Peel Lifeboat Station
| All-Weather Lifeboat | |
|---|---|
| Launch Method | SLARS |
| Address | East Quay, Peel, Isle of Man, IM5 1AR |
| Telephone | 01624 842309 |
Explore two centuries of RNLI lifeboat history, heroic rescues, and the enduring tradition of saving lives at sea.
In the shadow of Peel Castle on the west coast of the Isle of Man, Peel runs a carriage-launched Shannon-class all-weather lifeboat, covering the island’s western approaches and the Irish Sea fishing grounds. A lifeboat has served here since 1828.
Like Ramsey, Peel owes its first lifeboat to Sir William Hillary, whose 1828 request placed a Palmer-class boat here; it arrived in December 1828. After Hillary’s death the station lapsed, but at the request of the island’s Lieutenant Governor the RNLI re-established it in 1884, building a boathouse beside the castle.
The station’s most celebrated service came on 7 October 1889, when the fully-rigged ship St George was wrecked off Peel; the lifeboat saved the crew, and the Norwegian Government awarded Coxswain Charles Cain and each of his sixteen crew a Silver Medal and a Manx bible. The ship’s figurehead, ‘George’, has been displayed at the station ever since.
An all-weather lifeboat was withdrawn in 1972 in favour of inshore boats, but a 1990 review returned an all-weather lifeboat to Peel; the Mersey-class Ruby Clery — named by the daughter of a baby rescued from the St George — arrived in 1992. A Shannon-class lifeboat, the Frank and Brenda Winter, was accepted on service in 2021.
