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 2025. A total of 28 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in October 2026.
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Saving Lives at Sea
On the Northumberland coast, a 999 call comes in from a woman whose husband is drifting out to sea on a paddleboard; it’s a race against time for the Seahouses crew to find him.
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1:00:00In Dungeness, the crew are called out to a small boat in the middle of the shipping lanes - and discover the casualty is the subject of a major manhunt.
Series 11
When a kayaker calls a friend to say she’s in trouble out at sea, the line suddenly goes dead; the Happisburgh crew find her over a mile off shore, face down and unresponsive.
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 reef.
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.
The Newbiggin crew race to the rescue of three children who have been swept out to sea on a small inflatable dinghy.
In Watergate Bay, one of Cornwall’s surfing hotspots, two teenage boys are caught in one of the beach’s notorious rip currents.
When a mayday comes in from a yacht breaking up off the Norfolk coast, both the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston RNLI crew and Caister’s independent lifeboats race to the rescue.
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 desperate.
Series 10
The Newhaven crew make a desperate attempt to rescue a yachtsman before his vessel is smashed on the rocks.
With a storm battering the south coast of England, a windsurfer is in trouble. The Portsmouth crew have to decide whether it’s even safe for them to launch.
A ten-year-old boy has been swept out to sea on a paddleboard. The North Berwick crew race to his rescue.
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 Eastbourne, on the Sussex coast, a routine day at the lifeboat station changes in an instant when a boat catches fire just outside the harbour.
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.
In Trearddur Bay, the RNLI crew battle through a force 10 gale and huge waves to try to rescue a surfer - watched by their worried families back on shore.
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.