Call out the lifeboat?

[zoidberg]

".....if not duffers, won't drown."

 

[dunedin]

".....if not duffers, won't drown."

You missed the controversial bit . “Better drowned than duffers, …”

 

[lustyd]

Yes, but I'm damned glad their budget is enough to rescue me should I need it

As long as when you need it you're within their service area. Hopefully not in an area with an alternative service which is drastically underfunded because the marketing machine has made everyone think they are the only sea rescue service in the UK.

 

[capnsensible]

I now have a mental image of drifting around off Beachy Head inside a nice cozy maintained liferaft having a survivors discussion as to which rescue service to opt for having studied each ones contracts. And what 'extras' they have to tempt you.....

 

[Plum]

..,....m. Also worth remembering that the sailors called the coastguard and it was the CG's decision to call the lifeboat out.......

Quite right, so there is another big chunk of related information and decision making we do not know about making it impossible to pass any judgement based on the RNLI press release.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[Laysula]

Would these Frenchmen done it in France at £500 a pop?

 

[HughClayton]

This is a great forum with lots of positive support, help and ideas. That said some of the speculation and casual racism in this thread about two rescues is less than positive.

The RNLI rescue lots of people, including all sorts of folks doing daft things, but they are volunteers funded by our donations. The volunteers include press officers, operations managers as well as crews so let’s be thankful that they are there and give them what support we can.

 

[Greemble]

there is another big chunk of related information and decision making we do not know about making it impossible to pass any judgement

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

Agreed - and that can be said of nearly everything 'reported' in the UK Press.
Doesn't stop many of the forumites on here from drawing/jumping to conclusions, though.

 

[lustyd]

but they are volunteers funded by our donations

To be clear the volunteers are the one thing not funded. They are volunteers. They have an enormous money making organisation around them which enables them to do their great work in the best gear. Most of the money making machine are not volunteers as far as I can tell, they’re there for the pay check or because they can make fortunes in associated businesses like boat building.

 

[Juan Twothree]

To be clear the volunteers are the one thing not funded. They are volunteers. They have an enormous money making organisation around them which enables them to do their great work in the best gear. Most of the money making machine are not volunteers as far as I can tell, they’re there for the pay check or because they can make fortunes in associated businesses like boat building.

The fact that someone is paid by the RNLI doesn't mean that's the only reason they do it.

I've met lots of RNLI employees over the years ago could have earned a lot more money elsewhere, including some who gave up lucrative careers because they wanted to work for the organisation.

 

[Tranona]

The fact that someone is paid by the RNLI doesn't mean that's the only reason they do it.

I've met lots of RNLI employees over the years ago could have earned a lot more money elsewhere, including some who gave up lucrative careers because they wanted to work for the organisation.

Agreed. They operate in an environment here in Poole where both the technical and commercial skills are in high demand and many prefer to work for the RNLI because of what the organisation stands for. Helps on the technical side by being at the cutting edge of technology in terms of boat design and construction.

 

[ylop]

. Most of the money making machine are not volunteers as far as I can tell,

still a big bit of the money making machine that is volunteers - from local fundraisers to the station press officers.

 

[HughClayton]

To be clear the volunteers are the one thing not funded. They are volunteers. They have an enormous money making organisation around them which enables them to do their great work in the best gear. Most of the money making machine are not volunteers as far as I can tell, they’re there for the pay check or because they can make fortunes in associated businesses like boat building.

To be clear the volunteers are the one thing not funded. They are volunteers. They have an enormous money making organisation around them which enables them to do their great work in the best gear. Most of the money making machine are not volunteers as far as I can tell, they’re there for the pay check or because they can make fortunes in associated businesses like boat building.

Suggest reading the RNLI Annual Report to understand how the RNLI is funded and what it spends money on.

https://rnli.org/-/media/rnli/downl...b881ecf&hash=83C5B1DA1ABAF5B240C723225D4C6606

Roughly two-thirds of their income comes from legacies ( ie gifts as part of a will) and one third from donations. Around 9,700 people volunteered with the RNLI in 2022 and 2,400 were employed. 374 staff worked to manage Legacies and Donations.

