Dart Lifeboat Station
History
Dartmouth is a small port on the west side of the natural harbour formed by the River Dart. In the 1860s the Dartmouth and Torbay Railway established more quays on the opposite bank at Kingswear. The RNLI approved that Dartmouth Lifeboat Station be established at Dartmouth in July 1876 but it was 1878 before a lifeboat arrived. During the summer the lifeboat was kept in a boat house at Sand Quay, but during the winter it was kept afloat in Warfleet Creek where it was quicker to respond to any ships in distress. It would prove difficult for the rowing lifeboat to leave the estuary of the Dart if the wind was blowing from the sea unless a tug was able to help. The station was closed in 1896 and during all that time just one effective service was provided. That was on 20 September 1887 when the crew attended a trawler near Kingswear Castle. The boat house is now used by the Dartmouth Amateur Rowing Club.
In 2007 a new lifeboat was sent to Dartmouth, although the new station was to be named the Dart Lifeboat Station after the river, rather than the town. A temporary building with five years planning agreement was erected in Coronation Park. The D-class lifeboat is kept on a carriage and is towed to the river for launching by a tractor; the B-class lifeboat is moored in a Drive-on Aquadock moored in the river.
Station honours
The following are awards made at Dartmouth:
Albert Medal awarded by Queen Victoria
- Mr Popplestone – 1866 (the first recipient of the award)
- Lt. William Lane, coastguard – 1838
- Lt. James Clayton, coastguard – 1842
- Mr William Kelland – 1893
Area of operation
The Dart ILB has a maximum speed of 25 knots (46 km/h) and can operate for three hours. It covers the River Dart and the nearby south Devon coast. Adjacent lifeboats – both ILBs and All Weather Boats – are at Torbay Lifeboat Station to the East, and Salcombe Lifeboat Station to the West.
Dartmouth and Dart lifeboats
.JPG)
Dartmouth (1878–1896)
| At Dartmouth | ON | Name | Built | Class | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1878–1887 | — | Maud Hargreaves | 1878 | Self-righter | 30 ft (9.1 m) boat. |
| 1887–1896 | 129 | Henry and Amanda Shaw | 1887 | Self-righter | 34 ft (10 m) lifeboat. |
Dart (from 2007)
| At Dart | Op. No. | Name | Class | Model | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–2008 | D-520 | Bob Savage | D | EA16 | |
| 2008 | D-523 | Peterborough Beer Festival 1 | D | EA16 | First stationed at Redcar in 1997. |
| 2008–2019 | D-702 | Spirit of the Dart | D | IB1 | |
| 2018–2020 | B-794 | Joan Bate | B | Atlantic 75 | First stationed at Salcombe, after 2020 it was at Weston-super-Mare. |
| 2019– | D-838 | Dudley Jane | D | IB1 | |
| 2020–2022 | B-825 | Norma Ethel Vinall | B | Atlantic 85 | Initially deployed in the relief fleet in 2008. |
| 2022– | B-931 | Frank C Samworth | B | Atlantic 85 |
See also
- List of RNLI stations
- Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats
- National Coastwatch Institution Froward Point, near Dartmouth
References
- ^ Potts, C R (1998). The Newton Abbot to Kingswear Railway (1844 - 1988). Oxford: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-387-7.
- ^ Leach, Nicholas (2009). Devon's Lifeboat Heritage. Chacewater: Twelveheads Press. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-0-906294-72-7.
- ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2024). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024. Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society. p. 115.
- ^ "Dartmouth station history". RNLI. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ^ Wake-Walker, Edward (2008). The Lifeboats Story. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-7509-4858-6.
- ^ Leonard, Richie; Denton, Tony (2021). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2021 (2021 ed.). Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society. pp. 2–18.
- ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 8–9.
- ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 81.
- ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 84.
- ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 69.
- ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, p. 86.
- ^ Leonard & Denton 2024, pp. 70–71.
External links
- Dart lifeboat station on the RNLI website
- Station website Archived 28 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine