
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 to cargo ships on the rocks. In almost every single rescue every second counts. Saving Lives At Sea tells the story of the ordinary men and women who give up their time to do something extraordinary, giving an insight into the lives of the 6,000 lifeboat crew members who are prepared to put their lives on hold whenever the pager sounds, and whatever the weather. \n\nSaving Lives At Sea brings us some of the RNLI’s most extraordinary recent rescues, filmed with the crews’ own cameras, and taking us straight into the heart of the drama. The series captures life at some of the 238 lifeboat stations across the UK and Ireland, the compelling stories behind the crew members involved, and the heartfelt testimony of the casualties they’ve saved. \n\nThe volunteer crews of the RNLI are often described as heroes, but it’s a word many of them find difficult to accept. In Trearddur Bay, in Anglesey, Sara and her daughter Katie know only too well the ups and downs of Daf - husband and Dad - being a long-serving crew member. When a force 10 gale rolls in from the Irish Sea, Daf and the crew battle through the waves to try and rescue a surfer. On the same stretch of Welsh coast the Llandudno and Rhyl lifeboats are involved in a desperate search for a fishing vessel that’s reported missing. In Appledore, in the mouth of the Bristol Channel, the crew are called out to rescue a woman who’s stuck in the mud, with the tide racing in. And on Fistral beach, on the north Cornish coast, the RNLI lifeguards are faced with a treacherous rip current that’s left a young woman in grave danger.
Source: BBC 2
Series 11: 4. Young Surf Hero
A teenage boy rushes to help save a paralysed surfer from drowning. When a 999 call comes in, the Appledore crew are tasked with an immediate launch. \n\nIn Little and Broad Hav ...
20-10-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 7. Yacht On The Reef
A French yacht has made a mayday call after suffering mechanical failure near Jersey. The St Helier crew must rescue the vessel before it drifts onto a notoriously treacherous r ...
17-10-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 9. Rip Current Surfer
The Porthcawl crew’s training night is disrupted when a call comes from a dog walker who has spotted a surfer in trouble below the cliffs at nearby Rest Bay.\n\nDuring the ...
13-10-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 6. Lifeguard Emergency
In Watergate Bay, one of Cornwall’s surfing hotspots, two teenage boys are caught in one of the beach’s notorious rip currents.\n\nWhen three distress signals are ac ...
11-10-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 8. Paddleboard 999
On the Northumberland coast, a 999 call comes in from a distressed woman whose husband is drifting out to sea on a paddleboard; the Seahouses crew race out to locate him.\n\nIn ...
07-10-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 5. Searching For A Pulse
When a kayaker calls a friend to say she’s in trouble out at sea, the line suddenly goes dead; the Happisburgh lifeboat crew finally find her over a mile off shore, face d ...
04-10-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 4. Teenage Mayday
A mayday comes in from a French yacht 16 miles west of St Helier, in the Channel Islands; on board are two teenage girls whose father is unconscious. On the Firth of Tay, the Br ...
27-09-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 3. Family Sos
The Newbiggin crew race to the rescue of three children who have been swept out to sea on a small inflatable dinghy; the situation escalates when reports come in that the father ...
24-09-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 2. Sandbank Shipwreck
When a mayday comes in from a yacht breaking up on a sandbank off the Norfolk coast, both the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston RNLI crew and two of Caister’s independent lifeb ...
13-09-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 1. Man Overboard
The Porthcawl crew respond to a 999 call about a local fisherman who’s fallen overboard. As they discover the casualty’s identity, their search becomes increasingly ...
07-09-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 6. Lifeguard Emergency
In Watergate Bay, one of Cornwall’s surfing hotspots, two teenage boys are caught in one of the beach’s notorious rip currents.\n\nWhen three distress signals are ac ...
11-10-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 7. Yacht On The Reef
A French yacht has made a mayday call after suffering mechanical failure near Jersey. The St Helier crew must rescue the vessel before it drifts onto a notoriously treacherous r ...
17-10-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 4. Young Surf Hero
A teenage boy rushes to help save a paralysed surfer from drowning. When a 999 call comes in, the Appledore crew are tasked with an immediate launch. \n\nIn Little and Broad Hav ...
20-10-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 8. Paddleboard 999
On the Northumberland coast, a 999 call comes in from a distressed woman whose husband is drifting out to sea on a paddleboard; the Seahouses crew race out to locate him.\n\nIn ...
07-10-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 2. Sandbank Shipwreck
When a mayday comes in from a yacht breaking up on a sandbank off the Norfolk coast, both the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston RNLI crew and two of Caister’s independent lifeb ...
13-09-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 3. Family Sos
The Newbiggin crew race to the rescue of three children who have been swept out to sea on a small inflatable dinghy; the situation escalates when reports come in that the father ...
24-09-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 5. Searching For A Pulse
When a kayaker calls a friend to say she’s in trouble out at sea, the line suddenly goes dead; the Happisburgh lifeboat crew finally find her over a mile off shore, face d ...
04-10-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 9. Rip Current Surfer
The Porthcawl crew’s training night is disrupted when a call comes from a dog walker who has spotted a surfer in trouble below the cliffs at nearby Rest Bay.\n\nDuring the ...
13-10-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 1. Man Overboard
The Porthcawl crew respond to a 999 call about a local fisherman who’s fallen overboard. As they discover the casualty’s identity, their search becomes increasingly ...
07-09-2026
BBC 2
Series 11: 4. Teenage Mayday
A mayday comes in from a French yacht 16 miles west of St Helier, in the Channel Islands; on board are two teenage girls whose father is unconscious. On the Firth of Tay, the Br ...
27-09-2026
BBC 2