The Royal National Lifeboat Institution was established in 1824 and has a long and proud tradition of saving life at sea. Today, the volunteer lifeboat crews on the coasts of Lancashire, Cumbria and the Isle of Man operate high-tech, state-of-the-art lifeboats for the purpose of saving lives at sea.

The RNLI currently operates twenty-four lifeboat stations around the North West and Isle of Man. This comprehensive book has details of every one, with information about their histories and the current operations. It also includes details of old stations that have been closed, and contains descriptions of some of the dramatic, courageous and daring rescues undertaken by the lifeboat crews from the region.

Author Nicholas Leach has amassed a wealth of information about the lifeboats and lifeboat stations of the North West and Isle of Man, past and present, visiting every one to provide a complete and up-to-date record of life-saving in the Irish Sea and off the north-west coast of England.