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 ordinary men and women of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) who are ready to answer their pager’s call and race to the rescue of those in trouble, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, whatever the weather. Using footage shot on the crews’ own cameras, this series takes us into the heart of the action, capturing the unpredictable work of the RNLI in unique detail.\n\nOver five thousand lifeboat crew volunteers are on standby to launch into the seas, rivers and lakes of the UK and Ireland and when they do they know there are three things they can rely on – their kit, their training and, most importantly, their team. The tight-knit crew at St Davids in Pembrokeshire includes three brothers Hal, Will and Ben, who are all called into action together when a plane makes an emergency crash landing on one of Wales’s busiest beaches, while over two hundreds miles to the south, on Jersey in the Channel Islands the St Catherine crew push their boat and themselves to their limits launching into a winter storm to search for a man missing far out at sea; and on the Wirral the crew of Hoylake launch their specialist rescue hovercraft and race the incoming tide to try and save a horse, stuck fast in mud, from drowning.
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 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 8: 8. 24-7
The volunteer crews of the RNLI’s 238 lifeboat stations can be paged at any time, day or night, calling them away from friends, families and colleagues to head out into th ...
01-12-2023
BBC 2
Series 8: 3. Heart Of The Community
For almost 200 years, the UK and Ireland’s lifeboat stations have always been at the heart of their local communities.\n\nIn Larne, Northern Ireland, father and son duo Fr ...
27-10-2023
BBC 2
Series 9: 4. First Time For Everything
For every RNLI crew member, the first shout is just the beginning of many firsts.\n\nOn the south western tip of Ireland, Castletownbere crew member Donagh faces a baptism of fi ...
25-04-2024
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 2 (shortened Versions): Episode 6
Documentary following the men and women of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
23-06-2021
BBC 2
Series 6 (shortened Versions): Episode 9
We rely on our lifeboat crews 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year - they risk their lives saving ours, even in the most challenging conditions.\n\nIn St Davids, on the Pembroke ...
22-11-2023
BBC 2
Series 9: 7. Knife Edge
In the 200 years since the RNLI was founded, its crews have saved the lives of over 146,000 people. But even with all that experience behind them, shouts often balance on a knif ...
16-05-2024
BBC 2