Port Erin Lifeboat Station

Port Erin Lifeboat Station
Port Erin Lifeboat Station
Port Erin, Isle of Man
General information
Type	RNLI Lifeboat Station
Location	Breakwater Road
Town or city	Port Erin
Country	Isle of Man
Coordinates	54°05′06″N 004°46′06″W
Opened	1883
Owner	Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Port Erin Lifeboat Station is located in the town of Port Erin in the Isle of Man. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution opened a station here in 1883 following requests from local residents.

The station currently operates an B-class (Atlantic 85) inshore lifeboat, Muriel and Leslie (B-813), funded from the bequest of Mr Leslie Hartle.

History

At a meeting of the RNLI Management Committee on 7 September 1882, it was agreed to form a Lifeboat Station at Port Erin.

The first lifeboat arrived at Douglas, Isle of Man on the 8 August 1883, before being transported over the Island to Port Erin. She was named Ann and Mary of Manchester, a 32-foot 10-oared self-righting boat. A boathouse was constructed in 1884, opposite the Raglan Pier.

The Old Lifeboat House Port Erin

Ann and Mary of Manchester saw her first service in 1888 to the Lyra, wrecked in Port St Mary bay.

A new larger 37-foot 12-oared boat arrived in 1892, the William Sugden (ON 321) and to make launching easier, a slipway was constructed in 1900. The boat served Port Erin for 20 years, and saved 12 lives.

10 August 1925 saw the arrival of a 40-foot self-righting motor powered lifeboat on station, Ethel Day Cardwell (ON 647), previously on service at Tynemouth. This was the same year that a new boathouse was constructed along the breakwater road, a building still in use today. It is notable by its very steep 1:4 slipway, still regarded as the steepest incline of any RNLI lifeboat station.

The naming ceremony of the sixth lifeboat for Port Erin, a 37-foot Rother-class named Osman Gabriel after her donor, Major Osman Gabriel, was held on 4 August 1973. Between 1973 and 1992, she was launched 70 times, and saved 55 lives.

In 1990, a coastal review determined that a Mersey-class All-weather lifeboat would be placed at Peel, replacing their B-class (Atlantic 21), whilst Port Erin would receive an Atlantic 21 Inshore boat to replace their Rother-class All-weather lifeboat.

Port Erin now have the fastest lifeboat on the Isle of Man, an B-class (Atlantic 85), capable of nearly 40 miles per hour (64 km/h).

Notable rescues

Just after 6 am on the 9 September 1970, the Port Erin lifeboat Matthew Simpson (ON 823) was launched into a very rough sea in a SSW gale, to reports of the coaster Moonlight in difficulties, 5 miles (8 km) north of Chicken Rock. A life-raft located by aircraft was found to be empty. At 11 am, a second life-raft was spotted, and found to contain just two survivors from the Moonlight. The lifeboat returned to Port Erin at 1 pm. For this service, Coxswain Alfred Dennis Maddrell BEM was awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal.

Station honours

The following are awards made at Port Erin

• RNLI Bronze Medal

Alfred Dennis Maddrell BEM, Coxswain – 1970

• The Thanks of the Institution inscribed on Vellum

Peter Woodworth, Coxswain – 1978

• British Empire Medal

Alfred Dennis Maddrell, Coxswain – 1969

Port Erin lifeboats

All-weather lifeboats

ON	Op. No.	Name	In service	Class	Comments
–	–	Ann and Mary of Manchester	1883–1892	32-foot Self-righting (P&S)
321	–	William Sugden	1892–1912	37-foot Self-righting (P&S)
634	–	Henry Kirk	1912–1925	37-foot Self-righting (P&S)
647	–	Ethel Day Cardwell	1925–1939	40-foot Self-righting (motor)
823	–	Matthew Simpson	1939–1972	41ft Watson
998	32-27	Osman Gabriel	1973–1992	Rother

All-weather lifeboat withdrawn 1992

Inshore lifeboats

B-class

Op. No.	Name	In service	Class	Comments
B-515	Vee Webber	1992–1993	Atlantic 21
B-594	Herbert and Edith	1993–2006	Atlantic 21
B-813	Muriel and Leslie	2006–	Atlantic 85

See also

• List of RNLI stations
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats