St Ives Lifeboat Station

St Ives Lifeboat Station
Flag of the RNLI
The lifeboat station and slipway
Map of Cornwall showing St Ives
General information
Type	Lifeboat station
Address	Wharf Road, St Ives, Cornwall, TR26 1LF
Country	United Kingdom
Coordinates	50°12′46″N5°28′46″W / 50.2128°N 5.4795°W / 50.2128; -5.4795
Opened	First boat 1840 Present building 1994
Owner	RNLI
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Poynton Bradbury Associates
Website
RNLI: St Ives Lifeboat Station

St Ives Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at St Ives, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The first lifeboat was built for the town in 1840 and the present boathouse was opened in 1994. It operates a Shannon-class All-weather boat (AWB) and a D-class (IB1) inshore lifeboat (ILB).

History

St Ives is an historic fishing port in west Cornwall and offers a sheltered harbour for ships in the open waters of the Western Approaches. On 24 December 1838 the schooner Rival was trying to enter the harbour in a gale but came to grief on one of its piers; despite lacking proper rescue boats and equipment five people were saved after much courage and effort by the people ashore. A meeting was held and it was decided that a proper lifeboat should be built for the town. Francis Adams, a local man, had recently won a prize from the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society for designing a double-ended, self-righting lifeboat, and he was commissioned to now build one. The Hope entered service in 1840, assisting the Mary Ann of Poole during a storm on 7 April. ^[1] Hope had fallen out of use by 1860 so the following year the RNLI opened a new lifeboat station at Porthgwidden beach. It proved to be a difficult site to launch from and so in 1867 it was closed. It has since been used as a store. ^[2]

The replacement boat house was situated in Fore Street. This was used until 1911 when a new house was built on The Quay. ^[2] Nearby Hayle Lifeboat Station closed in 1920. The St Ives boat now covered a larger area, but this was made easier in 1933 with the arrival of a first motor lifeboat. ^[3] In 1964 an ILB was stationed at St Ives which was kept in a building in the Sloop Car Park on West Hill. These two boat houses were closed in 1993 when a new purpose-built house was opened at the landward end of West Pier. ^[2] In 2015 the 1993 boathouse was modified for the new Shannon class lifeboat and its Supacat launching rig. The work involved widening the main doorway, installation of a new fuel tank and upgrading of crew facilities.

Wrecks

On 31 January 1938 the motor lifeboat Caroline Parsons went out in aid of the SS Alba. 23 people were rescued but as the lifeboat turned to head home it was capsized by a large wave that came from the side. It righted but ran aground on rocks. The lifeboat Coxswain Thomas Cocking and his eight crewmen got ashore safely but five of the rescued men were lost. Cocking was awarded the RNLI Medal in silver and the rest of the crew received bronze medals, but a year later six of them drowned in another lifeboat wreck. ^[4]

In the early hours of 23 January 1939 there was a Force 10 storm blowing with gusts of wind at 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). A large steamship was reported to be in trouble off Cape Cornwall but the Sennen Cove lifeboat could not be launched due to the low state of the tide. At 3:00 AM the John and Sarah Eliza Stych was launched into the dark. ^[5] Along with Cocking were seven more men: John Cocking (his son), Matthew Barber, William Barber and John Thomas who had all been in the Caroline Parsons wreck, along with Edgar Bassett, Richard Stevens, and William Freeman. ^[4] The boat rounded The Island where it met the full force of the storm as it headed westwards. Off Clodgy Point it capsized but did what it was designed to do and righted itself. Five of the crew were in the sea; only Freeman made it back into the boat. The engine was restarted but the propeller was fouled and they drifted back towards The Island where they dropped anchor but the rope parted and it capsized and righted a second time; only three survived this time. The boat now drifted north-eastwards across St Ives Bay towards Godrevy Point where it capsized for a third time. When it righted only Freeman was left. He scrambled ashore when the boat was smashed on the rocks. ^[5] All eight crew members were awarded bronze medals. ^[6] Since then two more Tommy Cockings, the drowned coxswain's son and grandson, have served as coxswain on the St Ives Lifeboat. ^[7]

Description

The lifeboat house is situated at the landward end of the West Pier facing a slipway into the harbour. Both boats are kept inside on carriages and launched with the aid of tractors. The building is built in local granite to blend with its surroundings. A large central portion houses the AWB. It is flanked by two wings, that on the harbour side for the IRB, the one on the town side is used as a fund-raising gift shop.

Area of operation

The Shannon-class lifeboat at St Ives has an operating range of 250  nmi (460 km) and a top speed of 27 knots (31 mph; 50 km/h). ^[8] Adjacent all weather lifeboats are at Padstow Lifeboat Station to the east, and Sennen Cove Lifeboat Station to the west. There is also an inshore boat to the east at St Agnes. ^[9]

St Ives lifeboats

• 
  James Stevens No. 10(1900–1933)
• 
  The Princess Royal(1990–2015)
• 
  Nora Stachura(From 2015)
• 
  Donald Dean(From 2016)

Pulling and sailing lifeboats

At St Ives	ON	Name	Class	Comments
1840–1860		Hope	Adams	An 'unsinkable' lifeboat design by Francis Adams that won a competition held by the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society. [10]
1861–1870		(no name?)
1870–1878		Covent Garden		With 10 oars [5]
1878-1886?		Covent Garden		In service in February 1885. [11]
1886-1899	50	Exeter	Peake	Broken up in 1900. [12]
1900–1933	435	James Stevens No. 10	Peake	Used for boat-trips at St Ives but was sunk in the Hayle Estuary on 30 December 2015. [13] [14]

