A lifeboat was first stationed here by the Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck (RNIPLS) in 1829.[1]
Re-established by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in 1868, the station currently operates a Shannon-class All-weather lifeboat, 13-42 Ann and James Ritchie II (ON 1349), on station since 2022.[2]
History
On 28 May 1828, Sir William Hillary, President of the Isle of Man District Association of the RNIPLS, wrote to the Institution's headquarters in London, requesting that a lifeboat be placed at both Peel and Ramsey, which was duly agreed.[3]
The first lifeboat for Ramsey was a Palmer-class non-self-righting 10-oared lifeboat, built by Harton of London, and purchased for £55. She was completed in November 1828, and transported to Ramsey aboard HM Cutter Industry, arriving on 20 February 1829. There are no records to show that the boat was ever launched on service. By the 1840s, the boat was in disrepair. Following the death in 1848 of Sir William Hillary, the driving force behind the RNIPLS, and with little or no funding available, Ramsey lifeboat station effectively ceased.[4]
In 1854, a rejuvenated RNIPLS became the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). In 1868, the Lieutenant governor of the Isle of Man wrote to the RNLI to request that a station be re-established at Ramsey, which was agreed. An order was placed with Forrestt of Limehouse, London, who built a 33-foot (10 metre) ten-oared Self-righting lifeboat, provided by the gift of Mr James Ryder, via the Manchester Branch of the RNLI, and which was delivered to Ramsey in November 1868. A boat house had also been commissioned, built by Y. Gallow on the Esplanade, at a cost of £145, which was completed in September 1869. A naming ceremony was then held on 28 September 1869, when Miss Christian of Milltown named the boat Two Sisters, after the daughters of Mr Ryder. She was launched 42 times and saved 117 lives.[4]
Following the Mexico disaster, when 27 lifeboat men from Southport and St Annes lost their lives in December 1886, and with concerns raised regarding older self-righting boats, a replacement lifeboat was ordered for Ramsey. A new 37-foot 12-oared Self-righting lifeboat was built by Hansen of Cowes, costing £421, arriving in Ramsey in August 1888. The boat, carriage and all equipment was funded by Mr and Mrs Norbury of Port Lewaigue, near Ramsey, and she was named Mary Isabella (ON 222). She was launched twice on service in 1889, but the coxswain and crew were unhappy with her seaworthiness, and the boat was sent back for alterations. The Two Sisters returned to service, performing another 7 rescues, and saving 30 lives.[4]
Also in 1889, a new boathouse was proposed, complete with a first floor committee room, and living accommodation above for the coxswain and his family. In all, the boathouse and the slipway opposite cost over £1700, and with £300 once again donated by Mr and Mrs Norbury, the Norbury Boathouse was opened in February 1890.
It was only in January 1891 that the Mary Isabella returned to Ramsey. She was launched 28 times, and saved 90 people, but was holed during a launch off the quay in February 1895, repairs taking three days, and in April that year it was decided to replace her. Hansen of Cowes built a 10-oared Self-righting boat, which was delivered to Ramsey in April 1896. Costing £551, and once again funded by Mr and Mrs Norbury, she was also named Mary Isabella (ON 391).[4]
20th century
Another name that has become synonymous with Ramsey lifeboats is the name Ritchie. Keen seafarers James and Ann Ritchie, of the Isle of Man brewing company Heron and Brearley, decided to fund a lifeboat for Ramsey. Oakley-class lifeboat James Ball Ritchie (ON 995) arrived on service in 1970, shortly after James' death.[5]
His widow, Ann Ritchie, née Gough, President of the Ramsey Ladies Lifeboat Guild, decided to fund two more lifeboats: one for Port St Mary, and one went to Oban. After her death in 1990, the residue of her estate became the Gough Ritchie Charitable Trust. One third of its income is distributed to the RNLI for use in the Isle of Man.[6]
Mersey-class lifeboat 12-14 Ann and James Ritchie (ON 1171)
In 1991, a second boat for Ramsey was provided, Mersey-class lifeboat 12-14 Ann and James Ritchie (ON 1171). To accommodate the new boat, the Norbury Boathouse, which had been in use for 96 years, was demolished to make way for a new building, The New Norbury Boathouse. This building provided a larger space for the new lifeboat, along with improved crew facilities and a souvenir shop.[1]
Ann and James Ritchie was retired in 2019, and Mersey-class lifeboat 12-22 Ruby Clery (ON 1181), formerly at Peel, was placed on service until the arrival of Ramsey's new Shannon-class lifeboat in 2022.[2] Once again, more construction work was required at the boathouse to accommodate the new boat and SLARS launch system. The work included removal of the front elevation to extend the building, installing a ground source heat pump system, and internal layout reconfiguration with updated crew facilities.[7]
Shannon-class lifeboat 13-42 Ann and James Ritchie II (ON 1349) arrived in Ramsey in 2022. She is the sixth lifeboat funded by James and Ann Ritchie, and the Gough Ritchie Charitable Foundation.[2]
Notable rescues
On the 7 November 1890. the Two Sisters was launched in rough seas to the steam dredger Walter Bibby, rescuing the 15 men on board. Only 4 days later, in similarly poor weather, the Two Sisters was launched again, this time to the vessel Margaret, travelling from Runcorn to Belfast. Her three-man crew were landed safely. For these two actions, Edward Christian Kerr, Honorary Secretary, and Robert Garett, Coxswain, were awarded the RNLI Silver Medal.[8]
The Aberdeen steam trawler Strathairlie ran aground at Skellig Bay north of Ramsey, on the night of 20 November 1941. Ramsey lifeboat Lady Harrison was launched to their aid. Unable to get close enough, a cable system was run to the trawler, and 15 men were rescued in turn. John Comish, Coxswain, was awarded the RNLI Bronze Medal.[8]
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