Lincolnshire

Easter Monday, our final day of visits along the East Coast of England. We left our  B&B and headed first to Grimbsy Docks in the hope that we would be able to get to Humber Lifeboat Station. Unfortunately, we needed permits to access the port area and so we were turned away by security. We will come back to that station when we have the required permits.

Cleethorpes Lifeboat Station

Just a couple of miles along the coast from Grimsby is Cleethorpes. It was a quiet morning on the streets and we managed to park next to the Lifeboat Station. There is a new boathouse and slipway being built directly opposite the existing one. The RNLI opened the station in 1868 but it was closed and relocated to Grimbsy in 1882. In 1965 an inshore station opened with the boat being housed at the Yacht Club and then at a holiday camp until 1980. The current ILB station was built in 1987 and houses a D-Class, James Burgess II (D757).

The construction of the new boathouse commenced in 2022 and will be completed in the next few months. It will enable a second inshore lifeboat to be housed, an Atlantic 85.

We popped in the shop just along the promenade and had a lovely chat with the volunteer and purchased a pin badge. We were unable to meet anyone at the station and so we will make plans to return to the new boathouse when we are able to visit Humber.

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Mablethorpe Lifeboat Station

About an hour south of Cleethorpes is Mablethorpe. Fronted by a beautiful sandy beach the promenade was busy with bank holiday visitors. As we were a little early we had a cup of tea at a beach side café. The lifeboat station was a short walk along the prom. The doors were open and Deputy Launch Authority, Tom, was busy carrying out some maintenance and cleaning when we arrived. He welcomed us up to the crew room and we had a lovely chat with him about the station.

Opened in 1883, the original boathouse was built on the beach. It was rebuilt in 1900 but closed temporarily in 1917 due to lack of crew. It was permanently closed 3 years later. In 1965 the station reopened on the promenade and housed a D-Class lifeboat. The current station was built in 2001 to accommodate a second inshore lifeboat.

Their current boats are a D-Class, Stanley Whiteley Chadwick (D-790) and an Atlantic 85, Jacqueline Saville (B-887) both entering service in 2015.

Thank you to Tom for taking time away from his bank holiday maintenance to show us around. We headed back to the car and onward to our final visit of the weekend.

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Skegness Lifeboat Station

Skegness is a busy holiday destination on the east coast. Bank holiday Monday was no exception.  We were lucky to be able to find some free on-street parking just a short walk from the lifeboat station. The promenade area was very busy and the station was open for visitors and so we headed inside for a look at the Shannon Class and the historical displays.

We had not arranged to meet anyone at Skegness but there were a couple of crew in the crew room and so we tapped on the window. We were met by Alan and Mauri who were expecting us and so we had a lovely chat and a tour of the station.

Alan recalled the recent collision between a tanker and container ship just off the Lincolnshire coast. This was a multi-agency incident including five lifeboat stations. Skegness crew were heavily involved in the operation and recalled horrific conditions with burning aviation fuel and toxic substances. Testament to the modern lifeboat, they were able to conduct their searches and operation from within the security of the watertight cabin. Consequently, there was little contamination they had to deal with on their return.

Their Shannon Class lifeboat is Joel and April Grunnill (13-17) and they have an inshore D-Class, The Holland Family (D-842). We thanked Alan for his time and headed back to the car by which time it had started to rain and the promenade was eerily quiet. A steady three and a half hour journey home with memories of a very enjoyable 4 days on the East Coast of England.

We had hoped, with the exception of Poole Lifeboat Station which we will visit last, that we would complete all remaining stations in England. Unfortunately, missing out on Humber means we will have to wait a little longer for that milestone.

We have a short break now until the middle of May when we head north to the East Coast and Northern Islands of Scotland. A trip we are very much looking forward to.