Dunbar Lifeboat
Encyclopedia
Dunbar Lifeboat Station is a lifeboat
station located in Dunbar
on the South East coast of Scotland
, operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution
. Dunbar Lifeboat Station currently operates a 'Trent' Class All Weather Lifeboat and a 'D' Class Inshore Lifeboat. The current coxswain is Gary Fairbairn.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the British Isles
, as well as inshore. It was founded on 4 March 1824 as the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, adopting the present name in 1854. It now operates as an international service to the peoples of the UK and Ireland and has official charity status in each nation. The RNLI operates 444 lifeboats (332 are on station, 112 are in the relief fleet), from 235 lifeboat
stations around the coasts of Great Britain
, Ireland
, the Isle of Man
and the Channel Islands
. Since 1980, lifeboat rescues have doubled. The RNLI's lifeboats rescued an average of 21 people a day in 2008. RNLI lifeboats launched 8,293 times in 2008, rescuing 7,612 people. RNLI lifeguards placed on selected beaches around the South West, South, East and North of England as well as South Wales, aided 11,027 people. They saved 288 lives in 2008 alone, meaning the total figure indicating the number of lives saved by the RNLI since 1824 is 137,000. The RNLI Operations department defines 'rescues' and 'lives saved' differently.
The yacht was reported to have suffered two knockdowns and the skipper was finding it difficult to cope with the extreme weather conditions. The two people on board were drifting at speeds of up to 5 knots towards the north side of the Firth of Forth.
With the crew in their seats, the lifeboat soon cleared the breakwaters and made best speed towards the yacht.
However, further offshore several breaking seas hit the lifeboat as the swell became larger and the wind increased to a severe gale force 9. At one point, the lifeboat fell 10m from the crest of a wave. Soon afterwards, another huge wave knocked her on her side, but she was able to self right.
The lifeboat reached the yacht at 7.45pm and it was quickly decided that the skipper and his wife should be evacuated to the lifeboat. As there was no liferaft aboard, Coxswain Fairbairn would have the difficult task of getting alongside the small yacht in 10m seas. On the second approach, the lifeboat crew were able to grab the woman and pull her aboard the lifeboat. On the third approach alongside Ouhm the man was pulled from the deck and over the guardrails of the lifeboat. The couple were then taken to the safety of the wheelhouse and then back to dry land, the yacht having been abandoned.
RNLI Divisional Inspector for Scotland, Wave Crookes, says: ‘The RNLI is proud to recognise this service, which was carried out in the finest traditions of the Institution. Ouhm had already suffered two full knockdowns before the lifeboat arrived and I know the crew felt the couple’s lives were in grave danger. The woman said she “felt she was already saved” when she saw the lifeboat arrive alongside and the crew reaching down to pull her on board.
‘The coxswain demonstrated exemplary leadership and the whole crew showed extreme courage throughout the service. The conditions during the passage to the casualty were extreme but at no stage did the crew consider giving up, even when the lifeboat sustained damage and equipment broke loose. Coxswain Fairbairn’s boat handling was exemplary and neither the lifeboat nor the casualty suffered any damage while the casualties were evacuated. Dunbar Coxswain Gary Fairbairn is to be awarded the RNLI’s Bronze Medal for Gallantry for his part in saving a couple from their yacht in a severe gale on 15 May.
Coxswain Fairbairn’s crew on that night – Mechanic Kenny Peters and Crew Members Stuart Pirie, Kevin Keillor, Brian Cleator and John Watt – will each receive Medal Service Certificates.’
'Sir Ronald Pechell BT' was a Trent class all weather lifeboat that operated at Dunbar from 1995 to 2008. During the Easter weekend of 2008 the lifeboat was damaged beyond economic repair after her moorings snapped during severe storms. The Sir Ronald Pechell Bt, valued at £208K in 2008, cost £1.05M to build in 1995 and in her 13 years of service at Dunbar had launched 206 times and rescued 171 people. The lifeboat, John Neville Taylor, from the charity’s relief fleet has been allocated to the town permanently.
