Porthcawl Lifeboat Station | |
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General information | |
Type | RNLI Lifeboat Station |
Location | The Esplanade, Porthcawl, Bridgend, UK. CF36 3YR |
Country | Wales, UK |
Coordinates | 51°28′26″N3°42′06″W / 51.47389°N 3.70167°W |
Opened | 1860 |
Owner | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
Porthcawl Lifeboat Station (based in Porthcawl, Bridgend, Wales) opened in 1860 and a boathouse was subsequently built on the promenade to house the lifeboat. [1] This station was closed in 1902 when Porthcawl Dock was closed.
The station reopened in 1965 as an Inshore Lifeboat Station with a D-class (EA16) lifeboat. The current boathouse was built in 1996 to house a new Atlantic 75-class lifeboat, which now houses an Atlantic 85-class lifeboat.
The station opened in April 1860, with the boathouse being built on the promenade, at the entrance to Knights Arms Square.
In 1870, a new lifeboat was bought for the station which required the existing boathouse to be enlarged. A harness room was also included to store equipment for the six horses needed to launch and recover the lifeboat.
In 1887 the station received another new lifeboat. This was used very little with only 9 launches until the station closed in 1902.
Porthcawl Lifeboat Station was closed in 1902 due to the cessation of commercial traffic to the Docks. Since the majority of the stations launches were for commercial traffic, it was deemed unnecessary to have a lifeboat station and the boathouse was sold.
In 1965, the RNLI re-opened the station and placed on service an experimental inflatable inshore lifeboat. This lifeboat was the first D class, designed to give a rapid response to recreational water users around the coast.
Due to the RNLI selling the old boathouse, the new lifeboat was housed in a lean-to next to Jennings building and the crew were recruited using adverts in the local press.
In 1995, the stations lifeboat rescued a windsurfer in a force 10 gale which resulted in a silver medal being awarded to the helmsman
In 1996 the RNLI decided that Porthcawl needed a larger boat and a new, purpose built boathouse was constructed to house a brand new Atlantic 75 and a new Talus MB-4H Tractor [2] launch tractor together with a Do-Do carriage.
In 2022, D-class (IB1) lifeboat (D-861) Hugo Missen replaced relief lifeboat (D-776) Super G II, based at Porthcawl since 2020. The lifeboat has been named in memory of Hugo Joseph Missen, son of Helm Joseph Missen and his fiancé Jessica Entwistle, who died of cancer in December 2016 aged 15 months. Hugo was also the grandson of Porthcawl RNLI’s Lifeboat Operations Manager, Philip Missen MBE. [3]
ON [lower-alpha 1] | Name | In service | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
The Good Deliverance [4] | 1860–1872 | 30ft Self-Righting (P&S) | ||
Chafyn Grove [4] | 1872–1887 | 32ft Self-Righting (P&S) | ||
127 | Speedwell [5] | 1887–1902 | 34ft 2in Self-Righting (P&S) | All-Weather boat withdrawn Station Closed 1902 |
Op. No. [lower-alpha 2] | Name | In service [5] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
D-52 | Unnamed | 1965–1970 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-174 | Unnamed | 1970–1983 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-291 | Donald Rigby Middleton | 1983–1989 | D-class (RFD PB16) | |
D-390 | Tiger D | 1989–1996 | D-class (EA16) | D-class Lifeboat withdrawn |
D-714 | Jean Ryall | 2012–2020 | D-class (IB1) | D-class lifeboat reinstated |
D-776 | Super G II | 2020–2022 | D-class (IB1) | |
D-861 | Hugo Missen [3] | 2022– | D-class (IB1) | Our Buoy Hugo's Fund [6] |
Op. No. | Name | In service [5] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
B-549 | Blenwatch | 1996 | Atlantic 21-class | |
B-726 | Giles | 1996–2009 | Atlantic 75-class | |
B-832 | Rose of The Shires [7] | 2009– | Atlantic 85-class |
The following are among the RNLI medals and other awards presented for service off Porthcawl: [8]
Silver Medals x 8 – pre 1860
Bronze Medal – 1929
Framed Letter of Thanks x 3 – 1968
Silver Medal – 1995
Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum x 2 – 1995
Framed Letter of Thanks – 1995
Framed Letter of Thanks x 2 – 1997
Framed Letter of Thanks x 2- 1998
Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum – 2002
Framed Letter of Thanks x 2 – 2002
Bronze Medal – 2002
Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum x 2 – 2002
Framed Letter of Thanks – 2002
Bronze Medal – 2004
Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum – 2004
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