A gift of £300 had been received from Miss Sarah Lechmere of Hanley Castle, Worcestershire, which was appropriated to the station.

A 34-foot lifeboat was ordered from Forresst of Limehouse, at £210-4s-6d, along with a carriage from Robinson, of Kentish Town, costing a further £86.

[2][3] Six men were rescued by the Withernsea lifeboat on 11 December 1866, from the brig George of Lowestoft, on passage to South Shields.

[4] Six of the seven man crew of the brig Tribune were rescued on 16 October 1869, after she ran aground off Withernsea.

[5] On 8 January 1876, the smack Frank of Grimsby, fully laden with her catch of fish, ran aground at Waxholme, 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Withernsea.

The lifeboat was transported by carriage up the coast, and then launched to the aid of the vessel, saving all 10 men aboard.

Launching had become difficult at Withernsea since the introduction of new groynes to retain the sand, and most of the wrecks were occurring nearer to Easington.

[17][18] One of the more unusual rescues that the Withernsea Lifeboat crew performed was in January 1989 when the minibus they were travelling in on the M1 motorway was caught up in the Kegworth Air Disaster.