Volunteer crew members from Littlehampton RNLI were joined by a playful pod of dolphins during a routine exercise.
The encounter took place on July 9, when helm Andy Harris and crew members Sophie Collins, Ian Kirkham and Mark Jordan were out on the Renee Sherman lifeboat.
Sophie Collins, who joined the crew in August 2024, said: “It was literally the best day of my life.
“It was such a peaceful sight and the perfect way to end our evening training session.”
The dolphins, including a mother and calf, stayed with the boat for around 10 minutes, leaping out of the water and playing in the lifeboat’s wake.
Mr Harris said: “It’s one of those sights you never get tired of seeing. We saw them ahead, then we saw another group coming up behind us.
“They came to have a look at us and were jumping clear out of the water. They followed us for some of the way home, too.”
Mr Kirkham said: “It was superb to watch how they effortlessly rode our bow wave and the boat’s wake. I had to remember to keep a lookout as well as watch the dolphins.”
Littlehampton RNLI is operated entirely by volunteers and covers the West Sussex coast between Worthing and Bognor Regis.
The crew trains every Thursday evening and Sunday morning and in 2025, they were called into action 77 times.