Our plan this weekend was to visit Lyme Regis and Exmouth and then head down the coast to visit the 4 stations located on the “English Riviera” in Devon. It was a hot weekend and very busy in all locations being a popular holiday destination.
Lyme Regis Lifeboat Station
On 27th July (Allan’s Birthday) we left early and travelled to Lyme Regis in Dorset. Arriving at 10:30 we parked at the top of the hill and went on a steep ramble to get to the harbour. This was the start of the Lyme Regis Lifeboat week and was being opened by Jules Hudson. Jules is mostly known for presenting the TV shows Escape to the Country and the “on the farm” series. However, he is also an archaeologist and served in the Army Reserve as a second lieutenant.
It was very busy around the lifeboat station and we were immediately made to feel welcome and got chatting with several of the volunteers and crew. After the official opening, we managed to grap a chat with Jules and explained what we were doing. Along with some photos with him he also shot a short video interview with us.
The Lyme Regis Atlantic 85 (B-857 Spirit of Loch Fyne ) was out in the harbour. We made our way to the end of the stone jetty and watched her as she was joined by the neighbouring Exmouth Shannon Class (13-03), more on her later.
We spent a bit more time watching both boats and chatting with crew and volunteers before a delicious Burger and Chips and a slow plod back up the hill to the car. It was a great morning and there are plenty of activities planned all week to celebrate.
Exmouth Lifeboat Station
We knew the boat was at Lyme Regis as we had just been chatting with the crew. However, they had let us know that they would be returning to Exmouth by around 2:30pm. By the time we had driven over to the town and parked up it was around 2pm and so we popped in the shop and had a lovely chat with the ladies before looking at the small museum in the boathouse. The Shannon Class lifeboat is launched and recovered from the beach using a SLARS vehicle. This was the first time we had seen a Shannon recovered so were excited to be able to watch this take place. We spotted the boat heading around the headland and made our way to the beach where the launch and recovery crew were preparing the SLARS. We were welcomed by one of the crew members and we watched the whole process of recovery. Quite a feat of engineering. To get the full scale of the operation there is a video on our website and our YouTube channel.
The Shannon 13-03 is one of the RNLIs “Launch a Memory” boats. This scheme is where donations are made to have a loved ones name placed on the decal on the sides of the boat. We have added 3 names, Allan’s dear mum who passed in 2020 and Helen’s two beloved pets. These names will eventually be placed on this 13-03 boat.
You can read more about the scheme on the RNLI website below
After watching the full recovery back to the station we took our required visit photo and headed back to the car and to the hotel for the night.
Salcombe Lifeboat Station
We set of on the hour long drive down to Salcombe after a fulfilling breakfast at our hotel. What a beautiful quaint seaside town Salcombe is. Narrow cobbled streets and steep hills lead you to the waterfront which was extremely busy at 10am. We were lucky to find a parking space and headed off through the narrow streets to the lifeboat station. So far we would say this is the prettiest of the stations we have visited. Unfortunately there was no one at the station and their shop and museum were closed on Sundays. However, the Tamar Class, The Baltic Exchange III (16-09) was moored in the harbour so we grabbed some shots and headed back to the car.
Dart Lifeboat Station
On then to Dartmouth and the Dart lifeboat station located in a park just off the waterfront. Again no one was around but we could just see their D-Class “Dudley Jane” (D-838) through the window and we took a stroll to the waterfront to see their Atlantic 85 Frank C. Samworth (B-931) moored on the pontoon. The shop in the town was also closed so we headed back to the car. Our next stop was across the river at Brixham. To get there we had to get a small floating bridge ferry across the river Dart with amazing view of the river and a huge Yacht moored in the middle of the river. Also moored on the opposite side of the river was an old lifeboat. Unfortunately with no visible name or number.
Torbay Lifeboat Station
Torbay is located in the busy harbour in Brixham. When we arrived we saw two boats moored a Trent Class (14-07) and a Severn Class (17-28). We met some lovely volunteers outside the station and one of the Coxwain who explained that the Trent was just visiting. It was moored at Torbay on its way from Courtmacsherry in Ireland to Poole for some maintenance works. The Torbay lifeboat is the Severn Class called Alec & Christina Dykes.
The marina was lovely. It was such a nice warm day with blue skies and there were crowds of people watching a Dolphin swimming around the boats. We had a good chat with the volunteers, grabbed our photo and a pin badge and headed to our next stop.
Teignmouth Lifeboat Station
Teignmouth Lifeboat Station
Our final visit for the weekend was Teignmouth. Another very busy seaside town. It took us a good while to find a parking space. After a light but late lunch we headed to the Lifeboat station and were greeted by Neil and Andy. We had such a warm welcome from them both and Neil very kindly showed us round the historic station. Neil explained that there had been a lifeboat stationed in Teignmouth since 1851 and the boat was relocated to its current boathouse in 1854. It is an amazing solid stone structure with a beautiful buttress supported roof. Neil made us a nice cup of tea and we chatted for ages outside the station, welcoming casual visitors as we sipped our tea. Teignmouth now have an Atlantic 85 called The Two Anne’s (B-809) after the two Anne’s that donated the money for her. Teignmouth also have the rare Arancia Class boat called Malcolm Hawkesford I (A-67). With only 5 assigned to Lifeboat Stations they are hard to find but they are more commonly used by Lifeguards. They are small Inshore Rescue Boats (IRBs).They are operated by 2 crew and are fast and nimble, ideal for shore rescues. That Arancia Class means that we have now seen all of the current RNLI Lifeboat types in operation.
What an amazing weekend we had, plenty of sunshine and crowds and whilst we only visited 6 stations, they were fabulous visits. It was a mammoth drive home due to Sunday evening holiday traffic but we got home in good time to open Allan’s belated birthday presents.
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