Framed Letters of Thanks 5
Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum 2
Bronze Medal 1
Silver Medal 4
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
station located in Dunbar
Dunbar
Dunbar is a town in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English Border at Berwick-upon-Tweed....
on the South East coast of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
. Dunbar Lifeboat Station currently operates a 'Trent' Class All Weather Lifeboat and a 'D' Class Inshore Lifeboat. The current coxswain is Gary Fairbairn.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
, as well as inshore. It was founded on 4 March 1824 as the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, adopting the present name in 1854. It now operates as an international service to the peoples of the UK and Ireland and has official charity status in each nation. The RNLI operates 444 lifeboats (332 are on station, 112 are in the relief fleet), from 235 lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
stations around the coasts of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
and the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
. Since 1980, lifeboat rescues have doubled. The RNLI's lifeboats rescued an average of 21 people a day in 2008. RNLI lifeboats launched 8,293 times in 2008, rescuing 7,612 people. RNLI lifeguards placed on selected beaches around the South West, South, East and North of England as well as South Wales, aided 11,027 people. They saved 288 lives in 2008 alone, meaning the total figure indicating the number of lives saved by the RNLI since 1824 is 137,000. The RNLI Operations department defines 'rescues' and 'lives saved' differently.
Previous Dunbar lifeboats
- 1808–1821 Original Lifeboat
- 1865–1893 Wallace
- 1893–1901 Sarah Pickard
- 1901–1931 William Arthur Millward
- 1907–1943 Sarah Kay (Skateraw)
- 1931–1959 George and Sarah Strachan
- 1959–1986 Margaret
- 1986–1988 Joseph Soar (Temporary Lifeboat)
- 1988–1993 Hugh William, Viscount Gough (Temporary Lifeboat)
- 1993–1995 Thomas James King (Temporary Lifeboat)
- 1995–2008 Sir Ronald Pechell, Bt
- 2008–Present John Neville Taylor
Important dates in the history of Dunbar Lifeboat Station
- 1808 The first lifeboat was sent to the station.
- 1810 The lifeboat saved 45 men from HMS PallasHMS PallasSeven ships of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy have been called HMS Pallas. There are several figures called Pallas in Greek Mythology.* The first Pallas was a 36 gun fifth rate launched at Deptford in 1757 and run aground in 1783....
in two trips and, in attempting a third, was ‘upset and drowned nearly all’. - 1821 The lifeboat was sold and the lifeboat station closed.
- 1827 A Silver Medal and £3 was awarded to Coastguard Randal Stap for wading through heavy surf and bringing ashore the master of the wrecked sloop Brothers.
- 1852 January: a Silver Medal was awarded to Coastguard James Brown for rescuing the master and one of the crew from the schooner Susan.
- February: a Silver Medal was awarded to Robert Turnbull, a fisherman, for rescuing two people when the fishing yawl William and James was wrecked.
- 1864 A new lifeboat station was established by the RNLI and a boathouse was built costing £165.
- 1877 On 13 October the lifeboat capsized whilst on exercise with the loss of two of her crew, Clements and Robert Harkis.
- 1901 The existing lifeboat house was demolished and a new one built at a cost of £633.
- 1905 A Silver Medal was awarded to Coxswain Walter Fairbairn for the rescue of six from the steamship King Ja Ja.
- 1907 A second lifeboat station was opened at Skateraw, south of Dunbar, and manned by crew from Dunbar.
- 1909 The last horse-drawn launch was carried out.
- 1930 A Centenary Vellum was awarded.
- 1931 The lifeboat was placed afloat at moorings. The boathouse was then used as a gear store and crew room.
- 1944 The second lifeboat was withdrawn and the station at Skateraw closed.
- 1953 Second Coxswain R Brunton was awarded a Royal Humane Society’s testimonial on parchment for rescuing a boy who had fallen over the cliffs.
- 1958 A 150th anniversary commemorative Vellum was awarded.
