Life Boats

WIZZO · Nov 29, 2014

All around the coastline of Britain are Life Boat stations. This one at St Justinians near St Davids in southwest Wales is typical of the style of building with a ramp to launch the life boat.

The boats are released and slide down the slipway with their engines running for quick response to emergencies. They are winches back inside the building on their return.

Bret4207 · Nov 29, 2014

And they aren't kept in the water...why? I'm pretty landlocked here. Seems it would be easier and less expensive to keep them int he water unless they freeze in or something.

Wile E · Nov 29, 2014

Just wondering. What do you need life boats for if you are on the mainland? You say quick response for emergencies....is it for rescuing people at sea? Kinda like the US coast guard.?

WIZZO · Nov 29, 2014

They can be maintained inside a warm dry building. The crew are on board as it starts to slide down the slipway, engines running for immediate power as it hits the water. Plus they can launch in almost any extreme weather & tide conditions.

In some areas the modern life boats are too large to fit inside the older buildings, and they are left just off shore in calm and protected harbours.

They are there as rapid response to boats in trouble at sea. The Royal National Life Boat Institute is a public funded body - ALL money is raised by donations by the public, NO government grant nor support. All the crew members are volunteers with full time jobs locally. The alarm is raised and they drive at speed to launch the life boat. Several 100 lives are saved every year by them.

We have the Coast Guard here, patrolling the coastline in larger boats, mainly to check out ocean going boats and smugglers of illegal drugs & immigrants into remote bays.

MarkB_MI · Nov 29, 2014

> Seems it would be easier and less expensive to keep them int he water unless they freeze in or something.

One word: barnacles.

Keeping a boat in salt water means a LOT more maintenance than if it is in dry storage. You need to haul it out at least once a year to scrape and paint the hull.

Looking at that coastline, I'd say there's another reason they're kept out of the water: That's no protected harbor; it looks like an unforgiving coastline and I'll bet it gets pretty tough to keep a boat docked when the weather gets rough. Putting the boat well above the waves and launching it down a railway means it's unaffected by the weather and can be launched in the roughest seas. A life boat you can't use in bad weather is pretty much useless.

Brendon Warren · Nov 29, 2014

There was a question about Wales on Jeopardy last
night. The answer was Cardigan Bay. This isn't it is
it?

WIZZO · Nov 29, 2014

(quoted from post at 08:39:28 11/29/14) There was a question about Wales on Jeopardy last
night. The answer was Cardigan Bay. This isn't it is
it?

Cardigan Bay is the area from Aberdaron on northern tip down to St Davids Head on southern tip.

The life boat station is located at St Davids.

My area is above Fishguard & Newport running north up the coast to Cardigan

Dave H (MI) · Nov 29, 2014

If you ever get in the vicinity of Sleeping Bear National Lake Shore there is a building that is similar but built right at water level and up the beach a ways. It is at the old coast guard station and has the remains of tracks that ran down to the water. I think they must have pulled the boat with ropes. Haven't taken the tour in a long while but I end my annual long hike along the lake shore there each year, starting at Empire. It is an interesting place. Scenic like your photos but in a different way.

sd pete · Nov 29, 2014

That would be a fun ride.

Life Boats

WIZZO

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Bret4207

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Wile E

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WIZZO

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MarkB_MI

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Brendon Warren

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WIZZO

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Dave H (MI)

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sd pete

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