The turbulent seas off the coast of North East England can be treacherous, often buffeted by tremendous gales. Over the centuries countless ships have come to grief on the notorious rocks and sandbars at the mouth of the Tyne. By the eighteenth century, with sea traffic increasing year on year, a lifeboat that could tackle these ferocious conditions to rescue shipwrecked sailors was desperately needed, and the enterprising men of Shields rose to the challenge. In Rescues in the Surf Stephen Landells tells the dramatic story of the invention and development of the Shields rowing lifeboats and their rival pioneers Willie Wouldhave, and Henry Greathead. The fortunes of the Tyne lifeboats are followed to the present day along with the history of the Tyne Lifeboat Institution, and the Volunteer Life Brigades. Introduced by the Duke of Northumberland, this generously illustrated book an extensive list of rescues and wrecks from the 1720s to the 1930s.