Mablethorpe Lifeboat Station

Mabelthorpe Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Mablethorpe in Lincolnshire, England. It operates Atlantic 85-class and D-class lifeboats.

History
In 1829, the Lincolnshire Coast Shipwreck Association (LCSA) opened Theddlethorpe lifeboat station, located near the village of Theddlethorpe St Helen, about 3 mi north of Mabelthorpe. The LCSA lifeboats stations were transferred to the RNLI in 1864. However, with launching difficulties encountered at that location, and also with too few crew available, Theddlethorpe was closed in 1882, and a new station at Mabelthorpe was opened in 1883. The station cost £225 to build and another £50 for a slipway. A new lifeboat station was built on Victoria Road in 1900. This cost £700 but £50 was raised by selling the old one.

A shortage of volunteers for the crew during the First World War resulted in the lifeboat station being temporarily closed in 1917. The temporary closure became permanent in 1920. The lifeboat station became used as a community facility and is now home to the Mabelthorpe men's shed.

The RNLI started to deploy inshore lifeboats (ILBs) in the 1960s to better respond to incidents involving leisure activities around the coast. A D-class ILB was stationed at Mabelthorpe from 1965. A larger Atlantic 21-class ILB was added in 2001.

Awards
On 12 April 1998 the Lark, a fishing boat, broke down and was being driven towards the shore by a Force 6/7 gale after its anchor broke. The lifeboat was launched and managed to tow the boat to safety despite the rough sea. Helmsman Thomas Freeman was awarded an RNLI Bronze Medal for making the rescue in such extreme weather for a small ILB.

The crew of the lifeboat who rescued two swimmers in difficulty on 6 August 1975 received the 'Thanks of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution inscribed on vellum'. Framed letters of thanks from the Chairman were given in 1980 to the lifeboat crew and shore helpers who managed to launch through heavy surf to save three people whose boat had engine trouble. Similar framed letters were presented to the lifeboat crew who two injured people and a third crew member from a barge on 12 October 1982.

1883 to 1920
'ON' is the Official Number used in RNLI records.