Harwich Lifeboat station is one of the busiest in Britain and is just one of the 230 RNLI stations based about Britain 's coast. The RNLI is a charity that provides a 24-hour lifesaving service around the UK and Republic of Ireland . The RNLI operates solely from public donations and the crews & supporters are all volunteers.
The Harwich lifeboat station is located on the busy and historic England 's east coast, situated at the mouth of the River Stour & Orwell and opposite is Felixstowe the largest commercial port in the UK . The Harbour and surrounding area is very popular with the increasing leisure industry, from yachting, power-boating, jet skiers and popular tourist's beaches. Harwich has a lifeboat history dating from 1876 and has been home to the first steam lifeboat "Duke of Northumberland” in 1890 and in 1996 the first Severn class lifeboat to be stationed in England was at Harwich.
Today there are two lifeboats stationed at Harwich the off-shore Severn class lifeboat “Albert Brown” and the inshore Atlantic 75 lifeboat “Sure and Steadfast”. In 2002 saw the completion of a new boathouse that provides crew training facilities, houses the in-shore lifeboat, public viewing area and souvenir shop. The two lifeboats cover area from Walton-on-the-Naze to Aldeburgh and 50 miles off-shore, this includes the various different rivers such as the Deben, Ore and Walton-back-waters. This all leads to a very busy lifeboat station with an average of 100 services every year, this keeps the crews and lifeboats very busy.
This web site will provide you a better understanding of the latest services, history, activities and information about the work accomplished at the Harwich Lifeboat Station .
Station News
19/05/2013 - Sea Festival Timings Announced
With the Harwich Sea Festival just over two months away, the preparations for the event are continuing and we can now confirm some of the timings of various attractions. Some of the timings may change between now and the event but we will try and keep this website updated with any changes that come along. Also, it must be noted that some of the attractions are subject to operational requirements.
10.30am - James Stevens No14 commences trips from the Lifeboat pontoon.
11.00am - Pipe band and dignitaries open the event. The Lifeboat Station, the Rolls Royce static display and all Stalls will open at this point.
12.00pm - RNLI Beach Lifeguard display off Ha'Penny Pier.
12.30pm - Regatta Starts.
3.00pm - Regatta Ends.
3.30pm - Lifeboat Station closes in preparation for Air, Sea, Rescue display.
4.00pm - Air, Sea, Rescue display with RAF Sea King Helicopter and the Harwich RNLI Lifeboats.
4.30pm-5.00pm - End of Events.
Latest Service
ILB - 09/06/2013 0855-1035
At 8.55am on Sunday 9th June, the Inshore Lifeboat was launched to assist a broken down speedboat.
The Inshore Lifeboat was quickly on scene at Stone Point and established a tow. The vessel was towed to the safety of Titchmarsh Marina where repairs could be carried out.
By 10.35am, the Lifeboat had returned to station and was refuelled and made ready for service.
Station History
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Stories
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