Calshot Lifeboat Station Explained

Calshot Lifeboat Station
Image Alt:white double building with dark grey roofs beside a tall brown tower
Map Type:Hampshire
Pushpin Relief:1
Location:Calshot Activity Centre, Calshot, Hampshire, SO45 1BR
Location Country:England
Coordinates:50.8202°N -1.3084°W
Building Type:RNLI lifeboat station
Material:Masonry, brick, on concrete stanchions
Opened Date:1970
Owner: Royal National Lifeboat Institution

Calshot Lifeboat Station[1] [2] is located on Calshot Spit[3] near the village of Calshot, Hampshire,[4] and is on the southern bank of the open end of Southampton Water, on the south coast of England. The station is owned and operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and operates two inshore lifeboats: an and a .

History

Until its closure in 1961, Calshot Spit had been the site of Royal Air Force station RAF Calshot, which was the primary seaplane/flying boat development and training unit in the United Kingdom.[5] After the departure of the RAF, Hampshire County Council opened an educational activities centre on the site, which was The centre was constantly being asked by HM Coastguard to use its boats to go out and rescue people in trouble off shore. The administrators of the centre decided that they would contact the RNLI with a view to there being a more formalised rescue service for this busy stretch of water. The RNLI spent a year evaluating this proposition and as a result opened a lifeboat station on the site in 1970.

1960–1985: early lifeboats

The first lifeboat to be stationed at Calshot was a 40feet Keith Nelson-type lifeboat made of fibreglass or glass-reinforced plastic. She was called Ernest William and Elizabeth Ellen Hinde (ON 1017) and had the operation number of 40-001.[6] [7] Although lacking in self-righting capability, she was viewed as a successful experiment in the use of fibreglass for lifeboats. She cost £24,559 .

In the evening of 10 January 1976, during gale force 8 to 9 winds and a choppy sea the lifeboat Ernest Williams was called to help a small motorboat which had been driven ashore on salt marsh in the Ashlett Creek channel.[8] As the water was too shallow for the lifeboat, the crew of the Ernest Williams waded through the marshes, dragging the lifeboat's inflatable boarding boat while they looked for the vessel. Eventually the vessel's three crewmen were located and rescued. The Calshot crew were awarded RNLI Bronze Medals for the difficult rescue.

The second lifeboat at the station was the lifeboat Safeway (ON 1104), which was moored just off Calshot Castle.[9] [10] The crew used a davit-launched boarding boat when called out on service. Safeway, which was funded by and named for the Safeway supermarket chain, was built by Lochin Marine at Newhaven, East Sussex in 1985.[11] Like the Ernest William she had a fibreglass hull but was self-righting due to her watertight cabin.

1996–2007: new facilities and lifeboats

In 1996, the RNLI funded the construction of new shore facilities for Calshot Station, constructed on concrete stanchions to prevent flooding. Hampshire County Council provided a new boarding jetty for use jointly by the lifeboat station and the Calsholt Activity Centre.[12] The Safeway was withdrawn from service in December 2001 and replaced by the former Poole-based Brede Inner Wheel, which was itself replaced after only a few months by the lifeboat Margaret Russell Fraser (ON 1108).[13] Margaret Russell Fraser had come across the Solent from Yarmouth Lifeboat Station on the Isle of Wight, where she had been a part of RNLI's relief fleet. She arrived in 2002 and was replaced in 2004 by another Arun-class, the Mabel Williams (ON 1159.[14]

In 2003 the station was given its first inshore lifeboat from the relief fleet. She was called Marlborough Club (D-407). 2003 also saw improvements made to the station facilities. At the cost of £266,424 an extension was added to the side of the station.[15] Arun-class lifeboats were withdrawn from service in 2007. The Mabel Williams was replaced by the Sarah Emily Harrop (ON 1155), which was moved to the relief fleet in January 2010 and replaced by the Tyne-class Alexander Coutanche (ON 1157).

2012–present: reorganisation

In 2012, the Calshot board of trustees decided that Calshot would cease to be an all-weather station; consequently the Tyne-class lifeboat was withdrawn on 4 April. In its place an inshore lifeboat was sent to the station, necessitating improved facilities had been made at the station to accommodate the new lifeboat and its required launch tractor, a new lifeboat arrived and the Alexander Coutanche was withdrawn. On 11 July the new Max Walls (B-860)[16] was placed on the station along with a new New Holland Launch tractor and the Calsholt was officially re-designated as an inshore lifeboat station.

Station honours

The following are awards made at Calshot[17]

Peter King, Emergency Mechanic - 1976

John Street, crew member - 1976

Christopher Smith, crew member - 1976

Duncan Christie, Helmsman - 2001

Andy Headley - 2023

Kelley Leonard - 2023

Damian Lester - 2023

Chris McDonald - 2023[18]

John Horton - 2020[19] [20]

Calshot lifeboats

'ON' is the official number used in RNLI records from 1884.
'Op. No.' is the operational number displayed on the boat.

