The present day station covers a huge swathe of the northern coast from the Humber to Hartlepool, and is regularly listed as the busiest in the north of England.

A No.2 station was created with the second boat, a 26-foot 10-oared lifeboat, constructed by local boatbuilder Christopher Gale, and launched from davits on Tate Hill Pier, where a boathouse was built out for protection.

[5] By 1859, the "West Side Lifeboat" was found to be rotten, and a new 30-foot boat was ordered from local boatbuilder Francis Falkingbridge, costing £130, and delivered in September 1860.

[16] The lifeboat disaster of 1861, where twelve of the lifeboatmen died, prompted a local fund-raising effort for their widows and children.

This eventually raised over £8,000, but the trustees of the fund thought that supplying the money to the widows and orphans might give them ideas above their station, so a memorial was paid for instead, to be installed in the parish Church of St Mary in the town.

A similar situation occurred in April 1834, when the lifeboat from Whitby was carried overland to Robin Hood's bay to rescue two women in difficulty.

One swam ashore, seven got back into the vessel, but three members of the RNLI crew drowned, with their bodies washing up on the beaches around Whitby in the following days.

The seas were too rough to launch from Whitby and row around the coastline, so a decision was made to haul Robert Whitworth the 6 miles (9.7 km) overland to Robin Hood's Bay through blizzards and snow drifts, some as deep as 7 feet (2.1 m).

[32] When the lifeboat and crew arrived, they launched the boat and spent 90 minutes in effecting a rescue of the people still stranded at sea.

Whilst sailing from the Firth of Forth to Dunkirk to evacuate wounded soldiers, she ran aground on Saltwick Nab reef, which is just south of Whitby Harbour.

One of Whitby's RNLI lifeboats Robert and Mary Ellis (ON 588) attempted to close on the wreck but was forced back by the high waves.

Another of Whitby's lifeboats the John Fielden (ON 379) was dragged across the rocky scar to a point adjacent to the wrecked ship and made two successful rescues bringing 35 people to the safety of the shore, however the damage to her hull prevented and further attempts.

An audacious plan to haul the Upgang lifeboat William Riley of Birmingham and Leamington (ON 594) overland to opposite the Rohilla and then lower it by hand down the 200-foot (61 m) cliff was successful however the mountainous sea conditions prevented her launch.

This tragedy was one of the pivotal points that was to see the RNLI introduce motor lifeboats spelling the end for the traditional rowing boat.

[38][39] On 30 September 1976, the trawler, Admiral Von Tromp, ran aground on Saltwick Bay rocks, much as the Rohilla had done 62 years earlier.

Why the boat ran aground some 90 degrees off of her pre-planned course has never been fully explained as the man at the helm of the ship drowned that night.

Eventually, the flooding of the ship led the men to taking to open water from which three were washed ashore, with the skipper of the boat being rescued by the inshore lifeboat from the sea.