Holidays are here - and so are the Torbay lifeboat rescues

Following a comparatively quiet period earlier this year, Torbay RNLI’s volunteer crew responded to nine incidents in a 10-day period over the last fortnight.

In the incidents both the lifeboat station’s Severn-class All Weather Lifeboat and D-class Inshore Lifeboat were used. 

The shouts included transferring a casualty from rocks in Torquay using the ILB crewed by three volunteers to a waiting ambulance in Torquay Harbour. 

Another shout saw the ALB crewed by seven volunteers towing a stricken 24m fishing vessel out of shipping lanes east of Berry Head in stormy seas back to Brixham Harbour during the night time.

Recently published national data from the RNLI showed the Torbay Lifeboat Station, located in Brixham Harbour and covering the area including the English Riviera holiday beaches and coastline, to be one the country’s busiest, responding to 161 incidents in 2024 with the volunteer crew saving 11 lives and aiding 113 people. 

Andrew Medley, Coxswain at Torbay RNLI’s Lifeboat Station, said: "With the sunny but breezy conditions, added to the start of the holiday season, we saw a corresponding increase in operational taskings within the bay and off our coast.  Last week’s shouts demonstrate the professionalism, commitment and readiness of our local volunteer crew. 

"Throughout the first three months of the year, our 30 volunteer crew have undertaken over 300 hours of training and are ready to respond within 10 minutes of a call being received."

Next year, the Torbay RNLI Lifeboat Station will celebrate 160 years of saving lives at Sea in and around Torbay.