Brede-class lifeboat

The Brede-class lifeboat was operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) from its stations around the coasts of the United Kingdom between 1982 and 2002, at which time it was the fastest all-weather lifeboat in its fleet. Eleven were put into service and when replaced by larger boats, seven were sold for further use as lifeboats, mainly in South Africa.

Class overview
Builders	Lochin Marine International Ltd., Rye, East Sussex
Operators	Royal National Lifeboat Institution National Sea Rescue Institute SA
Preceded by	Rother
Succeeded by	Arun
Built	1981–1985
In service	1982–
Completed	10
Active	3
Retired	7
General characteristics
Type	Motor lifeboat
Displacement	8.5 long tons (8.6 t)
Length	33 ft (10 m)
Beam	12 ft (3.7 m)
Draught	4 ft 3 in (1.30 m)
Speed	18.6 knots (21.4 mph)
Range	140 nautical miles (260 km)
Capacity	8 plus 1 stretcher
Crew	4

The class took its name from the River Brede which joins the River Rother to flow into the English Channel at Rye, Sussex.

History

During the 1960s and 1970s the RNLI had placed a number of fast lifeboats into service. These had mostly been 44 ft (13 m) Waveney-class lifeboats but there was a need for smaller, more manoeuvrable boats that were larger than the Atlantic 21 inshore lifeboats. A large boat was built using the construction methods of the Atlantic 21 but this Medina-class lifeboat was never adopted.^[1] A prototype Brede was constructed in 1981 and the following year the first two production Brede-class were built.^[2] These had a larger wheelhouse than the prototype and placed in service at Fowey and Oban lifeboat stations in October.^[3] Ten more production boats followed but production ceased in 1985. The first Brede to be withdrawn was RNLB Ann Richie (ON 1080) which only saw five years service. By the end of 1994 the fleet had been reduced to just five boats; three in the relief fleet and those stationed at Poole and Calshot.^[2] The boats had been too small to operate in extreme weather and surveys highlighted potential problems with structural strength.^[1]

Most of the fleet found new use with other rescue services. One was transported to New Zealand in 1993. Six were bought between 1994 and 2002 by the National Sea Rescue Institute in South Africa,^[2] with a seventh boat purchased privately in 2012 to replace Sanlam Rescuer (RNLI ON 1102) which was destroyed by fire awaiting refit. In September 2016, the NSRI announced that they were embarking on a project to replace their ageing Brede lifeboat fleet, starting with Eikos Rescuer II (RNLI ON 1104) based in Durban, with further replacements planned for every two years. The Brede lifeboats will be sold out of the fleet as they are replaced.^[4] As of Nov 2023, 3 are still in service.

Description

The Brede was built with a glass reinforced plastic (GRP) hull, a strengthened version of a commercial design by Lochin Marine of Rye, Sussex. It was fitted with twin 203 hp diesel engines which gave it a top speed of 20 knots (37 km/h) which was faster than any other all-weather lifeboat in the fleet until the introduction of the Severn and Trent classes in 1991. It had an operating range of 140 nautical miles (260 km).^[5]

The hull was divided into five watertight compartments and spaces were filled with buoyant materials which combined with a watertight GRP wheelhouse to give it a self-righting capability. A survivors' cabin was sited forward of the wheelhouse with eight seats and a stretcher could be carried in the wheelhouse which had seats for the four crew members.^[5]

RNLI fleet

All built by Lochin Marine, Rye

ON[a]	Op. No.[b]	Name	Built	In service	Station	Comments[6]
1066	33-01	–	1981	–	–	Trials boat 1981–1982. Sold 1983. Renamed John Alexander. Used as a workboat at Yarmouth. July 2019, Workboat, Southampton East Docks
1080	33-02	Ann Richie	1982	1982–1987	Oban	Broken up 1988.
1083	33-03	Leonore Chilcott	1982	1982–1987	Fowey	Sold 1990 for use as a diving support boat at Littlehampton. In 2000 she took up duty as a pilot boat at Braye.[3] Alderney. MMSI 235104864
1084	33-04	Philip Vaux	1982	1983–1989	Girvan	Sold 1990. Renamed Mourne Mist. December 2022, Pilot boat at Greencastle, Carlingford Lough. MMSI 235084945
1087	33-05	Merchant Navy	1983	1983–1987	Relief fleet	Sold 1990; in use as a pleasure boat Lyonesse on the River Hamble.[2] Sold to South Africa in 2012 for further use as a lifeboat.[7]
				1987–1989	Oban
1088	33-06	Caroline Finch	1983	1983–1994	Exmouth	Sold 1994 to South Africa.[8]
1089	33-07	Inner Wheel	1983	1983–2001	Poole	Sold 2002 to South Africa.
				2001–2002	Calshot
1090	33-08	Foresters Future	1984	1984–1986	Alderney	Sold 2002 to South Africa.
				1986–2002	Relief fleet
1101	33-09	Enid of Yorkshire	1984	1984–1997	Relief fleet	Sold 1997 to South Africa.
1102	33-10	Nottinghamshire	1984	1984–1988	Invergordon	Sold 1997 to South Africa.
				1989–1997	Oban
1104	33-11	Safeway	1985	1985–2001	Calshot	Sold 2002 to South Africa.
1105	33-12	Amateur Swimming Associations	1985	1985–1989	Relief fleet	Sold September 1993 to New Zealand.
				1989–1993	Girvan

