Call out the lifeboat?

[Tranona]

I don’t want to belittle the very dedicated volunteers who make some very brave rescues in challenging conditions. But don’t underestimate their desire to go on a shout when it is a jolly to collect some idiot paddleboader who has drifted too far out on an offshore wind or similar.

Anyway it’s good training and the RNLI can afford the fuel.

Are paddleboarders some lower form of life who are not deserving of some help when in difficulties? RNLI volunteers don't get a choice as to who is worthy of being rescued - neither should anybody else.

 

[Juan Twothree]

Are paddleboarders some lower form of life who are not deserving of some help when in difficulties? RNLI volunteers don't get a choice as to who is worthy of being rescued - neither should anybody else.

Definitely not. We all make mistakes, and it's not for us to judge.

However......I have had a few issues with jet skiers. One or two have become quite threatening when I've explained that I'm not going to tow them 30 miles back to where their car is parked, I'm offering them a tow, which they don't have to accept, to a suitable nearby safe haven.

 

[Plum]

.... But don’t underestimate their desire to go on a shout when it is a jolly to collect some idiot paddleboader who has drifted too far out on an offshore wind or similar......

I can assure you the RNLI do not regard rescuing a paddleboarder a jolly, if that is what you meant.

 

[Stemar]

Definitely not. We all make mistakes, and it's not for us to judge.

However......I have had a few issues with jet skiers. One or two have become quite threatening when I've explained that I'm not going to tow them 30 miles back to where their car is parked, I'm offering them a tow, which they don't have to accept, to a suitable nearby safe haven.

How do you resist the temptation to leave them there, giving them a good soaking with your prop wash as you go?

BTW, Paramedics on ambulances have similar issues with people of similar intelligence. I don't know how they do it, either.

 

[johnalison]

Are paddleboarders some lower form of life who are not deserving of some help when in difficulties? RNLI volunteers don't get a choice as to who is worthy of being rescued - neither should anybody else.

I have nothing against paddleboarders apart from a little resentment at their evident youth and the tendency of some to invade wildlife areas, but the question at issue is about how we should view those who go to sea so ill-equipped that the involvement of the emergency services is greatly increased. The range of people who do this ranges from the feckless on lilos to Captain Calamities in what the papers call yachts. I know that the RNLI are happy to rescue anyone in trouble, whether stuck on a cliff or in a foundering ship, but, like others, I feel that there is a level of recklessness that does a disservice to all of us.

 

[Tranona]

I have nothing against paddleboarders apart from a little resentment at their evident youth and the tendency of some to invade wildlife areas, but the question at issue is about how we should view those who go to sea so ill-equipped that the involvement of the emergency services is greatly increased. The range of people who do this ranges from the feckless on lilos to Captain Calamities in what the papers call yachts. I know that the RNLI are happy to rescue anyone in trouble, whether stuck on a cliff or in a foundering ship, but, like others, I feel that there is a level of recklessness that does a disservice to all of us.

Such people are in a tiny minority and there is no practical way of eliminating such behaviour. The freedoms we have to go about our pastime are valuable and worth tolerating a minority who behave in a way that we don't approve of. There existence in most cases has no impact on us as individuals. We should be grateful there are others, particularly volunteers who are prepared to help those who get into trouble without being judgemental about it.

 

[Pye_End]

None of us were born experienced, and some take longer than others to learn. Some never do.

Offshore breezes have always been a problem - I remember pulling in a few inflatables that were heading for the horizon (the ones safe only for a bath), in my youth, using a more sturdy rigid dinghy. Numbers may have gone up, but it is just a variation on a theme.

The idea of letting some of them 'go' is quite bizarre - what do you think will happen to them if not rescued?

 

[Stemar]

Such people are in a tiny minority and there is no practical way of eliminating such behaviour.

Well, there is - just let 'em collect their Darwin Awards.

No, I don't want to see it happen either. How many of us would be here to grumble about idiots having to be rescued if we hadn't been rescued in our idiocy when we were young and immortal?

 

[Biggles Wader]

How do you resist the temptation to leave them there, giving them a good soaking with your prop wash as you go?

BTW, Paramedics on ambulances have similar issues with people of similar intelligence. I don't know how they do it, either.

Probably a sense of humour which would get them sacked if anyone in authority found out.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

None of us were born experienced, and some take longer than others to learn. Some never do.

Offshore breezes have always been a problem - I remember pulling in a few inflatables that were heading for the horizon (the ones safe only for a bath), in my youth, using a more sturdy rigid dinghy. Numbers may have gone up, but it is just a variation on a theme.

And conditions can change. In my youth, I got caught out once, despite being a fairly competent sailor and a good navigator at that age! I went for a jolly out of Stonehaven harbour in our rigid sailing dinghy. It wasn't a sparkling performer - basically, a general-purpose dinghy fitted with daggerboard and sail. I had a great time, but the wind strengthened and it became a dead beat to windward to get back in the harbour. The strengthened wind meant that the marginal windward capability of the dinghy became even less. I wasn't in danger - if necessary my dad could have brought our Halcyon 27 out to collect me - but fortunately, I JUST managed to make enough to windward to get back in the harbour, with my dad and my brother yelling advice from the harbour wall!

My point is that people may set out in benign conditions and not realize that the conditions were changing. I didn't realize that the wind had strengthened enough to give me a problem until I tried to get back to windward!

 

[Juan Twothree]

Probably a sense of humour which would get them sacked if anyone in authority found out.

Why would we get sacked for having a sense of humour?

It sounds like you believed all those press stories about the RNLI a few years ago.

Most of which, as I stated at the time, were either totally untrue, or else had a grain of truth but were somewhat embellished by the media.

 

[Biggles Wader]

Why would we get sacked for having a sense of humour?

It sounds like you believed all those press stories about the RNLI a few years ago.

Most of which, as I stated at the time, were either totally untrue, or else had a grain of truth but were somewhat embellished by the media.

If you re-read the relevant posts I wasnt referring to the RNLI.

 

[zoidberg]

Why would we get sacked for having a sense of humour?

We're not allowed to call it 'black humour' any longer. I s'pose we're now expected to call it 'humour of colour'....

 

[Frogmogman]

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

It’s not €500 a pop, it varies. The SNSM charge for towing on a cost basis. To be quite clear, it is NOT a profit making exercise; they are required by law for this to be the case.

While the SNSM will save your life for free, they will pass on the cost of saving your boat etc to you. In France, most marine insurance will cover the cost of recovery; mine certainly does.

I see absolutely nothing unreasonable in this.

 

[Stemar]

Probably a sense of humour which would get them sacked if anyone in authority found out.

Oh, management know full well. The vast majority of them came up through the ranks. They obviously aren't allowed to approve, but a little selective deafness in the messroom is a required skill, especially after a harrowing job.