Southport Offshore Rescue Trust (SORT) is the registered charity that runs the Southport Lifeboat, an independent marine and land based search and rescue organisation on the Sefton coastline. Independent of the

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. Founded in 1824 ...

, the Trust relies on donations and fundraising to support itself to provide a first class life saving service in an area of coast and water covering between the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is a major river in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it h ...

to the

River Ribble The River Ribble runs through North Yorkshire and Lancashire in Northern England. It starts close to the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire, and is one of the few that start in the Yorkshire Dales and flow westwards towards the Irish Sea (t ...

, and up to offshore, including

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

Marine Lake. It is one of many

Independent lifeboats in Britain and Ireland Independent lifeboats in Britain and Ireland began to be established around the coasts towards the end of the 18th century in response to the loss of life at sea. More recently, independent services have been set up in response to the incr ...

not supported by the RNLI. The Southport Lifeboat have helped in the safe return of over 400 people since being formed in 1988, and aim to give the crew the best equipment possible to help save lives on the coastline. The crew currently operate two lifeboats, three ATV quad bikes, Drones, mud rescue equipment and a land based search team. The Southport Offshore Rescue Trust has declared facility status for its Lifeboats, Quads and Mud Rescue with UK Coastguard. In January 2022, the new Southport Lifeboat Station became operational and the old lifeboat house was closed.

History

For a detailed history of the Southport Lifeboat service, please visit

Southport Lifeboat Station Southport Lifeboat Station is located in the Victorian seaside town of Southport, situated to the south of the River Ribble estuary, historically in the county of Lancashire, now Merseyside. It is operated by the Southport Offshore Rescue Trust. ...

Early history

Southport Lifeboat has a proud and dramatic history, the earliest service, crewed and organised by local fishermen, was established in 1812 by the Southport Lifeboat Society, operating until 1817. The Southport Marine Fund, established in 1816 was established by the exertions of the Rev. Gilbert Ford, Rector.” The fund made awards to fishermen “for saving lives and property in the case of shipwreck and to give assistance to vessels in distress.” A reward was offered for every life saved or vessel assisted: £2.10s to the first boat reaching the vessel, £2 to the second and £1 1s to the third. A lifeboat station was re-established in Southport in 1840 by the Liverpool Dock Trust.

RNLI in Southport and the Mexico Disaster

Management of the Southport lifeboat station was taken over by the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

(RNLI) in 1860. 9 December 1886 saw the

Southport and St Anne's lifeboats disaster The Southport and St Anne's lifeboats disaster occurred on the evening of the 9th December 1886 when 27 lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat men lost their lives trying to save the crew of the German barque ''Mexico''. 14 of the 16 crew members aboard ...

, the worst RNLI loss, when all 13 crewmen of the lifeboat ''Laura Janet'', and 14 of 16 crew of the Southport lifeboat ''Eliza Fearnley'', were lost whilst attending the vessel ''Mexico''.

Closure by RNLI in 1925

The station was closed in 1925 by the RNLI. The Lifeboat house was used by the council for storage and Southport was provided lifeboat cover by to the South, and to the North.

Reformation as Independent Lifeboat

Southport Lifeboat was reformed following accidents off the coast where local men lost their lives. After the accidents in 1987, bereaved relatives started a campaign to bring a lifeboat back to Southport. In December 1988 the first boat since 1925 came on station at Southport. In January 2022, the new Southport Lifeboat Station opened on Marine Drive. The building was dedicated to founder of the charity, Kath Wilson, in respect of her fundraising efforts at the Lifeboat Shop which paid for the majority of the building.

Southport Offshore Rescue Trust lifeboats

References

Bibliography

* * *{{cite book, title=Annals of Southport and district. A chronological history of North Meols from Alfred the Great to Edward VII, first=E., last=Bland, year=1903, url=https://archive.org/compress/annalsofsouthpor00blaniala/formats=ARCHIVE%20BITTORRENT,DUBLIN%20CORE,METADATA,MARC,MARC%20BINARY,MARC%20SOURCE,SINGLE%20PAGE%20RAW%20JP2%20ZIP,SCRIBE%20SCANDATA%20ZIP Independent Lifeboat stations Sea rescue organisations of the United Kingdom Organisations based in Merseyside Merseyside