1. ON is the RNLI's Official Number of the boat.
2. Op. No. is the RNLI's Operational Number of the boat carried on the hull.

Other fleets

New Zealand

Operated by New Zealand Coast Rescue, Nelson

RNLI ON	Name[2]	In Service	Station	Comments[6]
1105	Sealord Rescue	1993–2011	Port Nelson	Sold 2012. Renamed Girvan, Private ownership, Queen Charlotte Sound, Picton, NZ, restored to RNLI livery.

South Africa

Former RNLI Brede-Class lifeboats operated by the National Sea Rescue Institute in South Africa. As from 2019, the NSRI has embarked on a project to replace the ageing Brede fleet with a new class of lifeboat.

RNLI ON	Name[2]	In Service with NSRI	Station	MMSI[9]	Comments[6]
1087	Rescue 15[7][10]	2012–2021	Mossel Bay (Rescue 15)		Acquired 2012 from UK to replace Sanlam Rescuer. Refit completed 6 November 2012[11] Decommissioned May 2021. Sold to Bridge Maritime Ltd, SA.
1088	South Star	1994–2021	Hermanus (Rescue 17)		Refit 2011.[12] Sold 2022 to Bridge Maritime Ltd, SA
1089	Nadine Gordimer	2002–	Hout Bay (Rescue 8)	601029700	Refit March 2012,[13] completed 20 February 2013.[14]
1090	Spirit of Safmarine III	2002–2021 2021–	Simon's Town (Rescue 10) Mossel Bay (Rescue 15)	601029500	Refit 2014 at Treetops Marine.[15] Moved to Station 15 Mossel Bay in May 2021.
1101	Spirit of Toft	1997–2024	Port Elizabeth (Rescue 6)	601105100	2017, Refit in Cape Town. Retired February 2024
1102	Sanlam Rescuer	1997–2010	Gordons Bay (Rescue 9)		Destroyed by fire whilst awaiting refit, December 2010.
1104	Eikos Rescuer II	2002–2019	Durban (Rescue 5)	601664000	Sold and renamed Bosss Charger, with Bosss Marine, Durban, SA

References

1. Kipling, Ray; Kipling, Susannah (2006). Never Turn Back. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-4307-6.
2. Denton, Tony (2009). Handbook 2009. Shrewsbury: Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 28–31.
3. Leach, Nicholas (2002). Fowey Lifeboats: An Illustrated History. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. pp. 63–69. ISBN 0-7524-2378-9.
4. "New Search and Rescue Vessel for Durban". 19 September 2016.
5. Wake-Walker, Edward; Deane, Heather; Purches, Georgette (1989). Lifeboat! Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 41. ISBN 0-7110-1835-9.
6. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2023). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2023. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society.
7. "Ex RNLI Deep Sea Rescue boat arrives". National Sea Rescue Institute. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
8. Salsbury, Alan (2010). A History of the Exmouth Lifeboats. Wellington, Somerset: Halsgrove. pp. 107–120. ISBN 978-0-85704-073-2.
9. "Marine Traffic".
10. "Rescue 15 ready for trip to Mossel Bay". National Sea Rescue Institute. 27 November 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
11. "Brede's at Treetops". 26 October 2012.
12. "South Star Rededication". NRSI. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
13. "Hout Bay rescue boat off for refit". 28 March 2012.
14. "Hout Bay rescue boat refit complete". 20 February 2013.
15. "Spirit of Safmarine III is home". NSRI. Retrieved 11 August 2014.

External links

• The Royal National Lifeboat Institution
• National Sea Rescue Institute of South Africa