When the pagers sound, sending lifeboats into the waters of the UK and Ireland, the crews on board rely on both their training and experience to bring casualties home safely to their families. But out at sea, there is another important factor they know they’ll need that can’t be taught or learnt – luck.\n\nOff the coast of North Wales, a teenage paddleboarder has lost his board and is being swept out to sea. Fortunately, he set out with a brand new waterproof phone case - but even with the coastguard helping to guide him in by phone, the crew of the Abersoch lifeboat face a race to reach him before he succumbs to the sea.\n\nPerched on a sheer Cornish cliff face, Lizard is one of the UK’s most southerly lifeboat stations. Launching from their slipway, the crew are called to a cargo ship taking on water and in danger of sinking with her crew still on board. Luckily, kind weather conditions mean the lifeboat crew arrive in time to set up a salvage pump to try and save the ship - only to then discover she’s taking on water faster than they can pump it out.\n\nConditions aren’t so kind to the Lizard crew when their pagers sound again. This time, an Atlantic storm is battering the south coast, a small yacht caught mid-Channel needs urgent help, and the crew find themselves on a gruelling six hour mission to save two lives.
Source: BBC 2
Series 8: 4. Facing The Fear
Every time any of the 400 lifeboats across the UK and Ireland are called out on a shout, the crews on board must manage a whole range of emotions - and face their fears.\n\nIn n ...
17-12-2024
BBC 2
Series 8: 6. Family
For all crews, the support network extends far beyond the staff and volunteers themselves: they need their family behind them at all times.\n\nIn Torbay, Devon, a yacht has sent ...
11-12-2024
BBC 2
Series 5 (shortened Versions): Episode 6
Every day around the UK and Ireland, an unpaid army of men and women, from artists to undertakers and from priests to poets, are ready to put their lives on the line to save tho ...
20-11-2024
BBC 2
Series 5 (shortened Versions): Episode 8
During one of the worst storms in living memory, on the south coast of England the crew of Hastings lifeboat receive an emergency call. A surfer, hoping to make the most of the ...
14-11-2024
BBC 2
Series 5 (shortened Versions): Episode 7
Of the almost 9,000 emergencies the RNLI’s lifeboats launch to every year, just seven per cent are to commercial vessels. The vast majority of their shouts are to those us ...
30-10-2024
BBC 2
Series 6 (shortened Versions): 1. Saving Lives At Sea
Each year the volunteer crews of the RNLI respond to around 9,000 call outs, from paddleboarders swept out to sea to sinking fishing boats, from families caught in rip currents ...
28-10-2024
BBC 2
Series 5: Episode 10
When the pagers sound, sending lifeboats into the waters of the UK and Ireland, the crews on board rely on both their training and experience to bring casualties home safely to ...
15-08-2024
BBC 2
Series 5: Episode 5
Week in, week out, across the UK and Ireland volunteers give up their weekends and evenings to learn life-saving techniques ready for when they need to put their skills into use ...
29-07-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: 5. Learning On The Job
The vast majority of the RNLI’s volunteer crew members don’t come from a professional maritime background - so every day is a school day.\n\nIn Eastbourne, new recru ...
16-07-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: 4. Pressure
On Ireland’s north west coast, the crew at Bundoran race to the rescue of a teenage girl who has been swept out to sea by a rip current. In Portishead, north Somerset, a m ...
09-07-2024
BBC 2
Series 2: Episode 10
Every day around the UK, an army of unpaid volunteers put their lives on the line to try and save complete strangers. Saving Lives at Sea tells the story of the ordinary men and ...
23-11-2021
BBC 2
Series 9: 6. Trust
Every one of the RNLI’s crew members brings their own unique skills to the station at which they volunteer. But they’re all united by one key element: trust.\n\nIn H ...
09-05-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: Episode 5
Every day in the seas around the UK and Ireland, an army of unpaid volunteers put their lives on the line to save those of others. This series tells the story of the ordinary me ...
24-02-2022
BBC 2
Series 9: 10. Hidden Dangers
The RNLI respond to over 9,000 shouts each year - and what often gets people into trouble in the first place are the hidden dangers.\n\nIn Porthcawl, on the south-west coast of ...
05-06-2024
BBC 2
Series 5 (shortened Versions): Episode 6
Every day around the UK and Ireland, an unpaid army of men and women, from artists to undertakers and from priests to poets, are ready to put their lives on the line to save tho ...
20-11-2024
BBC 2
Series 4 (shortened Versions): Episode 4
Every day in the seas around the UK and Ireland, an army of unpaid volunteers put their lives on the line to save those of others. Saving Lives at Sea tells the story of the ord ...
31-01-2023
BBC 2
Series 6: Episode 8
When the crews step onto their lifeboats, they work as a team - and teamwork is key to every rescue. On Ireland’s south east coast, the three crews at Dunmore East, Kilmor ...
16-03-2023
BBC 2
Episode 06-03-2022
Every day in the seas around the UK and Ireland, an army of unpaid volunteers put their lives on the line to save those of others. This series tells the story of the ordinary me ...
06-03-2022
BBC 2
Series 4 (shortened Versions): Episode 3
Every day in the seas around the UK and Ireland, an army of unpaid volunteers put their lives on the line to save those of others. Saving Lives At Sea tells the story of the ord ...
02-03-2022
BBC 2