Hayling Island Lifeboat Station

History

The RNLI first opened a lifeboat station on Hayling Island in 1865. The station was opened after the Vicar of Hayling Island, the Rev. Charles Hardy had written to the RNLI in London and to the local newspaper to voice his concerns over recent events and ship rescues which had occurred in the area. He highlighted two events which had occurred in 1862. The first involved a Portsmouth sloop called Cygnet which had run aground in a gale on the 17 October 1862. The crew of three had been clinging to the rigging with the waves washing over them. With very little equipment and a lot of courage three local fishing men had managed to save the crew from the wrecked ship. For their efforts, three local fisherman, William Goldring, David Farmer and James Spragg were awarded silver medals by the RNLI. The second incident highlighted by the Reverend happened on the 14 January 1865 when the schooner Ocean of Plymouth was blown on to the Woolsiner Sandbanks. The heavy seas soon swamped the vessel and two of her crew were swept away to their death. Eventually a ten oared cutter crewed by twelve fishermen with local knowledge managed to save three men from the stricken vessel. For his part in the rescue, Major Francis Festing, a major in the Royal Marine Artillery who had been at the helm of the cutter throughout the rescue, was awarded a Silver Medal by the RNLI.

Establishing the station

Following the highlighting of the need for lifeboat cover along the coast of Hayling island the RNLI decided to set up a station. The decision was made at an RNLI management committee meeting held on 2 February 1865. The following week the District Inspector visited the island and a decision was made on the location for the new boathouse. An order was also placed with Forrestt's yard at Limehouse in London for the building of a new self-righting lifeboat for the station. The station was officially opened on the 13 September 1865 with the naming of the new lifeboat called RNLB Olive Leaf, was blessed by the Bishop of Chichester Ashurst Gilbert.

Closure of the all-weather station

The lifeboat all-weather service at Hayling island operated for a total of 59 years until it was decided by the RNLI to close the station on 15 May 1924. During those years the station operated from two different locations on the islands. Over these years the station had had three pulling lifeboats. The first being Olive Leaf. This was followed by Charlie and Adrian (ON 146), a self-righting lifeboat on station from 1988 until 1914. the last AWL was the Proctor (ON 640) which operated until the closure in 1924. The closure was decided upon because the stations neighbouring services at Selsey to the south-east and Bembridge to the south west, on the Isle of Wight, both of which operated more modern and faster motor lifeboats which by the 1920s deemed to be more effective given the shipping patterns and the type of vessels now operating in the Solent.

The re-opening as an inshore lifeboat station

By the end of the 1950s the vast increase of pleasure craft and leisure activities saw a change in the pattern of casualties along the Hayling island coastline and in Chichester Harbour. An increasing number of services had been required to rescue to bathers washed out to sea, people on lilos, dinghies, and various small water craft. It was realised locally that a faster first response was needed to attend such situations. In 1966, with this situation in mind, A local man along with his two sons, started a rescue service and patrol on the island. His name was Frank Martin and along with sons Guy and Leigh, used an old RNLI inflatable with the number 007 to patrol the coast. The fledgling service was run from a caravan located next to the coastguard station. A Land Rover was used to launch the boat and the lifeboat was powered with a 40 hp Evinrude outboard motor. Their tiny organisation became part of the Shore Boat Rescue Scheme which was a recognised scheme by the RNLI

1971

This independent service at Hayling island was formalised in 1971 and was called the Hayling Island Sea Rescue and Research Organisation (HISRrO). This service began regular patrols along the areas coast and inland estuaries. It also performed rescues and used to research and perfected rescue procedures and methods for divers. In 1975 the HISRrO and the RNLI agreed to operate a joint service and in 1975 the partnership began operating from a new boathouse at Sandy point. The RNLI placed an Atlantic 21 ILB on station. The two organisations worked alongside each other until 1978.

1978

In March 1978 the HISRrO and the RNLI agreed that they would agree to discontinue their joint association at Sandy Point and sole administration for the station and service was taken over by the RNLI. HISRrO continued to operate after the split but by August 1992 the charity was closed.

Improvements

In 1980 launch facilities at the boathouse were improved with the installation of a launch ramp. In November 1980 the station also received a new Atlantic 21 inshore lifeboat which for the first to be specifically designed and built for the Hayling Island station.

Hovercraft trials

In June 2004 the RNLI sent a Hovercraft for trials at Hayling island. The Hovercraft was Hurley Spirit (H-005).

Re-building of station

In the later part of 2006 work began on an extensive re-build and refurbishment of the station. This was required to house a new lifeboat, its A85 Do-Do launch carriage and launch tractor. The station remained open throughout the period of the rebuild and the station was housed in Shipping containers which were located temporally on the station car park. The new station was completed in November 2007 and included a new boat hall with an upper storey for the operations room and station office. Training and Education facilities were moved into what was the old boathouse which had been incorporated into the new buildings design. There was also changing rooms and a station museum included. The new station was paid for from legacies of £500,000 from the Lusty Family and £300,000 provided by Gwendoline Prince and Mr and Mrs Hudson.

1865 to 1914

The first boathouse was built in 1865 by H.R. Trigg and was located at the western end of the south shore of the island. This house cost £259 10s 0d and was used until 1913. This original boathouse is still standing although it is now unrecognisable as it has been incorporated into a structure now used as a public house and restaurant.

1914 to 1924

In 1914 a new lifeboat was allocated to Hayling. She was the Rubie self-righter Proctor (ON 640). To accommodate the new larger lifeboat a new boathouse was required. The new boathouse was built two miles to the east of the original boathouse and was designed with access doors at both ends of the building. This new boathouse cost £900. This station closed in 1924 when the all-weather lifeboat cover was withdrawn from the island. The boathouse still stands on the seafront and has been used in the past as the village hall and today is used by the Army cadets.

1971 to present

The current boathouse is located on the south-eastern tip of Hayling island on Sandy Point. The building was constructed in 1975 on land leased from the Coldeast and Tachbury Mount Croup Hospital Group. The current boathouse is the third location the station has used on Hayling island.

Station lifeboats

The two current lifeboats are an Atlantic 85-class lifeboat and a D-class (IB1) lifeboat. The Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat is called Derrick Battle (B-829) and arrived on station on the 26 February 2009. It is fitted with radar interlaced into the GPS system and VHF direction finding gear. The lifeboat is equipped with two 115 hp Yamaha outboard engines and has the capability of thirty five knots. The second lifeboat is a smaller D-class inflatable lifeboat and is called Amanda, James and Ben (D-642). It arrived on station in May 2005 and is an IB1 type boat powered by a 50 hp outboard engine giving her a top speed of twenty five knots.

Awards

Since lifeboat services began numerous medals and awards have been presented to Hayling Island lifeboat crew, including seven Silver Medals and three Bronze Medals -