| Llandudno Lifeboat Station | |
| RNLI Lifeboat station | |
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The Boathouse of Llandudno Lifeboat Station
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| Country | Wales, UK |
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| State | Conwy |
| Town | Llandudno |
| Location | Lloyd Street, Llandudno, UK |
| - coordinates | |
| Founded | 1861 |
| Owner | Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
| Visitation | By appiontment only |
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Llandudno, Conwy
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Llandudno Lifeboat Station is located in the North Wales town of Llandudno. It is the only lifeboat station in the UK to have its boathouse located in the middle of town.[1] Whereas most lifeboat stations are situated next to the sea for obvious reasons, Llandudno Lifeboat Station is situated in Lloyd Street, almost equidistant from both of Llandudno's shores. The reason for the unique situation of Llandudno Lifeboat goes back to 1861 when the boathouse was positioned so that it could be towed equally quickly to either of Llandudno's main shores. The current boathouse was constructed in 1903.[2]
The Llandudno lifeboat station celebrated 150 years of operation in 2011.[3] The station has a Mersey Class offshore lifeboat as well as an IB1 inshore lifeboat run and maintained by the RNLI.
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Originally called 'Ormes Head' lifeboat, the lifeboat was designed to look after the busy shipping area close to the Great Orme used by the many ships to ferry goods to the enormous Mersyside docks and other North Western destinations. The Great Orme with it's shallow waters, strong tides, rocky coastline and often strong winds, claimed many ships and lives. Because of the weather and tidal conditions, plus the depths of water, vicious waves can quickly build up around the Orme and Liverpool Bay.
More recently, Llandudno Lifeboat has undertaken some famous and unusual rescues. One mammoth 18 hour rescue in gale force winds in 2008 saw the lifeboat and crew going 34 miles offshore to rescue a couple in distress who's boat had become anchored to the sea bed by fishing nets. [4] A couple of years earlier, the inshore boat was launched to the aid of a humpback whale that had become tangled in ropes and a buoy off Rhos-on-Sea. The whale was successfully cut free probably saving it's life. [5]
The Llandudno inshore lifeboat serves the immediate coastline of the Great Orme, Little Orme, Rhos-on-Sea, Colwyn Bay and Llandudno West Shore. On the West Shore there are dangerous sands, widely used by families visiting the seaside, that can quickly become flooded trapping people on the sand bars as the tide floods. Sadly these sands have caused tragedy in recent years and it is for this reason that the Llandudno Inshore Lifeboat, along with Conwy Inshore Lifeboat, are on 24 hour call for an immediate launch.
In 2011, Dan Jones, a former RNLI coxswain was awarded an MBE for his dedication to the service. [6]
| Dates in service | Class | ON | Name |
| 1861 - 1867 | 10 oared self-righter | Sisters Memorial | |
| 1867 - 1887 | 10 oared self-righter | Sisters Memorial 2 | |
| 1887 - 1902 | 12 oared self-righter | Sunlight No. 1 | |
| 1902 - 1930 | 10 oared self-righter | Theodore Price | |
| 1930 - 1931 | Sarah Jane Turner | ||
| 1931 - 1933 | Matthew Simpson | ||
| 1933 - 1953 | Watson class | Thomas & Annie Wade Richards | |
| 1953 - 1959 | Watson class | Tillie Morrison, Sheffield | |
| 1959 - 1964 | Liverpool class | Annie Ronald & Isabella Forrest | |
| 1964 - 1990 | Oakley class | ON 976 | The Lilly Wainwright |
| 1990 - present | Mersey class | ON 1164 | Andy Pearce |
| Dates in service | Class | Op. No. | Name |
| 1965 - 1996 | D class | ||
| 1996 - 2006 | D class | D508 | John Saunderson |
| 2007 - present | 'IB1' D class | D656 | William Robert Saunderson |
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