Sidmouth Lifeboat is a charity that provides lifeboat and lifeguard services, and is located at The Esplanade in Sidmouth, a town approximately 15 metres (49 ft) east of Exeter, on the Jurassic Coast of Devon, England.
A lifeboat station was established at Sidmouth in 1869 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), operating until its closure in 1912.
A new Independent Lifeboat station was established in 1968, and since 2019, its principal lifeboat has been an Arctic 24 RIB named Peter & Barbara Truesdale.
History
The RNLI had established stations at Lyme Regis in 1853 and at Exmouth in 1858. In 1869, Sidmouth RNLI Lifeboat Station was opened, to cover the coast between the two locations. A boathouse was built at the end of Ham Lane, which housed two lifeboats at different times.[1][2][3]
The Sidmouth RNLI lifeboat saved 38 lives, but by 1912 it was seldom called out and the station was closed. The boathouse was later demolished but a stone carved with the initials 'RNLBI' was saved and is now over a doorway of the building that stands on the site.[3]
For further information, please see
Independent service
Students at a local secondary school set up a beach lifesaving organisation in 1968 and a rigid inflatable lifeboat was purchased in 1972. The organisation was accredited with the Coastguard as a rescue facility in 1982. A new boathouse was built on The Esplanade when it obtained a new lifeboat in 1991.[3] The lifeboat covers Lyme Bay between Budleigh Salterton and Axmouth.[4]
Sidmouth independent lifeboats
| No. | Name | At Sidmouth | Class | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972–1981 | Atlantic 16 | [3] | ||
| Spirit of Sidmouth | 1981–1998 | Humber | [3] | |
| Sidmouth Herald | 1998–2004 | Atlantic 21 | Purchased from the RNLI, Operational Number B-577.[3] | |
| SID-07 | Pride of Sidmouth | 2004–2019 | Arctic 24 | [3] |
| Speedy Sid | MilproAvon Sea Rider | [5] | ||
| SID-08 | Peter & Barbara Truesdale | 2019– | Arctic 24 | [5] |
The Arctic 24 lifeboats are 7.66 m (25.1 ft) long and can carry 4 crew with 8 survivors. Sidmouth Lifeboat also operates a 4.2 m (14 ft) MilproAvon Sea Rider boat which is known as Speedy Sid.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2025). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2025. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society. p. 119.
- ^ "Additional Stations and New Life-Boats". Life-Boat. 7 (75): 301. 1870.
- ^ a b c d e f g Leach, Nicholas (2009). Devon's Lifeboat Heritage. Twelveheads Press. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-0-906294-72-7.
- ^ "Sidmouth Lifeboat". Sidmouth Lifeboat. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ a b c "Meet the fleet". Sidmouth Lifeboat. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
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