 1890
       Frederick Carter – 1890
       Frederick J Palmer, Coxswain – 1949
       Victor James Pitman, Second Coxswain – 1977
* Bronze Medal
       Frederick J Palmer, Coxswain – 1948
       J McDermott, Motor Mechanic – 1949
       Donald Laker, crew member – 1965
       Alfred T Pavey, Coxswain – 1972
       Derek John Sargent, Coxswain/Mechanic – 1988
* The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum
       F J Palmer, Coxswain – 1961
       The Coxswain and crew – 1965
       Dr E J Gordon Wallace – 1967
       Dr E J Gordon Wallace, Chairman and Honorary Medical Adviser – 1969
       Bertie Legge, Bowmen – 1972
       Dr Jeremy Parkinson, the Honorary Medical Adviser – 1972
       Members of the lifeboat crew – 1977
       Victor James Pitman, Second Coxswain – 1978
       Victor James Pitman, Coxswain – 1985
       Christopher William Tett, Second Coxswain – 1986
* A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution
       Coxswain and crew – 1967
       B A C Legge, Bowman – 1968
       Coxswain Alfred T Pavey and the other seven members of the lifeboat crew – 1969
* Letters of Appreciation
       Mr E A Hall – 1965
       Mr D S Southcombe – 1965
       Dr E J Gordon Wallace – 1965
* Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE)
       Derek John Sargent, Former Coxswain/Mechanic, Honorary Secretary – 2003

## Description

The 1869 lifeboat station is still used for crew facilities. It is built from stone and faces the harbour. Above the boat doors is a bay window lookout. At the top of the gable is a date stone carved '1924' to commemorate when the building was modified for the arrival of its first motor lifeboat, the Samuel Oakes. Opposite the boathouse is a metal bridge leading to the floating pontoon where the ALB is moored.
Much closer to the harbour entrance is the boathouse built in 1996. This is a long, low building that opens immediately onto a wide slipway down which the ILB is pushed on its carriage to reach the water.

## Area of operation

The RNLI aims to reach any casualty up to 50 miles (80 km) from its stations, and within two hours in good weather. To do this the Severn-class lifeboat at Weymouth has an operating range of 250 nautical miles (460 km) and a top speed of 25 knots (46 km/h). Adjacent lifeboats are stationed at Swanage to the east, and Exmouth to the west. There is also an ILB at Lyme Regis between Weymouth and Exmouth.

## Current fleet

* Severn-class 17-32 Ernest and Mabel (ON 1261), on station since 2002 which is kept moored afloat alongside.
* Atlantic 85 Jack & Phyl Cleare (B-917), on station since 2021, which is launched by hand on a slipway.

## Weymouth lifeboats
### Pulling and sailing lifeboats

| At Weymouth | ON | Name | Built | Class | Comments |
| 1869–1887 | — | Agnes Harriet | 1869 | Self-Righter | 33 ft (10 m) boat. |
| 1887–1903 | 141 | Friern Watch | 1887 | Self-Righter | 34 ft 1 in (10.39 m) boat. |
| 1903–1924 | 513 | Friern Watch | 1903 | Watson | 38 ft (12 m) boat. Sold in 1925 and converted to a yacht but sank in 1965. |

### Motor lifeboats

| At Weymouth | ON | Op. No. | Name | Built | Class | Comments |
| 1924–1929 | 651 | — | Samuel Oakes | 1918 | Watson | Sold in 1933, destroyed in 1980. |
| 1929–1930 | 721 | — | Lady Kylsant | 1929 | Watson | Sold in 1956, broken up in 2003. |
| 1930–1957 | 735 | — | William and Clara Ryland | 1930 | Barnett | Modified for use as a house boat at Hoo. |
| 1957–1976 | 939 | — | Frank Spiller Locke | 1957 | Barnett | Sold in 1986, now in use as a pleasure boat at Dartmouth, Devon. |
| 1976–1999 | 1049 | 54-04 | Tony Vandervell | 1975 | Arun | Sold for further use as lifeboat MacElliott at Porkkala, Helsinki, Finland, now reported to be in Russia. |
| 1999 | 1160 | 52-46 | Duke of Atholl | 1990 | Arun | Sold in 2007 for further use as a lifeboat in Iceland. |
| 1999–2002 | 1073 | 52-18 | Robert Edgar | 1981 | Arun | Reported working in New Zealand in 2023. |
| 2002– | 1261 | 17-32 | Ernest and Mabel | 2002 | Severn | |

### B-class inshore lifeboats

| At Weymouth | Op. No. | Name | Model |
| 1995–1996 | B-541 | Elizabeth Bestwick | Atlantic 21 |
| 1996 | B-544 | Catherine Plumbley | Atlantic 21 |
| 1996–1997 | B-543 | Round Table | Atlantic 21 |
| 1997–1998 | B-512 | U.S. Navy League | Atlantic 21 |
| 1998 | B-525 | Spix's Macaw | Atlantic 21 |
| 1998–2015 | B-746 | Phyl Clare 3 | Atlantic 75 |
| 2015–2021 | B-774 | Braemar | Atlantic 75 |
| 2021– | B-917 | Jack & Phyl Cleare | Atlantic 85 |