Lifeboatman Time Commitment.

[toad_oftoadhall]

A couple of mates in the RNLI made the point today that all the local lifeboat stations (both RNLI and independent) are short of people available during working hours and on the face of it I'd be a pretty useful person because, well, I am available at those times.

My employer would be happy to give me time off for shouts. I've done some exercises with them purely for fun so my face would fit IYSWIM.

Sounds perfect, but there is, of course, a big catch. I don't have time for (and I'm not interested in) a lot of weekend training, and weekend fundraising which I suspect are part and parcel of the role. I'm not looking for a new hobby but if I can help out at their problem times for a minimum of my own time investment, that's great.

I don't want to ask anyone I know what would be required because I don't really think it'll work out so figured I'd try to do some research of my own. However the RNLI web site doesn't appear to give info on the time requirements of crew.

So time to turn to the FOAK. What's the minimum start up and ongoing training commitment for crew of inshore/all weather life boats (both independent and RNLI)? Anyone know?

 

[rib]

let me get this right you want to help rescue peeps but have minimum training to do so !

 

[toad_oftoadhall]

let me get this right you want to help rescue peeps but have minimum training to do so !

I don't want to do anything, the last thing I need is another drain on my time. But I potentially could help at their difficult times if the training/fund raising commitments outside of shouts aren't too onerous. You can tell from my post that I strongly suspect they will be too onerous or I'd simply be asking the people who know rather than asking on here.

 

[prv]

It's funny - I was reading a lifeboat crewman's blog a while back and it gave the impression that they had more volunteers than they knew what to do with, every shout was oversubscribed and the coxn had to "pick teams" trying to give everyone a fair go over time. I guess that must be the weekends and evenings version of the situation.

I quite like the idea of volunteering and my job doesn't rule it out (though at present I work slightly too far from the coast for it to be practical) but the picture he painted of having to rise through the "ranks" of the local lifeboat clique before you even get to train as a crewman rather put me off.

Pete

 

[toad_oftoadhall]

I guess that must be the weekends and evenings version of the situation.

They were very specific that working hours are the problem which is why they reckoned I'd be a good fit. (Although I naturally assume they actually meant I'd be a good fit due to my godlike talent in a boat.)

I quite like the idea of volunteering

To be honest, I don't. I love playing in big waves as much as the next man but from the stories I hear they do very little of that and an awful lot of training, fundraising, towing broken down Mobos and pulling smelly suicide corpses out of the water.

Seems churlish not at least to check, though.

 

[Blueboatman]

FOAK I got, though perhaps more muddy pool than ecclesiastic location

But IYSWIM ? FOAKED if I kno that one, sorry. Hang on, I see

A chat/beer with the coxsain p'haps?

 

[rib]

me sir me sir if you know what i mean

 

[rib]

see

 

[rib]

not know see

 

[rib]

know what i mean

 

[rib]

offsm

 

[Crabber24]

This is surely a wind up.....

 

[Woodlouse]

Seeing how the organisation is run on a volunteer basis I suspect that it is up to you to whether you do the weekend training, fundraising etc. There may be a minimum requirement for training exercises if you wish to remain active, as it's only sensible to maintain your familiarity with the crew and boat. For other less important roles though I doubt letting the weekend warriors take the brunt would affect your role if you were seen as reliable during the unreliable times.

 

[Ceejay]

Years ago, I volunteered to join the lifeboat crew local to where I lived and worked. The lifeboat was stationed at the harbour that I fished from. No one ever got back to me about my application, and when I enquired at RNLI HQ, they had never been made aware of my application. I put it down to the cliquey set up at the time and the fact that I didn't spend enough time, or money in the local bar, which was owned by the launching authority.
This was a long time ago, and I'm guessing that things have changed and that hopefully, things are more open to all, and that sobriety is no longer seen as a barrier to volunteering.
CJ

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Years ago, I volunteered to join the lifeboat crew local to where I lived and worked. The lifeboat was stationed at the harbour that I fished from. No one ever got back to me about my application, and when I enquired at RNLI HQ, they had never been made aware of my application. I put it down to the cliquey set up at the time and the fact that I didn't spend enough time, or money in the local bar, which was owned by the launching authority.
This was a long time ago, and I'm guessing that things have changed and that hopefully, things are more open to all, and that sobriety is no longer seen as a barrier to volunteering.
CJ

Nope, its not changed but at the same time knowing who you can trust and work with, which can be established via a clique, might actually be a good thing in this case.

 

[obmij]

I don't think it's changed at all

First time I applied I had what I thought was pretty decent experience, lived close to the launching station and was available at all times due to my being self employed. I didn't hear back from them. I applied again a couple of years later. No reply and when I called to follow up I was asked to leave a message but no-one got back to me.

I met a few of the crew a few months later. They were at a sailing club drumming up funds. I had a few beers with them but didn't tell them I'd applied. Half of them seemed to be related by marriage.

Interestingly few of them had any kind of seagoing experience prior to joining. Maybe the RNLI prefer that so they can train people up from scratch without bad habits from prior employment creeping in. Novices trained from scratch are also less likely to try and do things their own way.

Aside from that, which I don't think is a bad thing, I think they are cliquey and I thought not replying to my applications was unnecessarily rude.

 

[ribrunt]

You will find custom and practice vary widely within broadly set requirements by station for reasons of history, geography (i.e. launch methods), personalities, etc.
Recruitment happens locally, not @ HQ.

Generally, crew are not required to help in fundraising. This, however, varies by station. We are a very busy station with a strong fundraising team, so we tend to "show up" for events where crew preseence is helpful. Other stations have crew much more involved.

Time at sea/on the boat is much more important, there are minimum competencies and hours to be achieved regularly to ensure you are safe on the boat and useful for LB duties. Training schedules vary by station again - some every Sunday at 1000, every other Monday night at 1900, and the fifth Friday in a month. Many others, like us, whenever a crew fancy. 0700 on a Wednesday, or 2300 on a Saturday night. It's about being competent and also knowing / working with all the other crew over time as you don't know who'll be there when the pagers go off.

We certainly favour crew with marine experience - but availability is a critical requirement for most stations nowadays and may result in some "odd" selection decisions - sometimes a trainable, available resource is better than an unavailable salty sea-dog.

If you want hours, minimum 12 exercises / year with crew meeting attendance (monthly for us) somewhat secondary but important. ILB exercises typically 2-3 hrs. Familiarisation? Would suggest 2-3 times that for the first year or two. We also tend to share out small "jobs" amongst all crew - e.g. First Aid kit checks, LJ checks, etc.

The only way you'll really understand how any given station works is frankly by talking to some of the crew, senior team (i.e. Helms (ILB) Coxwains (ALB) or Ops Manager, Launch Authorities, etc.)

As for "ranks" and all that - again station specific. Not a thing we are fans of. Playing in big waves - when do you think we do our training.....a thing we are fans of!

Most stations are grateful for sensible volunteers and understand that commitment levels change as peoples lives change - so once the basis are covered the rest is up to you. Like anything, except Bank shares, the more you invest the better the return.

PM if you want to chat further.

RR
RNLI ILB Helm.