Isle of Man - Day 2

At the start of the second day on the Isle of Man, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at our B&B before checking out and heading North. The Isle of Man is of course famous for its TT races and so it was an experience to drive the mountain route on the race track up to the town on Ramsey. We enjoyed some fantastic views on the way as the weather had cleared.

"When I Grow Up"

Ramsey Lifeboat Station

At Ramsey we parked opposite the Lifeboat Station and, as we were a little early, took advantage of the low tide for a stroll down the slipway to the sandy beach. We then headed into the station where we were met by Theresa, the station Administration Officer. We were taken up to the crew room where there was a hive of activity with crew members reading and discussing training documents. There was a fantastic view of their Shannon Class lifeboat from the crew room.

Coxwain Mark made us a cup of tea and we chatted for a while before we headed down to the lifeboat for a look on board. The Shannon class was named Ann and James Ritchie II, 13-42 and joined the station in 2022 replacing a Mersey Class, Ruby Clery, 12-22. The current Shannon is the third lifeboat to be funded by the Gough Richie Trust, set up in 1990 following the passing of Mrs Ann Richie. This trust has funded a total of six lifeboats, five on the Isle of Man and one in Oban.

Along with Peel Lifeboat Station, Ramsey was established following a request from Sir William Hillary in 1828. Following the death of Sir William in 1848 and with little funding available, the Ramsey Lifeboat Station was closed. In 1868, the RNLI stationed a boat at Ramsey and the following year completed construction of the boathouse. The current boathouse was built in 1990  to house the Mersey Class  and altered to accommodate the Shannon Class in 2021.

Coxwain Mark Kenyon not only made great tea but he is also one of the longest serving crew on the Isle of Man. He joined as a volunteer crew in 1988 taking on the role of mechanic in 1991 and subsequently a Coxwain since 1998. He was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2020.

After a good look around the station and the boat we let the crew continue with their training and headed with Theresa to the nearby RNLI shop which unfortunately was closed for the day. Outside of the shop was a statue of a child in full RNLI PPE. It is called “When I Grow Up”  and symbolises the generations of volunteer service given by the RNLI to communities island wide and the sense of ‘family’ for which the institution has long been recognised.

We must thank Theresa and Mark, Coxwain’s Jason and Alex, LOM Kev, tractor driver Wayne, head launcher Barbara and crew members Paul and Charlie for taking the time out of their Sunday morning training to make us so welcome.

Heading back south along the east coast road we arrived at the City of Douglas.

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Douglas Lifeboat Station

We headed towards the Lifeboat Station at Battery Pier in the shadow of Douglas Head. We were a little early but we spotted the Trent Class lifeboat moored alongside North Quay in the harbour so parked up and headed over to take some photos. The crew were on-board undertaking some training and we took the chance to say hello. They advised us to pop back to the station in half hour or so to meet them properly. We left them to their training and headed to the Ferry Terminal where we grabbed some lunch. We noted that the new shop in the terminal was closed. However, after our lunch we noted it was open and so we headed in.

We were met by Tony who was expecting us and as it turned out had opened the shop especially to see us as they were still working to winter hours. We had a long chat with Tony who presented us with some amazing fridge magnets he had made for us. Such a lovely thing to do. We were joined in the shop by Gill and Charmaine and they were keen to get some photos of us for their social media.

Conscious that the crew were expecting us at the station and by this time messaging us as well, we said our farewells to Tony and took the short drive back to the station. Most of the crew had unfortunately left by this time but we were met by Crew members Paul & Emma and Coxwain Emily.

Douglas is the oldest of the Islands operational Lifeboat Stations established in 1802. Closing in 1814 after its boat was washed away and wrecked in a December storm.  However, it was the wrecking of Royal Nay Ship, Vigilant and the rescue of 97 men by Sir William Hillary and a group of volunteers that inspired Sir William to form the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, later to become the RNLI. It was then, in 1824, that the Douglas Lifeboat Station was reopened with a boat called Nestor, funded by the RNIPLS.

A new boathouse and slipway were constructed in the harbour in 1924 which still stands today. It ceased operation due to its deteriorating condition in 2024 having been home to the same Mersey Class, Ruby Clery, that served at Peel and Ramsey Stations, since 2022. In 2025 the Mersey was withdrawn and replaced with the Trent Class that we had seen moored on the North Quay. Trent Class, Betty Huntbatch (14-37) was previously stationed at Hartlepool.

The station now comprises a series of container buildings as crew room and kit rooms. A vehicle transports the crew from the station to the lifeboat, some 700 metres drive. Whilst not ideal accommodation, much talk has been had about relocating the station further along the South Quay near the Yacht Club.

After an interesting discussion with Emily, Emma and Paul we had some photos taken and said our farewells. We had then, the opportunity to learn more about the history of Sir William Hillary, the founding father of the RNLI before heading back to the airport for our flight home. You can find out more about Sir William and the founding of the RNLI in our blog "The Founding Father".