St Ives is an historic fishing port in west Cornwall and offers a sheltered harbour for ships in the open waters of the Western Approaches.

Francis Adams, a local man, had recently won a prize from the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society for designing a double-ended, self-righting lifeboat, and he was commissioned to now build one.

The St Ives boat now covered a larger area, but this was made easier in 1933 with the arrival of a first motor lifeboat.

[3] In 1964 an ILB was stationed at St Ives which was kept in a building in the Sloop Car Park on West Hill.

The work involved widening the main doorway, installation of a new fuel tank and upgrading of crew facilities.

A large steamship was reported to be in trouble off Cape Cornwall but the Sennen Cove lifeboat could not be launched due to the low state of the tide.

The boat now drifted north-eastwards across St Ives Bay towards Godrevy Point where it capsized for a third time.

[7] The lifeboat house is situated at the landward end of the West Pier facing a slipway into the harbour.

The Shannon-class lifeboat at St Ives has an operating range of 250 nmi (460 km) and a top speed of 27 knots (31 mph; 50 km/h).