Lifeboat College
The Lifeboat College is the national training centre of the RNLI in Poole, Dorset, England.
| Lifeboat College | |
|---|---|
 View in September 2009, with Atlantic 85 lifeboat B815 | |
  Lifeboat College in Dorset | |
| General information | |
| Type | College and national HQ |
| Address | Poole, BH15 1HZ |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 50.72°N 1.99°W |
| Elevation | 2 m (7 ft) |
| Current tenants | RNLI staff |
| Construction started | January 2003 |
| Completed | 2004 |
| Inaugurated | 28 July 2004 |
| Cost | £18 million |
| Client | RNLI |
| Owner | RNLI |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 5 |
| Design and construction | |
| Structural engineer | Faber Maunsell |
| Main contractor | Dean and Dyball |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
History
The RNLI has around 4,600 crew members. The RNLI receives no government financial assistance.
Structure
It is situated slightly north of, and next-door to, the famous speedboat manufacturer Sunseeker on the west side of Holes Bay, off the A350. Directly to the north is the large Asda Poole. On the opposite side of the road is the RNLI Support Centre. Also nearby is the RNLI All-Weather Lifeboat Centre (ALC)[2] which opened in August 2015.
It is a residential college and has sixty bedrooms.[3] It has an annual cost of around £1.1 million. It aimed to train around 4,000 people a year, although around 1,500 are currently trained each year. It often hosts exhibitions and conferences with organisations unconnected to the RNLI, such as trade exhibitions. It has a 120-seat auditorium.
A lifeboat simulator, with a five-metre-radius cylindrical visualisation screen with Digital Light Processing (DLP), was provided by Antycip Simulation UK of Oxfordshire.
Training
It has a Sea Survival Centre with a 25 m × 12.5 m × 4 m deep wave pool.
See also
- Maritime Rescue Institute, in Scotland
- RM Poole, home of the Special Boat Service (SBS)[4]