Atlantic College Lifeboat Station (based in Atlantic College, South Wales, a United World College) opened in 1963 (shortly after the school had been launched the previous autumn) as one of the first experimental inshore lifeboat stations established by the RNLI. The RNLI withdrew the lifeboat from Atlantic College in June 2013. The college now concentrates on training beach lifeguards. History B-class development Atlantic College was instrumental in the design and development of the RNLI's first fast rescue boats under the supervision of the headmaster, Rear Admiral Desmond Hoare. He was the pioneer of the revolutionary Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) and of the prototype for the eventual lifeboat, which was named after the college and entered service in the early 1970s. In the early 1960s the college began designing, building and experimenting with the operation of a series of rigid inflatable boat, one of which eventually became the basis for the B-class. The chief innovation was the design, construction and testing of a rigid hull attached to inflatable tubes, for previously the inflatable boat bottoms were made of flexible, rubberized fabric that was kept taught under load through the use of collapsible inboard floorboards that formed the boat’s deck. This notable and novel innovation was in response to the rough seas, breaking surf and rocky shore conditions at the college’s St Donats Bay seafront access, in which school rescue craft had to be launched, operated and recovered. The college sold the RIB patent to the RNLI for £1 in 1973. An early example was discovered in Barry in 2012 and restored in 2014. First female crewmember On 20 May 1971, the station recorded the first service at any station involving a female crew member taking part. Penelope M. Sutton was a member of the crew when the ILB was launched to investigate a Swedish motor cruiser, reported to be at anchor and flying a distress signal. The incident was a false alarm, as the courtesy Red Ensign flown on the cruiser had been misinterpreted. RNLI lifeboat station In 1973, the station received its first standardized RNLI Atlantic 21 lifeboat. Previous lifeboats operated by the station were owned by the college with the RNLI paying for the operating expenses. In 2000, the station received a slightly longer and larger lifeboat at roughly 24 feet in length. The RNLI withdrew their standardized lifeboat in June 2013. Helmsman training time had increased from one