Margate Surfboat
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The Margate surfboat refers to three surfboats used for maritime rescue at Margate, on the eastern tip of Kent. They were run as cooperatives, with local boatmen clubbing together to buy them and then receiving a share of any salvage money received.
The first, the Friend of all Nations was wrecked in 1860 but returned to service until 1877. Nine crew of the second boat, Friend to all Nations, died in the storm of 1897, but the boat survived both that and being lost while under tow the following year. A memorial to the nine men stands on the Margate seafront.
A third boat was built in 1899 but by then surfboats powered by oar and sail had been largely superseded by lifeboats. The third boat served as a tender at Chatham during the Second World War and was lost off Ostend in 1957. All three were built by J. Samuel White of Cowes.