Motor and All-weather lifeboats

At St Ives	ON	Op. No.	Name	Class	Comments
1933–1938	763	–	Caroline Parsons	Peake	Wrecked 31 January 1938. [15]
1938–1939	743	–	John and Sarah Eliza Stych	Peake	Originally stationed at Padstow in 1931. Wrecked 23 January 1939. [16]
1940–1948	831	–	Caroline Oates Aver and William Maine	Liverpool	Transferred to Ferryside and worked until 1960 when it was sold for use as a fishing boat. [17]
1948–1968	861	–	Edgar George Orlando and Eva Child	Liverpool	Sold in 1983 and became fishing boat Eileena-Ann. Reported in December 2023 as stored at Stiffkey. [18]
1968–1989	992	37-21	Frank Penfold Marshall	Oakley	Broken up at Southampton in 1989. [19]
1989–1989	984	37-17	Mary Joicey	Oakley	First stationed at Newbiggin in 1966. Sold in 1989 and now preserved at Newbiggin Maritime Centre. [19]
1989–1990	973	37-06	Fairlight	Oakley	Originally stationed at Hastings in 1964. Sold in 1994 and reported to be working as a pleasure boat at Blakeney in 2023. [20]
1990–2015	1167	12-009	The Princess Royal(Civil Service No. 41)	Mersey	Sold in 2016 to the Coleraine Harbour Commissioners. [21]
2015–	1318	13-11	Nora Stachura	Shannon	[22]

Inshore lifeboats

At St Ives	Op. No.	Name	Type	Comments
1964	D-5	(no name)	RFD PB16	Initially stationed at Redcar in 1963. [23]
1965–1966	D-16	(no name)	RFD PB16	Initially stationed at Pwllheli in 1964. [23]
1966–1967	D-9	(no name)	RFD PB16	Initially stationed at Great Yarmouth and Gorleston in 1963. [23]
1967–1977	D-142	(no name)	RFD PB16	[24]
1978–1987	D-256	Lion Club I	Zodiac III	[25]
1987–1997	C-516	Belsize Charitable Trust	C-class	[26]
1997–2007	D-515	Spirit of the RCT	EA16	[27]
2007–2016	D-668	Colin Bramley Parker	IB1	[28]
2016–	D-803	Donald Dean	IB1	[29]

Launch and recovery tractors

Tooltrak TT16

SC-T08 Kenneth George Fulford

At St Ives	Op. No.	Reg. No.	Type	Comments
1940–1954	T35	FYM 558	Case L	[30]
1954–1962	T60	OXO 323	Fowler Challenger III	[31]
1962–1967	T56	MYR 426	Fowler Challenger III	[31]
1967–1968	T61	PLA 561	Fowler Challenger III	[31]
1968–1971	T78	BYN 568B	Case 1000D	[32]
1971–1973	T74	136 HLC	Case 1000D	[32]
1973–1978	T77	BGO 681B	Case 1000D	[32]
1978–1985	T81	DLB 483C	Case 1000D	[32]
1985–1986	T80	DLB 482C	Case 1000D	[32]
1986–1989	T87	WEL 300S	Talus MBC Case 1150B	[32]
1989–1997	T108	F133 FUJ	Talus MB-H Crawler	[33]
1997–2006	T118	M224 SNT	Talus MB-H Crawler	[33]
2006–2015	T113	J794 VUX	Talus MB-H Crawler	[33]
2013–2022	TT22	HG63 VCD	Tooltrak	[34]
2022–	TT16	WR13 TNN	Tooltrak	[34]
2015–	SC-T08	HF15 FRX	Shannon Launch and Recovery System	Kenneth George Fulford [35]

See also

• List of RNLI stations
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats

References

1. Leach, Nicholas (2006) [2000]. Cornwall's Lifeboat Heritage. Chacewater: Twelveheads Press. pp. 6–8. ISBN   0-906294-43-6.
2. Leach 2006, p. 45.
3. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. p. 115.
4. Leach 2006, pp. 31–32.
5. Bray, Lena; Bray, Donald (1992) [1981]. St Ives Heritage (2nd ed.). Devoran: Landfall Publications. pp. 24–27. ISBN   1-873443-06-4.
6. "St Ives History". RNLI. Archived from the original on 27 August 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
7. Kipling, Ray; Kipling, Susannah (2006). Never Turn Back. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. pp. 179–184. ISBN   0-7509-4307-6.
8. Wake-Walker, Edward (2008). The Lifeboats Story. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. p. 112. ISBN   978-0-7509-4858-6.
9. Denton 2009, p. 68. sfn error: no target: CITEREFDenton2009 (help)
10. Leach 2006, p. 7.
11. "St Ives". The Cornishman. No. 344. 19 February 1885.
12. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 4–5.
13. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 20–21.
14. "James Stevens No 10 lifeboat sinks in Hayle Estuary". BBC News. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
15. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 34–35.
16. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 32–33.
17. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 36–37.
18. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 38–39.
19. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 44–45.
20. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 42–43.
21. Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 52–53.
22. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 57.
23. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 72.
24. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 74.
25. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 76.
26. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 88.
27. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 81.
28. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 83.
29. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 85.
30. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 89.
31. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 90.
32. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 91.
33. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 92.
34. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 99.
35. Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 98.

External links

• RNLI: St Ives Lifeboat Station