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LittlehamptonLifeboatThe sea, the coast and the people who keep it safe

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Everything the magazine publishes, newest first: explainers and guides from the editors and clearly labelled partner material. Earlier reports from the station archive follow below.

Newsroom Eyes Growth Potential as Gambling-Focused Site Gains Attention in Digital Media Circles

03 October 2026

News Media Roundup: How Gambling Sites Are Rewriting the Digital Traffic Playbook

25 September 2026

From the editors

Child crabbing with a line from a harbour wall
Sussex Coast

How to Go Crabbing

A family guide to catching shore crabs from a harbour wall, following the wildlife trusts' crabbing code and keeping children safe at the edge.

By the editors3 min read

Colourful long wooden bench on a seaside promenade
Sussex Coast

Littlehampton: Things to Do

A day-out guide to the West Sussex town where a busy seafront, a working river harbour and quiet protected dunes sit within walking distance.

By the editors3 min read

Wide sandy beach at low tide in West Sussex
Sussex Coast

West Sussex Beaches

A west-to-east guide to the county's shoreline, from the dunes of East Head to the pebbles of Worthing, with the safety points for each stretch.

By the editors3 min read

White horses on a windswept grey sea
Boating

Beaufort Scale Explained

What each Beaufort force number in a marine forecast means for wind, waves and anyone heading out in a small boat or on a paddleboard.

By the editors3 min read

Handheld marine VHF radio on a sailing boat
Boating

VHF Radio Licence UK

The radio needs an Ofcom licence and the person using it needs a Short Range Certificate, plus what DSC, MMSI, Mayday and Pan-Pan mean.

By the editors3 min read

Small motorboat leaving a harbour on a calm day
Boating

Boat Licence Rules UK

The difference between licensing the boat and qualifying the skipper, and where radio certificates, the ICC and harbour byelaws come in.

By the editors2 min read

Stand-up paddleboarder wearing a buoyancy aid at sea
Boating

Paddleboard Safety at Sea

Offshore winds, the wrong leash and a phone left on the board catch out many paddlers at sea; the advice that brings you home.

By the editors3 min read

Old lifeboat house and slipway at Penlee Point
History

Penlee Lifeboat Disaster

A hurricane off Cornwall, a coaster without power and eight volunteers from Mousehole who went out anyway: the facts of Penlee.

By the editors2 min read

Traditional wooden lifeboat with oars on a beach
History

Founding of the RNLI

From a pamphlet written on the Isle of Man to a meeting in a City of London tavern: the origins of Britain's lifeboat charity.

By the editors2 min read

Longstone Lighthouse on the rocky Farne Islands
History

The Grace Darling Story

How a lighthouse keeper's daughter on the Farne Islands became one of the most celebrated heroines of the Victorian age, and what the legend added.

By the editors2 min read

RNLI lifeboat launching down a slipway into the sea
Lifeboats

Inside a Lifeboat Launch

From the Coastguard's request to the final radio call back at the station, the chain of decisions behind every RNLI lifeboat launch.

By the editors3 min read

Lifeboat and coastguard helicopter during a sea rescue
Lifeboats

RNLI vs HM Coastguard

One is a government service that runs the rescue, the other a charity that crews the lifeboats: how they fit together after a single call.

By the editors3 min read

Volunteer lifeboat crew training aboard an inshore lifeboat
Lifeboats

Becoming RNLI Lifeboat Crew

No sea experience needed, but plenty of commitment: what the RNLI asks of volunteer lifeboat crew, from the pager to probation.

By the editors3 min read

RNLI all-weather lifeboat moored in a harbour
Lifeboats

How RNLI Funding Works

Legacies, donations and fundraising keep the lifeboats afloat, while HM Coastguard is paid for by government: a plain guide to who funds what.

By the editors2 min read

Tide coming in over wet sand below chalk cliffs
Sea Safety

Reading Tide Times

A tide table packs a day of rising and falling water into a few lines, and reading it properly is the simplest way to avoid being cut off.

By the editors3 min read

Red and yellow lifeguard flags on a sandy beach
Sea Safety

Beach Flags Meaning

Four flags run every lifeguarded beach in Britain, and a glance at them tells a family exactly where to swim, where to surf and when to stay out.

By the editors3 min read

Coastguard rescue team on a rocky shoreline
Sea Safety

Calling the Coastguard

What to say on the phone, who the Coastguard sends, how boaters raise the alarm by radio, and why nobody should go into the water after someone.

By the editors3 min read

Swimmer floating on their back in cold grey sea
Sea Safety

Cold Water Shock

The first minute in cold water is the most dangerous, and the instinct to thrash and swim hard is exactly what the body cannot afford.

By the editors3 min read

Calm channel of water between breaking waves on a beach
Sea Safety

Rip Currents Explained

Rips look deceptively calm and can outpace an Olympic swimmer; knowing the few steps that work can turn panic into a safe way back to the beach.

By the editors2 min read

Earlier on this domain

Station archive
Stuck In the Mud at Arundel
Station archive · Call Reports

Stuck In the Mud at Arundel

Solent Coastguard requested that the lifeboat should be launched at around 9pm last night (15 August) to assist a person reported as stuck in the mud…

Littlehampton Lifeboat Goes Rallying!
Station archive · Loms’ Picks

Littlehampton Lifeboat Goes Rallying!

A team of three Littlehampton Lifeboat crew members; Liam Clarke , Rob Devo and Simon Tann from Littlehampton Lifeboat Station have entered into the…

Recovery of Yacht with fouled Prop & Rudder
Station archive · Call Reports

Recovery of Yacht with fouled Prop & Rudder

The crew were paged at 6:49pm to respond to a Pan Pan call from the 12m yacht Liesel with four people aboard, which had fouled a pot line on passage…

4 Shouts in 3 Days for Littlehampton RNLI
Station archive · Call Reports

4 Shouts in 3 Days for Littlehampton RNLI

Littlehampton Lifeboat crews have had a busy few days on the water with four call outs in three days and a hectic and fun packed open weekend at the…

Come visit us day – Sunday 23rd June
Station archive · Coming events

Come visit us day – Sunday 23rd June

It’s going to be a nice warm summer day on Sunday 23 June! It’s been booked in advance for our lifeboat station open day. Come and visit us, have a…

Catch Me If You Can
Station archive · Call Reports

Catch Me If You Can

At 18:07 on Sunday, Solent Coastguard requested that Blue Peter 1 launch to go to the aid of a kitesurfer that had been reported to be having…

Littlehampton RNLI Lifesavers Supper
Station archive · Fundraising

Littlehampton RNLI Lifesavers Supper

The recently reported Lifesavers Supper held at the Fish Factory restaurant in Littlehampton was a great success. The event was organised by the…

Lifeboat Station open on SOS Day
Station archive · Coming events

Lifeboat Station open on SOS Day

Members of the public are invited to come visit us in Littlehampton Saturday 28th January for the RNLI’s SOS day. The Littlehampton Lifeboat station…

Another SOS Success for Littlehampton RNLI
Station archive · Fundraising

Another SOS Success for Littlehampton RNLI

Once again this year the volunteers of the Littlehampton lifeboat station took to the town with collection buckets, raising money for the RNLI on SOS…