All-weather lifeboats

[21] ONNameClassclass=unsortableComments
1970–1985101740-001Ernest William & Elizabeth Ellen Hinde
1985–2001110433-11Safeway
2001–2002108933-07Inner Wheel
2002–2004110852-34Margaret Russell Fraser
2004–2007115952-45Mabel Williams
2007–2010115547-037Sarah Emily Harrop
2010–2012115747-039Alexander CoutancheAll-weather lifeboats withdrawn from Calshot in 2012.

Inshore lifeboats

NameClassModelclass=unsortableComments
RJMDEA16
2002–2003D-418(no name)DEA16
2003D-407The Marlborough Club, DidcotDEA16
2003–2011D-609248 Squadron RAFDIB1
2011–2023D-748WillettDIB1
2012–B-860Max WallsB
2023–D-880David RadcliffeDIB1

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Home Page of the Calshot Lifeboat Station. RNLI Calshot Lifeboat Home Page. Calshot Lifeboat Station. 2 April 2014.
  2. Web site: Calshot Lifeboat Station – RNLI website . Home page of the Calshot station. RNLI © 2014. 31 March 2014.
  3. Web site: Zone 8: Calshot Spit . February 2004 . nfdc.gov.uk . New Forest District Council . 7 April 2014.
  4. OS Explorer Map, New Forest, Author: Ordnance Survey. Publisher: Ordnance Survey B4 edition (2013).
  5. Web site: RAF Calshot - Air of Authority, A History of RAF Organisation. Details and History of RAF Calshot. courtesy of Steve Clements. 2 April 2014.
  6. Web site: Welcome to the NBOC website. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140407081120/http://nelsonboatownersclub.co.uk/index.php#. 7 April 2014. Home Page of the Nelson Boat Owners Club. Copyright © 2010 Nelson Boat Owners Club. 2 April 2014. dmy-all.
  7. Never Turn Back – the RNLI since the Second World War. Authors: Kipling, Ray & Susannah. Publisher: Sutton Publishing. 2006 edition. Work: Chapter – Designed for Danger, Page 86, Reference to the name and construction of Ernest William and Elizabeth Ellen Hyde.
  8. Lifeboat Gallantry - RNLI Medals and how they were won. Author: Cox, Barry. Publisher:Spink & son Ltd and the RNLI, 1998. Work:KING Peter James, SMITH Christopher James, STREET John Anthony, Calshot Lifeboat: Page 357.
  9. For Those In Peril – The Lifeboat Service of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, Station by Station. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher: Silver Link Publishing Ltd, First Issue 1999. Work:Part 2, South Coast of England – Eastbourne to Weston-super-Mare, Page 80, Calshot station.
  10. Web site: 33 Foot Brede-class. List of Foot Brede-class lifeboats, includes Safeway ON 1104. Lifeboat World On-Line© 2014. 17 March 2014.
  11. Web site: Home Page - Lochin Boatyard Services. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140401120211/http://www.lochin.com/yard.htm. 1 April 2014. Details of the Boatbuilder and there services. All Contents © 2014 Lochin Marine International. 2 April 2014.
  12. Web site: Calshot Activities Centre. Home page of the Calshot Activities Centre. © Copyright Hampshire County Council 2014. 2 April 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140406230747/http://www3.hants.gov.uk/calshot.htm. 6 April 2014. dead.
  13. Arun Lifeboats – An illustrated history of the RNLI Arun lifeboats 1971 – 2009. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher: Kelsey Publishing Ltd. 2011. work: Page 104, Margaret Russell Fraser.
  14. Arun Lifeboats – An illustrated history of the RNLI Arun lifeboats 1971 – 2009. Author: Leach, Nicholas. Publisher: Kelsey Publishing Ltd. 2011. work: Page 126, RNLB Mable Williams (ON1159).
  15. Web site: History Section - Calshot Lifeboat Station website. RNLI Calshot Lifeboat Station History Tab. Calshot Lifeboat Station. 2 April 2014.
  16. Web site: Lifeboats online - B-class Atlantic 85 Production List.. List of Atlantic 85-class lifeboats, includes B-860. Lifeboat World On-Line© 2014. 7 April 2014.
  17. Web site: Calshot's station history . RNLI . 24 January 2024.
  18. News: Leonard . Justyn . Commendations for Calshot RNLI crew after jetski rescue . 24 January 2024 . RNLI . 3 June 2023.
  19. Web site: British Empire Medal (Civil Division) . The Gazette . 11 February 2024.
  20. News: Yandell . Chris . New Year Honours list: Hampshire residents who have been honoured . 26 January 2024 . Daily Echo . 27 Dec 2019.
  21. Book: Leonard . Richie . Denton . Tony . Lifeboat Enthusiasts Handbook 2024 . 2024 . Lifeboats Enthusiasts Society . 4–132.