- 1968 An inshore lifeboat station was established with a D class lifeboat.
- 1970 A Bronze Medal was awarded to David Brunton who dived into the sea from the lifeboat to rescue an injured man in the water. The Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum was awarded to Jonathan Alston and Framed Letters of Thanks were awarded to the remaining five crew members.
- 1991 The Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum was awarded to Coxswain Robert Wight when the lifeboat Hugh William Viscount Gough searched for divers in difficulty between St Abbs and Eyemouth in hurricane seas.
- 1993 A low-water mooring berth was provided at Torness Harbour, south of Dunbar. The lifeboat is kept here when crossing the harbour entrance at Dunbar is not possible. A Waveney class all weather lifeboat arrived at the station.
- 1995 The Waveney class lifeboat was withdrawn and replaced by the Trent class lifeboat Sir Ronald Pechell Bt.
- 1996 Improved crew facilities and housing for the D class lifeboat and launching vehicle were built.
- 1999 A new D class lifeboat The Hastings was placed on service.
- 2007 The Trustees voted that the station be awarded a Vellum in 2008 to commemorate its 200th anniversary.
Notable services
Yacht Ouhm 20 July 2009 In a force 8 gale and very rough seas, with swells of up to 7m, the skipper of the 8m Swedish yacht Ouhm issued a Pan-Pan call, which was picked up by Forth Coastguard. The request to launch the RNLI Dunbar lifeboat soon followed and the crew put to sea at 5.30pm and headed for a position 37 miles north east of the station.The yacht was reported to have suffered two knockdowns and the skipper was finding it difficult to cope with the extreme weather conditions. The two people on board were drifting at speeds of up to 5 knots towards the north side of the Firth of Forth.
With the crew in their seats, the lifeboat soon cleared the breakwaters and made best speed towards the yacht.
However, further offshore several breaking seas hit the lifeboat as the swell became larger and the wind increased to a severe gale force 9. At one point, the lifeboat fell 10m from the crest of a wave. Soon afterwards, another huge wave knocked her on her side, but she was able to self right.
The lifeboat reached the yacht at 7.45pm and it was quickly decided that the skipper and his wife should be evacuated to the lifeboat. As there was no liferaft aboard, Coxswain Fairbairn would have the difficult task of getting alongside the small yacht in 10m seas. On the second approach, the lifeboat crew were able to grab the woman and pull her aboard the lifeboat. On the third approach alongside Ouhm the man was pulled from the deck and over the guardrails of the lifeboat. The couple were then taken to the safety of the wheelhouse and then back to dry land, the yacht having been abandoned.
RNLI Divisional Inspector for Scotland, Wave Crookes, says: ‘The RNLI is proud to recognise this service, which was carried out in the finest traditions of the Institution. Ouhm had already suffered two full knockdowns before the lifeboat arrived and I know the crew felt the couple’s lives were in grave danger. The woman said she “felt she was already saved” when she saw the lifeboat arrive alongside and the crew reaching down to pull her on board.
‘The coxswain demonstrated exemplary leadership and the whole crew showed extreme courage throughout the service. The conditions during the passage to the casualty were extreme but at no stage did the crew consider giving up, even when the lifeboat sustained damage and equipment broke loose. Coxswain Fairbairn’s boat handling was exemplary and neither the lifeboat nor the casualty suffered any damage while the casualties were evacuated. Dunbar Coxswain Gary Fairbairn is to be awarded the RNLI’s Bronze Medal for Gallantry for his part in saving a couple from their yacht in a severe gale on 15 May.
Coxswain Fairbairn’s crew on that night – Mechanic Kenny Peters and Crew Members Stuart Pirie, Kevin Keillor, Brian Cleator and John Watt – will each receive Medal Service Certificates.’
Sir Ronald Pechell BT
Station honours
At Dunbar lifeboat station the following awards have been made:Framed Letters of Thanks 5
Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum 2
Bronze Medal 1
Silver Medal 4