Qualla: Skegness Lifeboat Station

Skegness Lifeboat Station: Introduction

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Aethonatic, CC0. The Lincolnshire coast is deceptive. From the beach at Skegness it looks calm enough — long, flat sands stretching to a horizon broken only by wind turbines and the occasional ship. But out there, between the shore and the East Dudgeon Lightship, the seabed is a maze of shoals and constantly changing sandbanks, and storms off the North Sea arrive with a ferocity that has been sinking vessels here for as long as people have sailed them. The lifeboat station at Skegness has been answering those storms since 1830.

Image: Aethonatic | CC0

Skegness Lifeboat Station: Gibraltar Point and the First Wreck

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit gary radford, CC BY-SA 2.0. The story begins a little to the south. In 1825, the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck established Gibraltar Point Lifeboat Station at the tip of the Point, just one year after the institution's founding by Sir William Hillary. A 24-foot non-s...

Image: gary radford | CC BY-SA 2.0

Skegness Lifeboat Station: The Norwegian Brig and Silver Medals

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Keith Havercroft, Public domain. The RNLI took over responsibility from the Lincolnshire Coast Shipwreck Association in January 1864, bringing with it a new 30-foot self-righting lifeboat named Herbert Ingram. The station's history is measured in rescues, but one stands out for the circumstances alone. On 9 Nov...

Image: Keith Havercroft | Public domain

Skegness Lifeboat Station: The Sea Gem Disaster

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Steve F, CC BY-SA 2.0. The station's most significant modern rescue came in the depths of winter 1965. On 27 December, the BP jackup oil rig Sea Gem collapsed approximately 47 miles northwest of Cromer, off Norfolk. The following day, the Skegness lifeboat Charles Fred Grantham launched along with boat...

Image: Steve F | CC BY-SA 2.0

Skegness Lifeboat Station: The Station Today

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit AJWALLHEAD1423, CC BY-SA 4.0. The current all-weather lifeboat, Joel and April Grunnill (ON 1324), arrived at Skegness in 2017. Her name connects directly to the station's history: she is funded by the legacy of Joel Grunnill, a long-term volunteer, and a donation from his cousin April Grunnill, who also serv...

Image: AJWALLHEAD1423 | CC BY-SA 4.0