Saving Lives at Sea
Saving Lives at Sea is a documentary on BBC1. Ordinary people, extraordinary bravery. From trawlers in peril to struggling swimmers, meet the army of RNLI volunteers working to save those in danger - whatever the weather. The program has been available since 2023. A total of 29 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in July 2024.
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Saving Lives at Sea
On the coast of south Wales, Penarth crew member Tom is called up for his first ever shout when a female paddleboarder is caught out by the tide.
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On Ireland’s north west coast, the RNLI crew at Bundoran race to the rescue of a teenage girl who has been swept out to sea.
In Thurso, Scotland’s most northerly mainland station, the crew race to the rescue of an ocean-going rower who has run into trouble 40 miles out to sea.
Series 6
The lifeboat volunteers pluck a fallen climber out of the sea in Wales, and in Scotland they rescue a 170-ton fishing boat that’s perilously close to the rocks in gale force winds.
Series 7
In Lyme Regis, the crew face a frantic search for three fishermen whose boat has capsized in the River Axe. Meanwhile, the Kinsale crew help a skipper attempting to sail across the Atlantic.
Series 9
In Porthcawl, on the south west coast of Wales, the crew receive a call about a swimmer who’s been swept out to sea in a rip current as his wife and son watch on helplessly.
On the north Somerset coast, the Minehead crew come close to disaster in a challenging rescue of two walkers cut off by the tide.
In Mudeford, on the Dorset coast, a search for a missing kayaker quickly escalates when it emerges that there are six more kayaks unaccounted for.
Series 5
The volunteers of the RNLI race to rescue a paddleboarder being blown out to sea, a man overboard and two teenage girls trapped on a sandbank and at risk of drowning.
Series 9
In Walmer, the crew respond to reports of a major incident involving a small boat in the Channel. On arrival, they are faced with mass casualties in the freezing water.
In Humber, the crew must work closely together to pull off the dangerous medivac of a fisherman with a spinal injury.
In Queensferry, on the east coast of Scotland, an American visitor is caught out by the tide and is barely conscious when the RNLI crew drag him out of the water.
In Castletownbere, crew member Donagh faces a baptism of fire on his first shout as the crew carry out a dramatic rescue of a fisherman who has suffered a suspected stroke.
In Porthcawl, a fisherman has been dragged lifeless out of the sea by bystanders. The lifeboat crew race to the beach and join the desperate attempts to resuscitate him.
In Dungeness, the crew are called out to reports of a small boat in the middle of the shipping lanes, and they discover that the casualty is the subject of a major manhunt.
Dermot O’Leary uncovers the story of the RNLI’s heroic efforts in the Second World War as its crews were called to serve in the most perilous of conditions, saving 6,376 lives.
In London, the RNLI rush to the rescue of a man in the water in the Thames, while in Fleetwood a desperate 999 call alerts the crew to a man in danger of being swept out to sea.
Series 8
On the Isle of Wight, the Bembridge crew face a race against time to save an old fishing trawler that’s become trapped on a submarine barrier and is now taking on water.
The volunteers of the RNLI race to save a surfer at the mercy of Storm Brendan, and a paddleboarder who’s being swept out to sea - and away from his young children.
Series 8
The North Berwick crew race out to try and save a windsurfer battling the seas as he and they fight the gale-force winds of Storm Dennis on the east coast of Scotland.