Criccieth Lifeboat Station

Criccieth Lifeboat Station
Criccieth Lifeboat Station
Criccieth, Gwynedd
General information
Type	Lifeboat station
Location	Criccieth
Address	Lôn Felin, Criccieth, Gwynedd, LL52 0DN
Country	United Kingdom
Coordinates	52°55′03″N4°13′48″W / 52.9175°N 4.2299°W / 52.9175; -4.2299
Opened	1853;171 years ago (1853)
Owner	Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Website
rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/criccieth-lifeboat-station

Criccieth Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Criccieth in Gwynedd, Wales. It was opened in 1853 but was known as Portmadoc Lifeboat Station until 1892. It operates B-class (Atlantic 85) and Arancia-class lifeboats.

History

The Portmadoc Lifeboat Station was opened by the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners’ Royal Benevolent Society (SFMRBS) in 1853. All SFMRBS lifeboats were handed over to the RNLI in 1854 but it was decided to provide it with a new lifeboat. The station was renamed as Criccieth in 1892. The original building is still in use but has been rebuilt and improved on several occasions, the first time in 1892 ^[1] and most recently in 2018. ^[2]

Early lifeboats were known as 'pulling and sailing', which means they were rowed by the crews but had sails for when conditions allowed. The lifeboat was wrecked in October 1910 when it was on a service. A temporary replacement came from the Reserve Fleet but that too was damaged on another service within a month and so another had to be provided from the reserve. A new lifeboat was built and arrived on station in September 1911. ^[3]

The Criccieth lifeboat station was closed in 1931, when a motor lifeboat was stationed at Pwllheli, but was reopened in 1953 with its own motor lifeboat, following a disaster in 1951. Due to silting of the harbour entrance, the Pwllheli lifeboat couldn't get out at dead-low water, and on 3 September 1951, a school master and 4 boys were drowned when their boat Dorothy capsized, and the Pwllheli lifeboat couldn't attend. The Pwllheli lifeboat was subsequently replaced with a smaller carriage-launched boat, housed in the 1891 boathouse, which could then be launched off the beach. ^{[1] [4]}

The RNLI started to provide Inshore Lifeboats (ILBs) in the 1960s and one was sent to Criccieth for evaluation in 1967. It proved successful so the old All-weather lifeboat was withdrawn in 1968 and ILBs have been successfully used ever since. On 1 September 1977 it went to the aid of a yacht that was aground on Portmadoc Bar in rough seas and a strong wind. The ILB helmsman, John Owen, and crew members Robert Williams and Kenneth Roberts were presented with 'The Institution's thanks inscribed on Vellum' for the difficult service in which they rescued all four people from the yacht. ^[3]

Starting in 1983, larger and faster ILBs have been stationed at Criccieth, but since 2009 there has also been a smaller inshore rescue boat of the type more usually used by beach lifeguards. It can get into shallower parts of the Glaslyn and Dwyryd estuaries than the larger boats can reach. ^[3]

Criccieth lifeboats

All-weather lifeboats

'ON' is the Official Number used in RNLI records from 1884.

At Criccieth	ON	Name	Built	Class	Comments
1853–1854	–	Dauntless	1853	Self-righter	SFMRBS lifeboat. [3]
1854–1867	–	(no name?)	1853	Peake	[3]
1867–1886	–	John Ashbury	1867	34-foot Self-righting (P&S)	[5]
1886–1910	65	Caroline	1886	Standard Self-Righter	[6]
1910	275	James and Caroline	1889	Standard Self-Righter	Originally based at St Agnes. [7]
1910–1911	348	Jane Hannah MacDonald	1893	Standard Self-Righter	Originally the Elinor Roget at Clovelly and Appledore [7]
1911–1931	624	Phillip Woolley	1911	Rubie	Sold in 1935 and rebuilt as a yacht. [8]
Station Closed 1931–1953
1953–1961	794	Richard Silver Oliver	1937	Liverpool	Motor lifeboat, previously used at Cullercoats, Newquay and Ilfracombe. Sold in 1963 for further use as a lifeboat in Chile. [9]
1961–1968	874	Robert Lindsay	1950	Liverpool	Motor lifeboat, previously used at Arbroath and Girvan. [9]

Inshore lifeboats

Launching B-823 Doris Joan

'Op. No.' is the Operational Number seen on the side of the boats.

At Criccieth	Op. No.	Name	Built	Class	Comments
1967–1971	D-117	(no name)	1967	D-class (RFD PB16)	[10]
1972–1974	D-207	(no name)	1854	D-class (Zodiac III)	[10]
1974–1980	D-140	(no name)	1967	D-class (RFD PB16)	[10]
1980–1983	D-272	(no name)	1980	D-class (Zodiac III)	[10]
1983–1984	C-510	(no name)	1983	C-class	Initially numbered D-510. [11]
1985–1991	C-510	(no name)	1983	C-class	Initially numbered D-510. [11]
1991–1993	C-523	British Diver IV	1990	C-class	[11]
1993	C-513	Sebag of Jersey	1984	C-class	[11]
1993–1994	B-531	Foresters	1975	Atlantic 21	[12]
1994–2007	B-707	Mercurius	1994	Atlantic 75	[13]
2007–2023	B-823	Doris Joan	2007	Atlantic 85	[14]
2009–2010	A-70	(no name)		Arancia	[3]
2010–2011	A-73	(no name)		Arancia	[3]
2011–	A-76	Margaret and Nantw		Arancia
2023–	B-938	Frank Townley	2023	Atlantic 85

See also

• List of RNLI stations

References

1. "Criccieth lifeboat station, Lon Felin, Criccieth". History Point. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
2. "Criccieth RNLI Lifeboat Station officially opens new boathouse". BBC News. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
3. "Criccieth station history". RNLI. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
4. Morris, Jeff (January 1991). The Story of the Pwllheli Lifeboats (1891–1991). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 9.
5. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 12.
6. Denton, Tony (2010). Handbook 2010. Lifeboat Enthusiasts' Society. p. 3.
7. Denton 2010, pp. 6–7.
8. Denton 2010, pp. 16–17.
9. Denton 2010, pp. 24–27.
10. Denton 2010, pp. 55–57.
11. Denton 2010, p. 65.
12. Denton 2010, p. 49.
13. Denton 2010, p. 51.
14. Denton 2010, p. 53.

External links

• RNLI: Criccieth Lifeboat Station