Inshore Lifeboats

40 Years of Cromer Inshore Lifeboats...

Since the arrival of the first boat in March 1967 Cromer Inshore Lifeboats (or inshore rescue boats as they were known then) have launched a total of 383 times and saved exactly 100 lives, as well as assisting 37 other people.

The RNLI had introduced the fast response 'D' class boats in 1963, and when it was announced that Cromer would lose the No.2 lifeboat it was agreed to station one of the new boats in its place.

In that time there have been 6 different ILB's stationed at Cromer, starting with (D)101 in 1967 to the present boats D-568 Seahorse III.

The busiest boat was, not surprisingly, the boat that served the longest, D-197 (1972-84), which launched on 108 services and rescued 48 people, with the busiest year being 2004 (200th anniversary of lifeboats in Cromer) with the present boat launching 17 times.

The IRB was originally kept in the No.2 boathouse alongside the William Henry and Mary King, but was moved to a purpose built 'igloo' on the west beach in August 1970.
She did have spells back in the No.2 boathouse (then the museum) when rocks made launching on the west beach difficult, and in 1984 she had a new boathouse built for her on the east beach.

In 2004 she was moved into a container to allow for the building of the new Henry Blogg museum , and in 2006 she returned to the old No.2 boathouse, which had been updated and re-fitted specifically for her and her crew.

The most notable of the services performed by the ILB took place on May 1st 1981, when the 2 crew of the crab boat 'George William' were saved by D-197, resulting in the RNLI's Bronze Medal being awarded to Helmsman Clive Rayment.