Porthcawl Lifeboat Station | |
---|---|
General information | |
Type | RNLI Lifeboat Station |
Address | The Esplanade |
Town or city | Porthcawl, Bridgend, CF36 3YR |
Country | Wales, UK |
Coordinates | 51°28′26″N3°42′06″W / 51.47389°N 3.70167°W |
Opened | 1860 & 1965 |
Closed | 1902 |
Owner | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
Website | |
Porthcawl RNLI Lifeboat Station |
Porthcawl Lifeboat Station is located at The Esplanade, in the town of Porthcawl, on the South Wales coast, in Bridgend, Wales.
A lifeboat station was established here in 1860 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), but was closed in 1902, when Porthcawl Dock closed. [1]
The station was reopened in 1965 as an Inshore Lifeboat Station, with a D-class (EA16) Inshore lifeboat. It currently operates a B-class (Atlantic 85), Rose of The Shires (B-832), on station since 2009, and the smaller D-class (IB1) Hugo Missen (D-861), on station since 2022. [2]
The station opened in April 1860, when the 30-foot self-righting 'pulling and sailing' (P&S) lifeboat, one with oars and sails, The Good Deliverance, was placed here. A boathouse was constructed on the promenade, at the entrance to Knights Arms Square. [3]
In 1872, a new 32-foot lifeboat Chafyn Grove was placed at the station. The existing boathouse to be enlarged, and a harness room was also included, to store equipment for the six horses needed to launch and recover the lifeboat. [2]
In 1887 the station received another new lifeboat, Speedwell (ON 127). 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 inflatable Inshore D-class (RFD PB16) lifeboat . This lifeboat was one of the first D-class lifeboats, 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.
On 30 December 1994, the station was alerted to a windsurfer in difficulty, caught in a riptide. Even thought the conditions were well beyond the operational limits of the D-class (EA16), Tiger D (D-390) was launched with experience helm Stuart Roberts, along with Carl Evans and Wayne Evans. When the surfer was finally pulled aboard, he was still attached to his board by an elastic cord, which shot into the lifeboat, hitting Roberts on his 'bump cap', which was dented. Stuart Ian Roberts, helmsman, was awarded the RNLI Silver Medal. [4]
In 1996 the RNLI decided that Porthcawl needed a larger boat and a new, purpose built boathouse was constructed to house a brand new B-class (Atlantic 75) lifeboat, along with a new Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic launch tractor and Talus Atlantic Drive Off / Drive On launch carriage. [5]
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. [6]
The following are among the RNLI medals and other awards presented for service off Porthcawl: [1] [4]
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
Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE) – 2016
ON [lower-alpha 1] | Name | In service [8] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-361 | The Good Deliverance | 1860–1872 | 30-foot Self-Righting (P&S) | [Note 1] |
Pre-567– | Chafyn Grove | 1872–1887 | 32-foot Self-Righting (P&S) | [Note 2] |
127 | Speedwell | 1887–1902 | 34-foot 2in Self-Righting (P&S) | [Note 3] |
Op. No. [lower-alpha 2] | Name | In service [2] | 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 1996, reinstated 2012 | |||||
D-714 | Jean Ryall | 2012–2020 | D-class (IB1) | ||
D-776 | Super G II | 2020–2022 | D-class (IB1) | ||
D-861 | Hugo Missen | 2022– | D-class (IB1) | [6] Our Buoy Hugo's Fund [9] | |
Op. No. [lower-alpha 2] | Name | In service [2] | Class | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
B-549 | Blenwatch | 1996 | Atlantic 21 | |
B-726 | Giles | 1996–2009 | Atlantic 75 | |
B-832 | Rose of The Shires | 2009– | Atlantic 85 | [10] |
Op. No. [lower-alpha 2] | Reg. No. | Type | In service [2] | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|
TW29Hc | N144 WUJ | Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic (Mk2) | 1996–2008 | |
TW27Hc | M741 RUX | Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic (Mk2) | 2008–2015 | |
TW29Hc | N144 WUJ | Talus MB-4H Hydrostatic (Mk2) | 2015– | |
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