Bull Bay Lifeboat Station

Bull Bay Lifeboat Station was located at Bull Bay (Porth Llechog), near the town of Amlwch, on the north coast of Anglesey, Wales.

A lifeboat was first stationed here by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1868.

Bull Bay Lifeboat Station was closed in 1926.

History
The RNLI decided in 1867, to open a new lifeboat station at Bull Bay. A new boathouse was commissioned, and in the November of that year, £400 for a new lifeboat was received from a Miss Holt, of Anglesey. An order was placed for a 32-foot 10-oared Self-righting (P&S) lifeboat, (one with oars and sails), which arrived on station in March 1868.

In dense fog on 9 March 1877, the Ocean liner Dakota of the Liverpool and Great Western Steamship Company, ran ashore under the cliffs near East Mouse, on passage from Liverpool to New York with 530 passengers and crew. Fortunately conditions were calm, so many local boats, along with the Bull Bay lifeboat and Rocket Brigade, went to the aid of the vessel. 20 people were brought ashore in the lifeboat, which then stood by as all the other small boats ferried passengers and crew ashore. No lives were lost. The vessel broke in two the following day and was a total wreck.

A new lifeboat was placed at Bull Bay in 1884. Costing £290, a 34-foot 10-oared self-righting lifeboat, built by Woolfe and Son, with a launch carriage costing a further £118. The boat was funded by Miss Curling of Camberwell, and was duly named Curling (ON 67).

Coxswain John Hughes retired in 1890. He has served as coxswain since the station opened in 1868. In recognition of his many service calls, he was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal.



In 1904, a new boathouse with roller-slipway was constructed over the shore, standing on steel piles, very much in the design of the one pictured at Douglas, IOM. Constructed at a cost of £2000, it was to house a new 38-foot non-self-righting Watson-class (P&S) lifeboat, which cost £993. The lifeboat, which would turn out to be the last one stationed at Bull Bay, was funded from the legacy of Miss Marianne Cullen of Nottingham, and was named James Cullen (ON 528)

On 20 February 1915, the cargo ship S.S. Cambank of Cardiff was torpedoed and sunk off Point Lynas, Anglesey by Submarine U-30 of the Imperial German Navy. 4 of the 25 crew were lost, but the remaining 21 were picked up from the ships boat by Bull Bay lifeboat James Cullen.

Bull Bay lifeboat had a good regular service record, the lifeboat being launched 41 times over a period of 58 years, and rescuing 63 lives. However, it was decided that the station would be closed, and the James Cullen was withdrawn in June 1926.

The lifeboat was sold in 1926, later being renamed Vika, Meine Leibe and finally Pride of Anglesey, before being broken up in Rochester, Kent in 1996.

The 1904 boathouse was removed, although the concrete pile footings can still be seen today.

The 1868 boathouse still stands. For many years it has been the home to the Bull Bay Yacht and Boat Club, but as of 2024, it is up for sale. A local group are hoping to raise enough funds for the purchase, to create a community hub. 

Station honours
The following are awards made at Bull Bay.


 * RNLI Silver Medal
 * John Hughes, Coxswain - 1890

Bull Bay lifeboats

 * Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.