The Porthcawl Lifeboat Station sits on the esplanade between the harbour and Sandy Bay. It is one of the busier stations on the South Wales coast — the Bristol Channel has the second-largest tidal range in the world, fast currents around Sker Point to the north, and a long list of historic wrecks. The station operates both an Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat and a smaller D-class.
The boathouse is open to visitors for free most days, and volunteers are happy to talk through the boats and the rescues. The station is the natural starting point for a walk along the esplanade past the breakwater and the small harbour, with its 19th-century iron lighthouse — the only cast-iron Welsh lighthouse still in regular use.