Sidmouth Lifeboat

Sidmouth Lifeboat Station
Sidmouth on the south coast of Devon
General information
Type	Lifeboat station
Location	Sidmouth
Address	The Esplanade, Sidmouth, Devon, EX10 8BE
Country	United Kingdom
Coordinates	50°40′43″N3°14′10″W / 50.6785°N 3.2360°W / 50.6785; -3.2360
Owner	Sidmouth Lifeboat
Website
www.sidmouthlifeboat.org.uk

Sidmouth Lifeboat is a charity that provides lifeboat and lifeguard services in Sidmouth in Devon, England. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) previously operated a lifeboat at Sidmouth between 1869 and 1912. The charity's independent service dates from 1968 and since 2019 its principal lifeboat has been an Arctic 24 boat named Peter & Barbara Truesdale.

RNLI Sidmouth Lifeboat Station

The RNLI had established stations at Lyme Regis in 1853 and at Exmouth in 1858. The station at Sidmouth was opened in 1869 to cover the coast between the two earlier stations. A boathouse was built at the end of Ham Lane which housed two lifeboats at different times: ^{[1] [2] [3]}

At Sidmouth	ON	Name	Class
1869–1885	Pre-526	Rimington [2]	Self-righter
1885–1912	40	William and Frances [4]	Self-righter

Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

The Sidmouth RNLI lifeboat saved 38 lives but by 1912 it was seldom called out and so the station was closed. The boathouse was later demolished but a stone carved with the initials 'RNLBI' was saved and is now over a doorway of the building that stands on the site. ^[3]

For further information, please see..

• Sidmouth Lifeboat Station

Independent service

Students at a local secondary school set up a beach lifesaving organisation in 1968 and a rigid inflatable lifeboat was purchased in 1972. The organisation was accredited with the Coastguard as a rescue facility in 1982. A new boathouse was built on The Esplanade when it obtained a new lifeboat in 1991. ^[3] The lifeboat covers Lyme Bay between Budleigh Salterton and Axmouth. ^[5]

Sidmouth independent lifeboats

Launching the Pride of Sidmouth

No.	Name	At Sidmouth	Class	Comments
		1972–1981	Atlantic 16	[3]
	Spirit of Sidmouth	1981–1998	Humber	[3]
	Sidmouth Herald	1998–2004	Atlantic 21	Purchased from the RNLI, Operational Number B-577. [3]
SID-07	Pride of Sidmouth	2004–2019	Arctic 24	[3]
	Speedy Sid		MilproAvon Sea Rider	[6]
SID-08	Peter & Barbara Truesdale	2019–	Arctic 24	[6]

The Arctic 24 lifeboats are 7.66 m (25.1 ft) long and can carry 4 crew with 8 survivors. Sidmouth Lifeboat also operates a 4.2 m (14 ft) MilproAvon Sea Rider boat which is known as Speedy Sid. ^[6]

See also

• Independent lifeboats in Britain and Ireland
• List of former RNLI stations

References

1. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society. p. 105.
2. "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". Life-Boat. 7 (75): 301. 1870.
3. Leach, Nicholas (2009). Devon's Lifeboat Heritage. Twelveheads Press. pp. 4–5. ISBN   978-0-906294-72-7.
4. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 4–5.
5. "Sidmouth Lifeboat". Sidmouth Lifeboat. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
6. "Meet the fleet". Sidmouth Lifeboat. Retrieved 24 March 2024.

External links

• Sidmouth Lifeboat