In 1789, a coal ship named Adventure ran aground at the mouth of the River Tyne during a violent storm. The sea was too rough for the local boats and nothing could be done to save the thirteen-man crew. This tragic loss prompted a competition to design a new type of boat, that could carry 24 people and was suitable for rescues in rough and stormy seas. The result was the first ‘Life-Boat’.
Parish clerk William Would have and boat builder Henry Greathead, both from South Shields, submitted designs for the competition. Neither design was approved by the judging committee. William Would have was offered half the prize money, but he took offense and rejected it. The committee combined ideas from both designs and asked Henry Greathead to build this new ‘lifeboat’. Greathead added some of his own modifications and the result was what became known as the Original – the first purpose-built lifeboat.
Henry Greathead is often credited as the inventor of the lifeboat. But the honor really goes to three men: Greathead, Would have and Lionel Lukin, who paved the way when he patented his design for the world’s first unsinkable boat in 1785. Among the key elements of the design of the Original were the curved keel, the use of cork blocks and banding, and the double-ended construction allowing rowing in either direction. Over 32 such lifeboats were built, and the model exported overseas, though by the 1840s they began to be replaced by lighter designs that were easier to launch.
