Morecambe Maritime Festival is raising money for the Morecambe RNLI

86 Call Outs in 2023

53 Call Outs January – July 2024 Inclusive

Did you know .. ?

1785 Lionel Lukin paved the way for the first purpose-built lifeboat when he designed tand patented the world’s first unsinkable boat.

1824 March 4th  Sir William Hillary’s vision for a service dedicated to saving lives at sea became a reality in Bishopsgate’s trendy City of London Tavern

1895  The Morecambe Fishermen’s Association provided their own lifeboats. The first was a large rowing boat called Gyakhan built by Crossfields in Arnside.

£5 buys a Orange Survival bags that are carried on our Lifeboats to wrap around or put casualties in to protect from cold.

1934 April 3rd Morecambe’s lifeboat,Sir William Priestley, a converted fishing boat. It was a sailing boat with an engine built by Crossfields. 

This lifeboat was operated by Morecambe Fishermen’s Association. Her first crew comprised John Baxter (Skipper), Herbert Willacy (Secretary, Trawlers’ Association), John Thomas Woodhouse, Robert Postlethwaite Baxter, John Mount Junior and James Swain. Several of these surnames are recognisable as those of established local fishing families.

£10 buys 1.5 gallons of petrol in the tank of an inshore lifeboat so it can save a life.

1966 Morecambe Lifeboat Station was founded under the wing of the RNLI.

1987  Sir William Priestley was retired and replaced by a modern D-class inflatable, the Brenda Lee

Since then there has been several Inshore Lifeboats, (ILB) including D-564 ‘Peter Bond’, D-722, Margaret Timpany, commissioned in 2009, and in 2021 D-855 ILB ‘Brenda Raworth’

£25 buys a pair of seagoing gloves to protect a crew member’s hands in all weathers, keeping them warm and dry, and providing a sure grip when handling the lifeboat and rescue equipment

2002  Morecambe’s Hurley Flyer, H002 inshore rescue hovercraft, introduced to cover areas inaccessible to a conventional lifeboat. 

The first of its kind, the hovercraft donated by Mrs Elizabeth Hurley from Oxfordshire

The late Harry Roberts was the Hurley Flyer’s commander for several years including the night of the cockle-picking disaster in 2004 when the hovercraft was in operation for 22 hours.

Read more about the Morecambe Lifeboat station here:
https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/morecambe-lifeboat-station

Listen to Beyond Radio talking to Morecambe RNLI about the RNLI 200 Anniversay & Water Safety


Pricing provided by RNLI November 2023. Thanks to Arnside Sailing Club, Peter Wade, Morecambe RNLI, & Brenda Hempton Photography for images and information. Material collated by Morecambe Maritime Festival