Salcombe was established as a station by the RNLI in 1869, its first boathouse being built at South Sands on land presented by the Earl of Devon and costing £309 10s. In 1878 a second lifeboat station was established at Hope Cove, funded by The Freemasons of England.

On 27 October 1916 the Salcombe Lifeboat William and Emma capsized at the entrance to the Salcombe Harbour drowning 13 of her crew of 15. One of the survivors from the lifeboat, Edwin Disten became the coxswain of the replacement lifeboat Sarah Ann Holden which arrived in April 1917.

In 1922 the lifeboat was moved from South Sands to a permanent mooring in the harbour. Three years later in 1925 the Salcombe Lifeboat Station was closed as it was felt that the new motor lifeboats at Brixham and Plymouth could cover the area. But the closure proved ill-advised so in 1930 a motor lifeboat was placed at Salcombe and the station at Hope Cove was closed permanently.

In 2003 the station received an Atlantic 75 class inshore lifeboat, which was replaced with the Atlantic 85 class inshore lifeboat Gladys Hilda Mustoe in 2018 which is housed in the Lifeboat Station off Union Street and is launched down its own slipway. The current Tamar class all weather lifeboat The Baltic Exchange III was placed on service at Salcombe in March 2008 and is moored alongside a pontoon near to the Lifeboat Station.

Since the station was established in 1869 there have been thirteen gallantry medals awarded, four Silver and nine Bronze, the last being awarded in 1992.

The volunteer lifeboat crew provide a 24-hour search and rescue service 365 days a year along the South Devon Coastline, but none of this would be possible without the support of the public and their donations. It costs in the region of £250k a year to run and maintain the service in Salcombe, all of which comes from the generous donations of the public.

Through this page you can either make a simple donation to support the work of our volunteers by clicking on the "Give Now" button, or why not create your own JustGiving Fundraising Page by clicking on the "Start Fundraising" button and raise money by carrying out your own event or challenge.

Your contribution will help to fund the selfless work of our volunteer lifeboat crew in Salcombe, by doing so you will be helping to save lives around our coast and will be providing the best equipment possible to ensure the safety of our volunteers.