The RNLI's Assistant PRO Robin Sharp visited the Isle of Man, the Institution's 'ancestral home' and examined how the island's lifeboat service is being adapted to the new generation of lifeboats… At could be said that had the Isle of Man had not been created, someone would have had to build it - such is the value of the island to the RNLI in providing comprehensive lifeboat cover for the area. The island is virtually in the centre of the Irish Sea, with Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland at the four points of the compass.

The climate may be temperate, but the annual rainfall is substantial and calm days infrequent. The prevailing winds are from the west-south-west and, being in the middle of busy shipping lanes, many a drama has been played out around the island's rocky coastline and turbulent seas.

As early as 1802 a lifeboat of Henry Greathead's design arrived in Douglas, but it was 1808 before events took an historic turn.

In that year Sir William Hillary moved to Fort Anne, overlooking Douglas Bay, and took an immediate interest in sea safety and rescue, taking part in many lifesaving attempts himself.

In late 1822 some particularly severe gales struck the Isle of Man, and Sir William was involved in the rescue of some 200 mariners in Douglas Bay. Moved by what he had experienced Hillary published his famous 'Appeal to the British Nation' in February 1823, urging the formation of a Shipwreck Institution.

It was as a result of his continued strenuous efforts that the organisation we now know as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution was formed at a meeting in the City of London Tavern, Bishopsgate on 4 March 1824.

There is no doubt that the Isle of Man can justifiably claim to be the cradle of the modern lifeboat service. There is a firm and deeprooted tradition of sea rescue in the island and each of the five lifeboat stations has a long and distinguished history. Douglas was established first in 1802, followed by Peel (1828), Ramsey (1829), Port Erin (1883) and Port St Mary (1896). The fact that the island's 70 miles of coastline includes five lifeboat stations emphasises the importance of the Isle of Man to the RNLI, but the Institution is as much concerned about its future role and strength as it is about meeting current needs, and the pride it takes in past achievements.

For this reason two of the latest Mersey class lifeboats will be stationed at Peel on the west coast and at Ramsey on the east, meaning that every lifeboat stationed on the island will be capable of speeds of at least 17 knots.

Both of these stations will have their Victorian boathouses completely demolished to make way for new buildings necessary to accommodate the Mersey lifeboats, as well as to provide modern facilities for crews and shore workers.

Peel's lifeboat station is below the walls of the castle, on St Patrick's Isle, and currently houses the station's Atlantic 21 rigid inflatable.

The boathouse is of the familiar 19th century design and construction, but a new and improved centre for the Peel lifeboatmen will shortly be rising, phoenix-like, from the ashes of the old, with some of the sandstone being re-used in the new building.

New facilities will include a crew changing room where crew meetings and training can also take place, a shower and toilet and a proper area for the sale of souvenirs. Work on the new boathouse and slipway is due to begin this winter.

The station honorary secretary for the past four-and-a-half years has been Allen Corlett, whose forefathers on both sides of his family have served as crew for more than a century. He welcomes the introduction of the new lifeboat, which he sees as greatly enhancing not only the station's capabilities but also that of the island as a whole, to deal promptly and effectively with a crisis out at sea.

'With an increase in the number of pleasure craft in these waters, as well as fishing boats, commercial vessels and the potential danger of NATO aircraft ditching in the Irish Sea,' he says, 'we can now be confident of providing increased lifeboat cover, and we will be able to operate more closely with the Donaghadee and Portpatrick stations in Northern Ireland and Scotland'.

Members of the station are predominantly 'young', in many cases in age but also in attitude. Because 'retirement' age for Atlantic 21 crews is 45, it follows that those who will man the new Mersey are below that age.

They come from various walks of life and occupations - machine tool operators, a forester, a builder, a shell-fish processor, a plant engineer, a fish merchant, a radiator repairman, a unisex hairdresser but, surprisingly, no fishermen. The ladies' guild and the fund raisers who back the branch and crew are extremely active and inventive.

One of the most ambitious and unusual events was the 'reunion' last year of the descendants of those people involved in the rescue of passengers from the Norwegian ship St George, which foundered on 7 October 1889.

Among the 150 people present was the daughter of a babe-in-arms rescued by the Peel lifeboat on that day. Mrs Karen BacheNordli, who lives in Norway, has now become a firm friend of the Peel station and in February she raised £3,000 in Norway and presented it to the ladies' guild.

The figurehead of the wrecked Si George stands sentinel over the old boathouse, and this reminder of the past will continue to occupy a prominent position as guardian of the new boathouse.

On the opposite side of the Island, and also 'opposite' in some other respects, is Ramsey, built round a bay and harbour. Although not a 'city', Ramsey has a larger population than Peel and is second only in size to Douglas. The town has grown substantially in recent years, and the community is a mix of traditional families and 'come-overs'. This blend seems to work well, with a strong feeling of civic pride with, as one member of the Ramsey ladies' guild said, 'Everyone mucking in'.

Certainly support for the Ramsey lifeboat from young and old is extremely good, and a record £ 15,700 was raised in 1988/89. The old boathouse has been cleared away, the foundations and steel skeleton of the new are in place and the bricks are already being laid for the building, which should be completed by Christmas. With a new tractor arriving in November and the new lifeboat in the spring, the next six months will be a whirl of activity and change for everyone at the station.

The new lifeboat has been funded by two staunch lifeboat supporters from the island, Ann and James Ritchie, and the lifeboat will bear their name. The previous Ramsey lifeboat, James Ball Ritchie, was also funded from the same source. Mrs Ann Ritchie, who died earlier this year, was president of the Ramsey branch and ladies' guild and was made an honorary life governor of the Institution in 1978.

A local appeal to meet the cost of the new boathouse has met with a most generous response, with the total presently standing at more than £ 120,000. All sorts of fund raising ideas have helped bring this impressive result, including a 'buy a brick campaign'.

There has been a large input from branch, guild and crew into the design of the new boathouse so that it is 'just right'.

There is great excitement at the station about the prospect of a new lifeboat and boathouse and also appreciation for the faith that the RNLI and the local people have in the crew. The coxswain, James Kinnin, is proud that he will be the person to take command of the new lifeboat which will herald a fresh epoch for Ramsey and the Isle of Man. There has been a Kinnin in the crew for more than a century, and it is an opportunity which he relishes. As Jimmy Martin, the station mechanic, admits'It's a whole different ball game - but it will be fantastic'.

The changes at Peel and Ramsey not only mark a new era, they also illustrate the indefatigable spirit of lifeboat stations around the British Isles. The spirit which drove Sir William Hillary to make his ideal a reality will carry the Isle of Man into the 21st century... and into a brave new world..