RNLI Jersey celebrates 50 years at St Catherine's

RNLI Jersey is celebrating St Catherine's Lifeboat Station's 50th anniversary this weekend with a party for crew members from the St Catherine's and St Helier lifeboat stations and their families.

A station was first opened at St Catherine's on 7 October 1969 on the north side of Gibraltar Rock, where a small D Class lifeboat was stationed in an old German war tunnel. In the following 50 years, the station has moved twice and seen 5 different lifeboats permanently deployed (plus the various relief boats, which have visited while the lifeboats were being serviced).

There have been a number of memorable rescues for the crew at St Catherine's including a very challenging search and rescue for two missing surfers on New Year's Day in 1994 and the joint service to rescue the passengers and crew from the St Malo ferry which hit rocks near Corbiere in 1995.

More recently the station has featured in BBC 2's Saving Lives at Sea with the rescue of an outrigger canoe in challenging conditions in December 2018.

The past 50 years have seen huge changes in the technology and design of the boats and the personal safety equipment worn by the crew. The "D" class inflatable Lifeboat, which had a single engine, was operational in summer months only, and was launched by the crew pushing the boat down the nearby slipway on a trailer. St Catherine's now operates a 'B' class Atlantic 85 lifeboat, with twin engines, radar, VHF direction-finding equipment and a righting mechanism in the event of capsize. The 1.8 tonne lifeboat is now launched from a trailer which is pushed down the beach by a tractor specifically designed to deal with the tidal range and soft shingle of St Catherine's Bay.

Note to Editors

The attached photos show
- the 'C' class lifeboat on the slip at St Catherine's Breakwater. The lifeboat was on station from April 1984 to October 1990.
- the current 'B' class Atlantic 85 being launched from the trailer.

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.