The first Morecambe R.N.L.I. station opened on the 22^nd May 1966, when the Institution decided to base one of the comparatively new type of fast inshore rescue craft here.

Prior to 1966 the Morecambe and Heysham Fisherman’s Lifeboat Association, formed in 1894, ran lifeboat cover in Morecambe. The first lifeboat was the "GYAKHAN", a converted salmon boat. After the Gyakhan the association had a sailboat the "RESCUE" built at Arnside. She continued to operate until 1934. The "Sir William Priestly" specially built by Crossfields of Arnside followed this it was funded by Lady Priestly in memory of her husband, a Bradford industrialist and chairman of the RNLI Bradford and District branch in the 1920s. This boat is currently on show in the Lancaster Maritime Museum.
The 16ft "D" class inflatable lifeboats had been introduced into the R.N.L.I. fleet in 1964 on a trial basis. Two years later Morecambe was one of the places selected to receive one of them, after they had proved ideal for handling incidents close inshore, particularly those of a "pleasure" nature i.e. small angling boats, sailing and powered dinghies, swimmers etc.

The first station ILB (inshore lifeboat) "No 93", in common with all earlier craft was sparsely equipped, powered by a 35h.p. outboard engine with only a pair of oars, anchor and rope, mattress and a sea anchor.

In 1972 a new "D" class was issued to the station No "D208", as technology advanced and experience was gained, she was gradually equipped to a high standard. As with all "D" class ILBs it was equipped with 40h.p. outboard engine, water proofed VHF radio, parachute flares, handheld searchlight, first-aid gear including equipment for mouth to mouth resuscitation and survival blankets to protect casualties from hypothermia.

The next boat stationed at Morecambe is "Brenda Reed" No "D440"; Brenda and Nigel Reed of Burnley presented it to the station in 1993 and was on station until 2001. The crew took great pride in this boat, it was a shock to all involved at the station to learn some months later that Brenda had died.

Morecambe’s present D class boat "Peter Bond" came into service on the 30^th of May 2001. Donated my Mrs. Anne Bond in memory of her husband Peter, it was the first one to be made out of a new material called Aerazure previously they were made from Hypalon.

Extra equipment in this boat includes a depth finder, light intensifier for use at night and satellite navigation (GPS), Morecambe was the first I.L.B to be fitted with GPS, which the Morecambe Fisherman’s Association presented to the station. It is particularly useful for finding a way round the sandbanks and channels at night and in fog or finding a casualty that has transmitted its position on the radio. The original GPS was replaced with a new model in 1998, this displays a map that shows the position of the boat, rather than just a map reference. Oxygen bottles have now been fitted to all D class boats.

The first boathouse was a rather spartan affair, constructed of plywood with a raised wooden floor and a flat roof. The interior of the boathouse was one huge space without any heating or creature comforts of any kind. This first boathouse was badly damaged by a storm in January 1978 and the lifeboat was operated from the local Fire Station until the next boathouse was built.

This second boathouse was a prefabricated concrete garage. With the efforts of the crew and generous donations of money and equipment by local businesses this building was extended in 1987 and again in 1990. The same effort allowed a telephone, marine radio monitor, drying cabinet, small crew room with heaters and the means to prepare hot drinks. A lattice tower, donated by the local power station, was erected to carry floodlights to assist in recovery of the boat when she returned to station after dark, this had to be removed when the second extension was added.

Construction of the present was completed in November 1998. Situated east of the old boathouse, it has been designed to blend in with the new sea defence works. The new building includes a large boat room, changing rooms, showers, galley, workshop, storeroom, crew room, office, fuel store, and large observation window, with a breathtaking view of wonderful Morecambe bay.

The official opening of the new boathouse was performed on the 11^th of September 99 by Paul Crone a Granada TV presenter, Paul organized a two week fund raising program, visiting all the north west lifeboat stations.

Due to the peculiar danger of Morecambe Bay with its fast running tides and large areas of shallow water plus all year round boating activity, the lifeboat station was for many years one of the few I.L.B.s to be in operation all year round, this distinction was a matter of pride to the station. All year round stations are common now, it does involve the crews in some extremely cold and uncomfortable services during the winter months. With the introduction of one piece "dry-suits" and "polar suits" by the R.N.L.I, crew comfort and safety has been greatly enhanced.

