Cornwall Lifeboat Stations – Saving Lives ready to launch 24 hours a day
Cornwall Lifeboat Stations
A list of Cornwall Lifeboat Stations. The South West region of the RNLI is one of the busiest in the UK. Cornwall has over 300 miles of coastline and these boats are on call with their volunteer crews 365 days a week 24 hours a day. Falmouth Station is the busiest in Cornwall. Saltash in Cornwall is the base for RNLI’s South West Flood Rescue Team.
Each station is equipped to suit the local conditions with different boats and methods of launching with some of the stations having more than one boat.
Some stations are open to the public, some have shops attached to see souvenirs and with some, it is often possible to arrange a tour of the station and the boat. These tours do of course depend on the operational requirements of the boat.
Cornwall has more Lifeboat Stations and Lifeboats than any other county in the UK. There are 14 lifeboat stations around Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution with a fleet of 21 lifeboats.
Lifeboat types include the most recent addition to the RNLI fleet, the Shannon Class All-Weather Lifeboat to the smallest Inshore D Class Lifeboats. Every current type of RNLI lifeboat with the exception of the hovercraft is represented in the Cornwall lifeboat fleet.
Cornwall Lifeboat Days
These are always popular and well supported and are held throughout the summer with demonstrations often with the attendance of a SAR helicopter. We also have a listing of Cornwall Lifeboat Videos Lifeboat days will occasionally offer the opportunity to see some of the historic lifeboats that were privately owned and will turn up to support lifeboat days and fundraising.
These boats are maintained by enthusiasts who try to keep them in as near original condition as possible. There is a picture gallery on the Falmouth Lifeboat site celebrating its 150th anniversary featuring a large number of historic boats who came to join in the celebrations.
Cornwall Lifeboat Station Types
EXPLORE STATIONS
Explore stations like Padstow and Falmouth are able to let station visitors walk around the station most of the year. RNLI Explore stations host an RNLI shop that sells gifts, cards, books and other merchandise. Explore stations will usually offer tours by one of the volunteers this can include a tour of the boat.
OBSERVE STATIONS
Observe stations like The Lizard and Penlee, are often more difficult to access being sited in locations to enable marine operations rather than enabling visits. They are often situated in stunning and remote locations.
DISCOVER STATIONS
Discover stations like St Agnes and Sennen Cove, welcome visitors. However, these lifeboat stations were built before the days of tours and visitors were considered. Discover Stations will usually open their boathouse doors allowing visitors to see the boats and equipment.
The Station List:
- Bude Lifeboat (RNLI Discover Station)
- Falmouth Lifeboat (RNLI Explore Station)
- Fowey Lifeboat (RNLI Discover Station)
- Looe Lifeboat (RNLI Explore Station)
- Newquay Lifeboat (RNLI Discover Station)
- Padstow Lifeboat (RNLI Explore Station)
- Penlee Lifeboat (RNLI Observe Station)
- Port Isaac Lifeboat (RNLI Discover Station)
- Rock Lifeboat (RNLI Discover Station)
- Sennen Cove Lifeboat(RNLI Discover Station)
- St Agnes Lifeboat(RNLI Discover Station)
- St Ives Lifeboat(RNLI Discover Station)
- St Marys Lifeboat (Isles of Scilly) (RNLI Observe Station)
- The Lizard Lifeboat (RNLI Observe Station)
- You can read more about the RNLI and their boats.
- You can read more about the boat types and the RNLI Lifeboatfleet here.
- Check our Cornwall Tide Times