The coastline around Hastings & St Leonards provides a beautiful backdrop to our town, and is also essential to both our tourism and fishing industry. Over the past 166 years, Hastings lifeboats and their crews have had to go to sea in every kind of weather to search for vessels and carry out rescues and have been staffed completely by volunteers.
Hastings lifeboat station is one of the best in the country - open to anyone who is interested in the boats, crews and the services it provides.
The first lifeboat station in Hastings was established in 1835. Since then its lifeboats have been launched around 1,400 times and have saved nearly 500 lives. There are currently nineteen sea-going volunteers and twelve launching staff involved with the lifeboat - from crew, to launching staff, to those who keep the visitor centre running.
The lifeboat station at the Stade is home to an all-weather lifeboat, and inshore lifeboat (or inflatatble), the launching tractors and a visitor centre, complete with a viewing balcony.
‘Sealink Endeavour’ is the all-weather lifeboat. It is an aluminium, 15m long Mersey Class lifeboat which is capable of a top speed of 16 knots - the equivalent of 20 mph in road speed terms. The Sealink Endeavour was brought to Hastings on February 14th 1989 and since then it has saved over 30 lives.
Sealink Endeavour weighs 14 tonnes when fully laden with crew and equipment. It is responsible for the area from Dungeness to Beachy Head and will go up to 50 miles out to sea - just 6 miles off the French coastline. The furthest that it has gone out to date is 28 miles. It can travel at its top speed for 10 hours and burns 55 litres of fuel per hour at 16 knots.
Below deck, the lifeboat is divided into five watertight compartments and is completely self-righting in 6-8 seconds. The boat remains afloat even if three of the compartments become flooded. She can carry 8 people in the main cabin and 10 in the survivor cabin (which is further forward) plus the 6 crew, and still be self-righting. In calm weather conditions, the boat can carry up to 53 people.
The lifeboat also carries an inflatable life raft which can carry six people. When you first enter the cabin, it is impossible not to be amazed at the variety of radar screens, radios and charts, but once explained it is obvious that each is essential to the lifeboat’s lifesaving job.
The radar has a 96 mile range and can pick up positions of other ships in the surrounding channel. It can be used for searching for casualties and vessels in bad visibility and also to avoid collisions. There is an Electronic Chart System - basically new technology means that the old paper charts have been replaced by computerised charts. The old charts were used to draw up different search patterns for finding anyone or anything lost or in distress - depending on the point where they were last seen and based on sea conditions - wind, tides etc.
Now, all the different search patterns are stored in the computer. You can select the right search pattern for the conditions and the computer will then draw it out for crew to follow. It relies on the Global Positioning System. Each search pattern will ensure that you cover the ground thoroughly to ensure that you find person/vessel you are looking for.
In the corner of the cabin there is a tall stack of radios. The lifeboat has to carry many so that all the frequencies that different boats carry can be picked up. Different radio frequencies have different ranges. VHF has a frequency of around 30 miles, MF is up to 200 miles and HF has a massive range and is used by sailors on around the world yachts.
New technology has also seen the introduction of digital selective calling - an automatic distress alert. Digital alerts instead of - or as well as - voice messages (via radio) can be sent out and received by anyone with that equipment. The alert will carry all the information about a vessel - what it is, what is wrong, the time and its position.
There are nineteen voluntary members of Hastings Lifeboat Station. There are six crew members of the all weather lifeboat and three for the inshore lifeboat.
What is clear is that although they are from a variety of occupations they all have one thing in common, they are all completely passionate and dedicated to the lifeboat. All volunteers begin as launchers. This is to give volunteers a taster of what will be expected of them and to find out if they take to it. Hastings Lifeboat is launched from the beach and is taken down to the water’s edge by the tractor. When it is called out in an emergency, it can be at sea within five minutes of the crew being present.
Training as a lifeboat crew member is on-going. New volunteers will initially be part of the launching team and can work their way up to be crew members if the coxswain feels they have the right qualities.
There is a training session every Thursday - one week out at sea and one week on shore. Volunteers learn about the boat, first aid, radar navigation, seamanship, launching and just about anything else to do with the boat and the job.
Their passion is something to be very much in awe of. They are not there because of the stigma or standing of being attached to the boat, but because they love it and because they can’t get enough of it. They also recognise the contribution they make to other seafarers.
Hastings Lifeboat Station is also home to the inshore lifeboat or the ILB. The ILB goes out more often than Sealink Endeavour. There are plenty of rescues to be done - people stranded on cliffs because they have been cut off by the tide, people falling off cliffs and windsurfers, boats and lilos being swept out to sea. It is easier to approach a swimmer in difficulties in the water because of the ILB’s size - but be warned - it is a bumpy ride, more like being in a dodgem car at the fairground than a boat! Three times during the last year dead bodies have had to be recovered from the sea by the lifeboat crew. They are not allowed to touch the bodies because of the risk of Hepatitis and special ambulances pouches are used to pick them up.
The lifeboats are also alerted when there are fires in engine rooms, when boats have not arrived at their destinations by their expected times, when there are collisions, when swimmers are in danger and when there are accidents at sea such as a man overboard. Preparation for all events is the key and are practices are carried out during the lifeboat practice sessions. Each crew member is also trained to that no member is completely indispensable - even the coxswain.
Do you fancy being a member of the team?
Hastings lifeboat is always looking for new volunteer members. You can join as long as you are under 55, have good eyesight and are reliable. The team are very welcoming and as well as working hard and learning all the time, they have fun too.
If you fancy joining the team - or finding out more about it, please contact Coxswain Charlie Sharrod at Hastings Lifeboat Station: Tel: 720828
RNLI is a registered charity. During the year 2000 there were 6,249 launches across the UK. 860 lives were saved and 3,918 people were brought ashore. That is an average of 17 launches per day, 2 lives saved per day and an average of 10 people brought to shore per day.
A massive 8,639 lifeboat hours at sea of which 16 % were services to merchant/fishing vessels, 51.9% to pleasure craft, 22.5% services to people.
38.2% of services were carried out in darkness and 4% were carried out in winds over Force 7
Costs of launching a lifeboat are relatively small, but if all the running costs and maintenance it costs on average £5,800 to launch an all weather boat and £2,200 for an inflatable each time.
It is estimated that during 2001 it will cost £100million to run the RNLI - approximately £274,000 every day.
The first lifeboat station in Hastings was set up following the loss of a Coastguard galley and crew of six men. A fund was set up locally to provide a lifeboat for the town. A total of £81 was raised and a boat built.
Since then there has been:
Victoria - 1858 - 1863 1 service - 4 lives saved
A lifeboat 1863 - 1867 1 service
Ellen Goodman - 1867 - 1880 3 services - 5 lives saved
Charles Arkcoll - 1880 - 1901 5 services
Charles Arkcoll - 1901 - 1931 25 services - 28 lives saved
Cyril and Lilian Bishop - 1931- 1950 99 services - 34 lives saved
M.T.C 1950 - 1963 107 services - 28 lives saved
Fairlight - 1964-1988 212 services - 144 lives saved
Temporary lifeboats 1950 to date 71 services 20 lives saved
Sealink Endeavour 1989 to date 191 services 36 lives saved
D class ILB 1964 to date 875 services - 214 lives saved
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This page last updated: 12/11/2003