Weston Lifeboat Station
Due to the extreme tidal range in the Bristol Channel, finding a suitable launching site for lifeboats proved an arduous task for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Davits were installed on the pier in 1882, enabling a lifeboat to be lowered into the water below, even at low tide. A new, larger lifeboat was stationed here in 1889 and a boathouse was built for it on the north east side of the island with a 100 feet (30 m) slipway beside the pier. This facility was replaced in 1902 when a new boathouse was built on the south east side of the island. This had a 368 feet (112 m) slipway which enabled the lifeboat to be launched at most states of the tide and was the longest in England. The slipway was closed in 2007 due to its poor condition, since when the lifeboats have been launched from the north east side of the island. The crews continued to use the 1889 boathouse but the lifeboats were kept on their launch trolleys in the open air on Birnbeck Island. In April 2011 a new "temporary" boathouse was erected to give them cover. This cost £70,000 but can be removed once permanent facilities can be provided again and then reused elsewhere.
The first lifeboat at Weston-super-Mare was on station for seven years but it was only involved in two rescues, one of which involved taking 40 passengers off the SS Welsh Prince which got into difficulties after leaving the pier on 22 September 1884. In all, the unpowered lifeboats that were stationed here from 1882 to 1933 were only called out on 12 services and rescued 55 people. Motor lifeboats were stationed here for the next 36 years during which time they were called out 104 times and rescued 89 people. In common with other lifeboat stations, the number of service calls has increased significantly since the 1960s due to the rise in leisure craft and swimmers. These are now dealt with entirely by Inshore Lifeboats (ILBs) which have made well over 1,000 service launches. Since 2008 the two ILBs stationed at Weston-super-Mare have been Atlantic 75 Class B-769 Coventry and Warwickshire and the smaller IB1 D-696 Anna Stock
Read more about this topic: Birnbeck Pier
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