I’d suggest that they are efficient at raising money to save lives at sea.

And for what it’s now that I’ve opened the accounts of the 2,400 paid staff 371 help crew the lifeboats (generally the mechanic is a full-time role) and 760 build and maintain lifeboats and lifeboat stations.

 

[HughClayton]

The RNLI is a Billion pound organisation with practically unlimited marketing budget, which they put to good use extending their Billions of pounds. Anyone spending even a small amount of time paying attention will see the distinct differences between what was reported and what actually happened. Quite often it's not even creative licence, it's outright falsification. Having witnessed several incidents over the years and later read about them, and once having been the main character in one of their works of fiction, I can assure you that it's not because nobody wants to do it.

Sometimes they don't need to overexaggerate, and sometimes they are an exceptionally good service.

not piling on but whilst fact-checking the RNLI’s total income in 2022 was £219.9m. So hardly a Billion pound organisation

 

[lustyd]

not piling on but whilst fact-checking the RNLI’s total income in 2022 was £219.9m. So hardly a Billion pound organisation

They certainly used to have a billion pounds in cash and other assets (not boats). Income is a different thing, and I’m not surprised it’s down in the current climate.

 

[harvey38]

Ramsgate Lifeboat has certainly been busy over the last 24hrs

The annual kids fishing competition is this Friday organisedby the RNLI Station. Each entrant gets a brand new rod, reel and tackle, taken out by the local fishing fraternity, bought back to the station for a prize-giving ceremony, barbeque, beers etc for the adults etc.

It is a real community event, often over subscribed, local businesses donate meat, bread, alchohol, fishing kit and raises a huge amount of money. Even though we're on holiday here, we'll be donating four hours of our time on the bbq to do our bit.

"Do you want onions on your burgers?"

 

[Stemar]

As long as when you need it you're within their service area. Hopefully not in an area with an alternative service which is drastically underfunded because the marketing machine has made everyone think they are the only sea rescue service in the UK.

The lifeboat that came out to me when I got stuck on the mud in Portsmouth Harbour was GAFIRS, They also get a little bit from me each month. Maybe not life saving, but I was very glad to be got off. It was October, blowing a hooley and we were dressed to put the boat to bed, not spend several hours waiting for the tide to set us afloat again.

 

[ProDave]

The issue to me is the logic in going to sea in a sailing boat without an engine.

Most cruising yachts of course have an engine, but it seems these particular racing boats don't and when the conditions are wrong for sailing they could not easily get to their destination.

Surely if they were out in some kind of race, there would be some form of powerboat as a safety / rescue boat provided by the organisers? Like clubs do to support the dinghy racing?

Is not the whole logic of sailing in a boat without an engine and without any safety boat what we should be discussing?

Those that choose to cruise in a dinghy I suspect would just accept if the weather turns foul they might not be able to reach their intended destination, and would settle for anywhere they could safely get to land. Should these racing sailors without an engine just do the same?

 

[Mark-1]

The issue to me is the logic in going to sea in a sailing boat without an engine.

Most cruising yachts of course have an engine, but it seems these particular racing boats don't and when the conditions are wrong for sailing they could not easily get to their destination.

Surely if they were out in some kind of race, there would be some form of powerboat as a safety / rescue boat provided by the organisers? Like clubs do to support the dinghy racing?

Is not the whole logic of sailing in a boat without an engine and without any safety boat what we should be discussing?

Those that choose to cruise in a dinghy I suspect would just accept if the weather turns foul they might not be able to reach their intended destination, and would settle for anywhere they could safely get to land. Should these racing sailors without an engine just do the same?

Ahhh, so "lacking engine power" == "lacking engine".

I hadn't spotted that. Makes a little more sense. Lack of wind combined with strong tide explains everything.

 

[HughClayton]

They certainly used to have a billion pounds in cash and other assets (not boats). Income is a different thing, and I’m not surprised it’s down in the current climate.

Total assets £775 of which investments £270.8m. Again, hardly a “billion pound” “money making machine.

Off to go sailing now!