In common with all other I.L.B. stations, the work of the Morecambe I.L.B. covers practically every aspect of saving life at sea, children trapped on rocks, people cut off by the tide on sandbanks, broken-down power boats, capsized dinghies, exhausted windsurfer's, crashed aircraft, searches for missing boats, towing in disabled fishing boats, even rescuing dogs and horses trapped on the marshes and on one occasion to a deer. It can also be called on to assist the Coastguard and Fire Service in freeing people trapped in the quick sand, that is common in some areas of the bay.

Because of the ever-changing channels, the churlish tides and shallow waters the I.L.B. is practically the only type of craft that can respond to anyone in difficulties in the upper region of Morecambe Bay. Although at times it has to work to the upper limits of its capability.

In 1985 the station was one of four I.L.B. stations chosen to carry out exhaustive evaluation trials on the prototype of a new design I.L.B. This prototype was given a thorough testing by the station crew under all weather conditions in company with the station boat so that a full comparison could be made.

After the trials at Morecambe and the other stations involved, comments and recommendations were made and as a result, the R.N.L.I. introduced this new design of I.L.B. into its fleet, gradually replacing the older I.L.B. as the new boats became available. Changes to new ILBs , from 1997 included new all orange coloured hulls.

In 1982 the Morecambe I.L.B. was called upon, by the police, to carry out a service on the River Lune where it runs through the centre of Lancaster. Two men had been swept down into a weir in the river when their light racing skiff had capsized in the strong currents. The boat had been swept away and the two men had managed to hold onto a post on the weir in the middle of the river. The weather at the time was rather bad with a strong westerly wind, rain and very cold.
To make the journey by sea from the boathouse to the men meant covering 19 miles of very rough water and would have taken about 2 hours in those conditions.
It was obvious that the two men could not survive long in the water so it was decided to take the lifeboat directly to Lancaster by road, a distance of only 4 miles.
The police supplied a Landrover to tow the boat, on its launching trolley, with two motorcycle outriders to clear the way.
The lifeboat and escort left the boathouse, launched into the River Lune, picked up the two casualties and landed them into an ambulance all within 15 minutes.

The crew involved in this service all agreed that the most frightening part of the rescue was the road journey between Morecambe and Lancaster with the boat on its beach launching trolley, with out brakes and suspensions, touching 50 m.p.h. down the main road.

The result of this service was the design and construction, by one of the crew, of a special road trailer, on to which the lifeboat, complete with the launching trolley that, could be used at short notice to transport the boat by road. This trailer was later replaced with one that can be used for transporting the boat by road or launching by a break back system.

Since the first incident of road travel to Lancaster it has become standard practice to transport the I.L.B. to the River Lune and Glasson Dock by road, many successful rescues being achieved in this way using the Landrover which the RNLI issued to Morecambe station.

In April 1983 the station was visited by HRH the Duke of Kent, President of the RNLI and the Chairman at the time, the Duke of Athol. HRH the Duke of Kent revisited the station on the 23^rd July 2001before opening Barrows new station on the 24^th of July.

Along with Hunstanton, Flint and West Kirby, Morecambe was chosen for two-week trials of a new 7.6m (25ft) Griffon 450TD Hovercraft and were carried out at Morecambe for the two weeks beginning the 24^th July 2001. The trials were extremely successful at all stations and Morecambe was allocated the first one. A new Griffon 470TD was delivered on the 13^thDecember 2002 and went into service on the 23rd December 2002.

A secondary but important task that the Morecambe crew undertake, is to visit the local schools giving talks to the children or having them visit the boathouse. Where possible the inshore lifeboat is taken to show the children. The equipment is demonstrated and the children are told of the dangers of the sea, getting stuck in quick sand and mud, and not to play at dodging waves on the promenade. If the schools are to far from the lifeboat station to take the boat, the children are welcome to visit the station.

The station is well supported by a very active Branch which as well as undertaking the normal, never ending and frequently thankless task of fund raising, also operate the souvenir shop at boathouse and at events, such as church fetes and also give talks to various organizations.