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. Since 2002 it has operated a Severn-class all-weather lifeboat (ALB) and an Atlantic 75 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for Preserving Life from Shipwreck (as the RNLI was then known) provided a lifeboat at Portland in 1826 but it was withdrawn in 1851.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 but the space once occupied by the lifeboat between launches is now used as a fund-raising gift shop. 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 mi 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 nmi and a top speed of 25 kn. 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.
 * Boarding Boat BB-697

Weymouth lifeboats
'ON' is the Official Number used in RNLI records from 1884. 'Op. No.' is the operational Number displayed on the boat.