Atlantic College Lifeboat Station

B-class development

Atlantic College was instrumental in the design and development of the RNLI's first fast rescue boats under the supervision of the headmaster, Rear Admiral Desmond Hoare. He was the pioneer of the Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) and of the first B-class Atlantic 21-class lifeboat which was named after the college and entered service in the 1970s. In the early 1960s the college had designed a rigid inflatable boat which subsequently became the basis for the B-class. The college sold the patent to the RNLI for £1 in 1973. An early example was discovered in Barry in 2012 and restored in 2014.

First female crewmember

On 20 May 1971, the station recorded the first service at any station involving a female crew member took place. Penelope M. Sutton was a member of the crew when the ILB was launched to investigate a Swedish motor cruiser, reported to be at anchor and flying a distress signal. The incident was a false alarm, as the courtesy Red Ensign flown on the cruiser had been misinterpreted.

RNLI lifeboat station

In 1973, the station received its first official RNLI Atlantic 21 lifeboat. Previous lifeboats operated by the station were owned by the college with the RNLI paying expenses.

In 2000, the station received an Atlantic 75-class lifeboat.

The RNLI withdrew the lifeboat from Atlantic College in June 2013.

Post-RNLI

In 2015, Atlantic College joined a number of other organisations to campaign for the establishment of a lifeboat service in Japan, coordinated by college alumnus and current RNLI crew member Robin Jenkins.

Station Honours

Letters of Appreciation - 1968

Letters of Appreciation were sent to G Unger, W de Vogel and P Allen in recognition of their services on 11 November when four men were rescued from the wreck of the dredger Steepholm.