Dart Lifeboat Station

Dart Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) inshore lifeboat operations at Dartmouth, Devon in England. The present station was opened in 2007 although an earlier lifeboat was stationed in the town from 1878 to 1896. It operates a D-class (IB1) inshore lifeboat, and a B-class (Atlantic 85) inshore lifeboat.

Dart Lifeboat Station
Map of Devon showing Dartmouth
General information
Type	RNLI Lifeboat Station
Location	Coronation Park, North Embankment, TQ6 9NL
Country	United Kingdom
Coordinates	50.354724°N 3.577995°W / 50.354724; -3.577995
Opened	1867-1896 first station 2007 new station
Owner	RNLI

History

Dartmouth is a small port on the west side of the natural harbour formed by the River Dart. In the 1860s the Dartmouth and Torbay Railway established more quays on the opposite bank at Kingswear.^[1] The RNLI approved that Dartmouth Lifeboat Station be established at Dartmouth in July 1876 but it was 1878 before a lifeboat arrived. During the summer the lifeboat was kept in a boat house at Sand Quay, but during the winter it was kept afloat in Warfleet Creek where it was quicker to respond to any ships in distress. It would prove difficult for the rowing lifeboat to leave the estuary of the Dart if the wind was blowing from the sea unless a tug was able to help. The station was closed in 1896 and during all that time just one effective service was provided. That was on 20 September 1887 when the crew attended a trawler near Kingswear Castle. The boat house is now used by the Dartmouth Amateur Rowing Club.^[2]

In 2007 a new lifeboat was sent to Dartmouth, although the new station was to be named the Dart Lifeboat Station after the river, rather than the town. A temporary building with five years planning agreement was erected in Coronation Park.^[2] The lifeboat is kept on a carriage and is towed to the river for launching by a tractor.^[3]

Station honours

The following are awards made at Dartmouth:^[4]

Albert Medal awarded by Queen Victoria

• Mr Popplestone – 1866 (the first recipient of the award)

RNLI Silver Medal

• Lt. William Lane, coastguard – 1838
• Lt. James Clayton, coastguard – 1842
• Mr William Kelland – 1893

Area of operation

The Dart ILB has a maximum speed of 25 knots (46 km/h) and can operate for three hours.^[5] It covers the River Dart and the nearby south Devon coast. Adjacent lifeboats – both ILBs and All Weather Boats – are at Torbay Lifeboat Station to the East, and Salcombe Lifeboat Station to the West.^[3]

Dartmouth and Dart lifeboats

Dartmouth (1878–1896)

At Dartmouth[6]	ON[lower-alpha 1]	Name	Built	Class	Comments
1878–1887		Maud Hargreaves[7]	1878	Peake	30 ft (9.1 m) self-righting boat[8]
1887–1896	129	Henry and Amanda Shaw	1887	Peake	34 ft (10 m) self-righting boat[7]

Dart (from 2007)

B-931 Frank C Samworth

At Dart[6]	Op. No.[lower-alpha 2]	Name	Class	Comments
2007–2008	D-520	Bob Savage	D-class (EA16)	[7]
2008	D-523	Peterborough Beer Festival 1	D-class (EA16)	[9]
2008–2019	D-702	Spirit of the Dart	D-class (IB1)	[10]
2018–2020	B-794	Joan Bate	Atlantic 75	On two-year trial at Dart[11]
2019–	D-838	Dudley Jane	D-class (IB1)	[11]
2020–2022	B-825	Norma Ethel Vinall	Atlantic 85	From the relief fleet[12]
2022–	B-931	Frank C Samworth	Atlantic 85

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.

See also

• List of RNLI stations
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats
• NCI Froward Point - National Coastwatch Institution for the coast near Dartmouth

References

1. Potts 1998.
2. Leach 2009, pp. 19–20.
3. Denton 2009, p. 68.
4. "Dartmouth station history". RNLI. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
5. Wake-Walker 2008, p. 114.
6. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2023). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2023. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–128.
7. Leach 2009, p. 20.
8. Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021 (2021 ed.). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–18.
9. Denton 2009, p. 45.
10. Denton 2009, p. 48.
11. "Our lifeboats". RNLI Dart Lifeboat. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
12. "Our lifeboats". RNLI Dart Lifeboat. Retrieved 10 April 2021.

Bibliography

• Denton, Tony (2009). Handbook 2009. Shrewsbury: Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society.
• Leach, Nicholas (2009). Devon's Lifeboat Heritage. Chacewater: Twelveheads Press. ISBN 978-0-906294-72-7.
• Potts, C R (1998). The Newton Abbot to Kingswear Railway (1844 - 1988). Oxford: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-387-7.
• Wake-Walker, Edward (2008). The Lifeboats Story. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7509-4858-6.

External links

• Dart lifeboat station on the RNLI website
• Station website Archived 28 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine