St Davids Lifeboat Station project

What’s needed:

A new Tamar class boathouse and slipway

For:

St Davids Lifeboat Station

When

Planned for completion in 2016

Here’s why…

We’re committed to providing safety cover for the waters off the rugged coastline of south-west Pembrokeshire and extending into the mid St George’s Channel.

As such, St Davids RNLI is presently in an unusual position of operating two all-weather lifeboats simultaneously.

The station’s much-loved Tyne class lifeboat, Garside 47-026, which was allocated to the station in 1988, is approaching retirement and due to be replaced by one that is faster, better equipped and safer for our volunteer crews.

Funded by the generous bequest of Mrs Diane Mary Symon, the new Tamar class lifeboat named Norah Wortley 16-26, is now the station’s primary lifeboat but is being kept on a mooring until the station’s new boathouse and slipway are built.

When weather conditions dictate that the Tamar needs to be moved from her vulnerable mooring position, the Tyne class becomes the lifeboat on service.

Improving sea safety and conditions for the crew

The current lifeboat station at St Davids was built in 1912 and is a simple, yet extremely versatile, building clad in corrugated steel.

At over 100 years old, the station cannot sustain the extensions needed to accommodate the larger Tamar lifeboat. And lack of space means the station’s inshore D class lifeboat, Myrtle and Trevor Gurr D-704, has to be housed separately.

We owe it to the crew to have a new modern boathouse that provides the facilities they deserve.

Michael Phillips

Crew Member and Mechanic, St Davids RNLI

A new purpose-built Tamar class lifeboat station and slipway will not only protect, house and launch the lifeboat, but will transform the current conditions for the crew, who give so much in order to save lives at sea.

The station project will bring the all-weather and inshore lifeboats under one roof and will provide modern crew changing facilities, including a drying room for kit and a hot shower for after those long, tiring shouts.

The new lifeboat station is being built just metres away from the current station. Construction started in July 2014 and is expected to be completed in 2016.

What a new station means to the crew and community

Michael Phillips has worked as full time mechanic at St Davids for over 15 years.

He first volunteered as a crew member with some of his classmates over 20 years ago after their former Physics teacher, who was head launcher at the station, encouraged them to join.

A long time coming

Speaking about what the new Tamar class lifeboat station and slipway will mean to the crew, Michael said:

The station couldn’t exist without the volunteers. Without their commitment we couldn’t do our job and save lives at sea.

That’s why we owe it to the crew to have a new modern boathouse that provides the facilities they deserve.

The new boathouse is a long time coming. All of the crew are looking forward to it; they are literally chomping at the bit. It will be a massive improvement for us.’ 

How you can help

With 94% of our total income coming from generous donations and legacies, we depend on our dedicated volunteers and supporters to continue saving lives at sea.

The fundraising never stops. Our lifeboat crews have a team of fundraising volunteers behind them, all working tirelessly to raise essential lifesaving funds for their stations and lifeboats to keep their communities as safe as possible.

If you’d like to support them and help fund our search and rescue service, including lifeboat station projects such as this one, please donate today.