Such, however, was the case with the Atlantic 21, the credit for which belongs to Admiral Desmond Hoare, a former headmaster of the Atlantic College, St Donats Castle, on the South Wales coast, who later became a member of the RNLI's Committee of Management. The college was opened in September 1962 and one of its recreational activities was the racing of sailing dinghies. Strong currents and a massive rise and fall of tide in the area made a really fast and maneuverable rescue boat essential. The RNLI at this time was already experimenting with their inshore rescue boats but Admiral Hoare was not satisfied with this type of boat, mainly because of its tendency to jack-knife in the short step seas of the Bristol Channel and the retarding effect of its high hydrodynamic drag. He therefore set about designing a more efficient rescue boat for use by the students and RNLI representatives who visited the college were so impressed with its promise that limited financial support was given to the experiments.
The first boat, X1, was launched by HM the Queen at St Donats in 1965 and subsequently put on trials at Gorleston. She was a 16 ft-long inflatable with rigid floor and deep Vee bottom. Experiments continued with X2, X3 and X4 and, by 1967, X5 of the same basic design, but 17 ft in length and with modified underwater lines, was tested at Lyme Regis. She proved to be a fine boat and the RNLI were well satisfied. X6 to X12 inclusive followed within a year and, of them all, X7 and X8 were found to be too small, whilst X11 came near perfection.
In 1969 a 21 ft boat of the class, named Psychedelic Surfer, was entered in the Round Britain Power Boat race, and considering her size, acquitted herself well by completing the course and coming home 19th. Improvements and further modifications of this boat finally resulted in the construction of B1, B2 and B3, subsequently adopted by the Institution and classified as the Atlantic 21.
These craft have a hollow, rigid, buoyant hull constructed of plywood and sub-divided into watertight compartments, the upper surface of which forms the floor of the boat. A heavy plywood transom partially encloses the stern and also provides support for two 50 hp outboard motors. The sides and bow are enclosed with a continuous inflated buoyancy tube of neoprene rubber, also sub-divided into airtight compartments. When fully loaded, the waterline of the boat lies wholly below the inflated tube, while the open stern ensures rapid clearance of any water that may be shipped.
The boats have a range of 180 nautical miles and a maximum speed of 32 knots. A navigational system, radio equipment, rockets; flares, first-aid kit and other gear susceptible to damage by sea water are carried in watertight lockers under the saddle seats.
Responsibility for further development was then taken up by the RNLI who took the class a stage further by introducing self-righting capabilities, extending the stern sponsons and utilizing 70hp engines. In 2000 The American Ambassador, the boat, which has served us for 16 years, was replaced with the new B class inshore lifeboat, an Atlantic 75 named The Colin James Daniel.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and Atlantic College

The RNLI is a charitable organisation receiving no financial support from the government. Its funds are donated by the public and through legacies (moneys left in wills). It exists to save life at sea and on the coast of the UK and Ireland. All lifeboat men and women serve voluntarily.
Much of the seafront equipment, including the B-Boat itself, belongs to the RNLI, not the College. The station itself is the College's but is leased to the RNLI.
Our station is in the RNLI's West Division, which includes Wales and some of the English coast to the north and south. A Deputy Division Inspector (DDI) inspects us every three month, taking the lifeboat out with a student crew and advising us on operational practices.
The Atlantic 75, the Colin James Daniel, is one of several; classes of inshore lifeboats (i.e., designed for working on good to moderate conditions close to the shore).
All ILB students who are able to pass certain medical requirements (including an eye test) are invited to be enrolled in the RNLI from the age of 17 onwards. Usually all enrolled students are able to go to the RNLI Inshore Lifeboat Centre on The Isle of Wight during the third term for a two-day boat-handling course.
Like other RNLI stations, Atlantic College aims to be available for service every day of the year, twenty-four hours a day. For this reason we must have students on call-out cover at all times during term time. In the vacations, ILB staff, College maintenance staff, and other AC staff share call-out cover. Some ex-students are also available during the summer vacation.

The Inshore Lifeboat Service

As well as providing crew and a shore party for the RNLI Lifeboat the ILB service is responsible for safety boat cover for Atlantic College seafront activities. Students are trained in rescue techniques and pass qualifications in powerboat handling (Royal Yachting Association Levels 1 and 2 and Safety Boat) and in Lifesaving (Royal Life Saving Society). Two 3.5m tiller controlled CARIBE RIBs (Rigid Inflatable Boats) are on order to enable safer launching and recovery in adverse conditions than is possibhnle with our older wooden training boats. Currently under review are the procurement procedures for new boats. Until 1990 our training boats were all built at Atlantic College however the introduction of new materials and the costs involved have meant that no new boats have been constructed at the college since 1988. Commercial resources for research and development are far greater than we could find here at the college and the innovations of the 1960's are now less likely. We still operate four training boats built at the college but these will need to be replaced in the near future. We also host many visiting groups to the station and take seriously the need for prevention rather than rescue hoping that we can prevent the need for our lifeboat. The structure, training and responsibilities of the Inshore Lifeboat Service are currently under review.