| 1867 |
City of Worcester
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The
first Bembridge Lifeboat was the "City of
Worcester", paid for by the citizens of that city
following the publicity surrounding a spectacular rescue
carried out by local fishermen. The Norwegian barque
"Egbert", loaded with barley, had run aground
on the Bembridge Ledge in a strong easterly gale. The
crew were in grave danger, as the ship was breaking up. A
party of volunteers set off in an open boat belonging to
the War Office and rescued the whole crew. The
"City of Worcester" was a self-righting boat
some 32 feet in length, with seven and a half feet beam.
She was worked by ten oars in two banks, she also had a
lug sail. The boat was launched from the beach on a four
wheeled carriage.
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1887
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Queen Victoria
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The
second boat arrived at Bembridge on 20th
July 1887 and was named at a launching ceremony on the 28th
by HRH the Duchess of Edinburgh. The boat was named in
honour of Her Majesty on the occasion of her Silver
Jubilee. The Queen had been asked to choose a place for a
new boat to be stationed and she selected Bembridge.
The 35 foot "Queen Victoria" was sold out of
service in 1902 to a crew member who converted her to a
houseboat in Bembridge Harbour, and renamed her "The
Ark".
The "Queen
Victoria" has been fully
restored and can be seen at various fund raising events.
The "Queen Victoria" has the double distinction
of being the first houseboat in Bembridge harbour and the
oldest surviving RNLI lifeboat in Britain.
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1902
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Queen Victoria II
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The
second Queen Victoria became Bembridge's third lifeboat
in 1902, she was slightly larger than her namesake, but
still powered by oars and sail.
In February 1916 an Isle of Man paddle steamer the
"Empress Queen", which was being used as a
troopship with 110 men on board, ran aground on Bembridge
Ledge in thick fog. It took four trips by the lifeboat in
a considerable breaking swell to rescue all the men on
board, as well as a cat and a dog. Part of the wreck of
the "Empress Queen"
can still be seen from the shore at Forelands at low
tide.
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1922
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Langham
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The
RNLI introduced a powered lifeboat at Bembridge in 1922.
The 40 foot, single-screw self righting boat was named
"Langham" after the gentleman whose legacy paid
for the boat. This boat could not be launched from the
shore so a 250 yard long pier and boathouse was built to
accommodate her. She was launched on numerous occasions
over the next seventeen years saving no less than 40
lives. The "Langham" is waiting to be restored
by the Classic Boat Museum.
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1939
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Jesse Lumb
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Shortly
before the outbreak of World War 2 the RNLI placed a
larger and more powerful lifeboat on station at
Bembridge. The twin-screw Watson type boat was named
"Jesse Lumb" by Miss A.L. Lumb in memory of her
brother on 21st July 1939. Her 40 horsepower
diesel engines were designed to work under water and gave
her a top speed of 8.5 knots. During the 1940's she saved
some 138 persons, many during wartime conditions. Her
service at Bembridge ended in 1970, but she spent many
years in the relief fleet. The "Jesse Lumb" can
be seen at the Air Museum at Duxford in a display
dedicated to wartime air-sea rescue.
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1970
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Jack Shayler and the Lees
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The
Solent class "Jack Shayler and the Lees"
arrived on station in 1970 and was the first Bembridge
Lifeboat constructed of steel and the first to be totally
enclosed. She was faster and more comfortable than her
predecessor, and was equipped with more modern electronic
equipment.
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1987
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Max
Aitken III
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The
"Max Aikten III",
the present Bembridge All Weather Lifeboat, was named
after the newspaper magnate. She is a 47 foot steel
hulled Tyne class lifeboat. She is again faster and more
seaworthy than her predecessors, and is the largest class
of boat in the RNLI fleet that can be accommodated in the
present boathouse.
The Max Aitken III's Operational Number (ON) is 47-018.
This means she is "Class" 47 i.e. 47ft long,
the 18th of her class, the leading 0 indicates a steel
hull.
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The Future
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A prototype of the new fast
slipway launched boat visited
Bembridge towards the end of April 2003. The boathouse is
due to be rebuilt to accommodate this larger replacement
for the Tyne class in the near future. |
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Criddy and Tom
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The
Bembridge Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) "Criddy and Tom" is a
D-class rigid inflatable (RIB). She complements the Max
Aitken on the Bembridge station, where we have a variety
of sea and coastal conditions to cope with.
Criddy and Tom's ON is D-503, she arrived on station
during June 1996.
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