English Towns of the RNLI Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gravesend

RNLI Gravesend boasts a single 8.5 m (28 ft) inshore lifeboat, shallow of draft and good for work in the shoal Thames estuary. "Grave" could be a form of "grove" or "graf" (count) or simply "graves", referring to graves from the period of the Black Death.

Answer: Margate

Margate boasts an enclosed Mersey-class enclosed all-weather 12 m (38 ft) lifeboat, necessary for offshore work in the North Sea and English Channel. "Margate" refers to a gate, or gap, in seaside cliffs that allows the sea to enter to form pools. Margate, in both the UK and US, are popular seaside resorts known for their sand beaches.

Answer: Hastings

There is no harbor at Hastings, just a wide shingle and sand beach at the foot of eroding cliffs. The RNLI lifeboats are kept on wheeled trailers and are towed to the Channel waters and launched by multi-wheeled tractors. Duke William of Normandy landed on these beaches and set up his camp near Hastings, but the battle that bears that name occurred at Senlac Hill, eight miles north of Hastings.

Answer: Portsmouth

Portsmouth is an inshore RNLI station on the relatively sheltered waters leading to The Solent, a narrow strait between the English mainland and the Isle of Wight. Portsmouth, England is an important maritime and naval port as are its namesakes in the U.S.

Answer: Fleetwood

Fleetwood, Lancashire, is the home of "Fishermen's Friend" throat lozenges that are popular around the world. Previously a busy fishing port, that industry has declined in recent decades, but other maritime activities require the presence of a RNLI lifeboat station that has offshore and inshore boats.

Answer: Blackpool

Water flowing over a peat bog becomes darkly discolored, creating a "black pool" where it enters the Irish Sea. From a high of 17 million annual visitors in 1992, modern tourism numbers have fallen to around ten million mainly due to cheaper airfare to Mediterranean resorts. RNLI lifeboat station Blackpool has one 8.5-meter rigid hull inflatable boat and two smaller D-class boats that are unique in the RNLI for not having a rigid hull.

Answer: Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow, in Cumbria, is a deep water port on the Irish Sea and is located near England's steel industry, making it a natural location for shipbuilding. Most Royal Navy submarines are built in Barrow, as well as larger capital ships such as the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible.

The RNLI keeps one of their larger heavy-weather lifeboats here, a Tyne-class that is faster and has more endurance that its predecessor motor lifeboats. The Tyne-class is self-righting, meaning that if it capsizes in rough seas it is designed to return to an upright position.

Answer: Sunderland

Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, is the second largest municipally-owned port in the UK. Shipbuilding began there in the 1300s and in WW2, Sunderland built 25 percent of British merchant shipping. Sunderland is the oldest operational lifeboat station in the UK, started in 1800 and taken over by the RNLI in 1865.

Answer: Scarborough

Famous in song, Scarborough held an annual Fair for merchants for over 500 years. In WWI, the city was bombarded by the German High Seas Fleet. A lifeboat station opened there in 1801, one of the oldest in the UK, and moved into a new state-of-the-art building in November 2016.

Answer: Douglas

RNLI Douglas is home the largest motor lifeboat stationed on the Isle of Man, a 14 meter (47 foot) Tyne-class. Douglas is the largest city and capital of the island. Located in the center of the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man hosts RNLI stations in Douglas, Peel, Port Erin, Port St. Mary and Ramsey.