RNLI spreading their operations overseas?

fien397 said:
As far as im aware the RNLI is not expanding its services outside of the UK and Ireland, what it is continuing to do, as it has done for some years is offer training and advice, to enable emergency services around the world to become much more aware of the dangers around water, especialy swift water/flood rescue. i also believe the rnli is paid by local governments for some of this work.
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Exactly - one of the first lessons learnt internationally that using black boats in the Mozambique floods made for very very hot backsides!

The RNLI has always had leading involvement with the International Lifeboat Federation, and many out of service boats now do sterling jobs all round the world.
 
I'd have thought the French could do a much better job than the RNLI, and at half the price to boot!

Woops, a big clap of thunder went off just as I wrote that - I'd better be off then.
 
Juan Twothree said:
Sort of.

Where the RNLI has beach lifeguards in a particular area, the local authority pays the RNLI to provide that service.
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Just heard Cornwall Council is struggling to carry on with funding this. Wonder if the RNLI could somehow find a way to expand their lifeboat funding/operating model into this area? Never really understood why beach work was any different from the traditional role, but always willing to learn. I can see that calling out for specific incidents is different from permanent patrols. There might be some extra positive PR if RNLI funded the lifeguards - at present they are really a commercial contractor to local government rather than a charity (I accept that this line is becoming increasingly blurred in many areas of state activity).
 
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sailorman said:
The intention was to show that i do support the RNLI, but, not in everything they do. They do waste money imo
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I completely agree. I'm just not very impressed by people who say "I'm an RNLI <insert impressive title here>" when all it means is that they have donated some money. How much governing do governors do?
 
Juan Twothree said:
Sort of.

Where the RNLI has beach lifeguards in a particular area, the local authority pays the RNLI to provide that service.
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sorry were talking cross purposes here, i am aware that town councils pay for beach lifeguards, its the work abroad i was getting at.
 
Barnacle Bill said:
I thoroughly approve.

RNLI is a very rich charity, spends a lot of money on new equipment - when plenty of countries have nothing like that level of gear, and would dearly love to be able to afford stuff that UK lifeboatmen would consider obselete.
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I do not understand your comment Your location is shown as Kilkenny. RNLI is very active in the whole of Ireland with over 30 lifeboat stations south of the border, and active coordination between HMCG and IMES.
 
Is there some concern that the RNLI shouldn't be saving black lives then?

I am a long standing regular contributor to their funds and fully support their work in Africa where many lives are lost needlessly as people with little understanding of the sea are able to go on seaside holidays for the first time. Support & training of local lifesavers is a very cost effective way of saving lives & the experience is no doubt extremely useful for the RNLI people who go out there to deliver the support & training.

It's an insignificant sum & does much good for the locals as well as increasing the respect people have for the RNLI and the British in general. I really do despair that people are so small minded & parochial as to think that the RNLI is only for "Little England" - they have many, many International links & learn much from co-operating & sharing ideas with overseas organisations.
 
Searush said:
Is there some concern that the RNLI shouldn't be saving black lives then?
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Hello,

As far as I am aware nobody has said anything of the sort.

YMMV but personnaly while I was aware that the RNLI maintained international contacts and that retired lifeboat would often head abroad, I was intrigued that that a fund raising campaign had been started specifically for thier works overseas and started a thread while waiting for my train to leave Liverpool St station!

Had I been contributing to a charity mostly working abroad and then seen adverts highlighting thier work in the UK I might have made a similar comment, but most likely in the lounge.
 
Brent Goose said:
Hello,

As far as I am aware nobody has said anything of the sort.

YMMV but personnaly while I was aware that the RNLI maintained international contacts and that retired lifeboat would often head abroad, I was intrigued that that a fund raising campaign had been started specifically for thier works overseas and started a thread while waiting for my train to leave Liverpool St station!

Had I been contributing to a charity mostly working abroad and then seen adverts highlighting thier work in the UK I might have made a similar comment, but most likely in the lounge.
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I take it you don't ever read the magazines they send you then? There have been several articles about overseas activity over the years. I'm just trying to understand why you object to an organisation with the stated objective of "Saving lives at sea" not wishing to restrict that activity to one small country on the edge of Europe?

Maybe you need to write to the governing board & ask them to change their objective to "Saving lives in English Seas" or even "Saving English lives at sea"? In fact, I suppose that their inland flood water work is more at odds with their objective than the African Beach Life-saving, but I wouldn't want that to be curtailed either, especially as the Fire Brigade training RIB ended up wrapped round the Swellies Beacon a few years back because they had no white water experience. Luckily the RNLI were able to rescue them.
 
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The RNLI websites makes it clear they help internationally, also have seen press releases about their international aid plus now apparently ads on the underground, it is not a secret. It is a charity if people do not like this they do not have to contribute to it
http://rnli.org/aboutus/International/Pages/International-development.aspx
'Drowning claims an estimated 400,000 lives around the world each year, over half of which are children. This is a conservative estimate – the actual number is likely to be much higher. An incredible 96% of these drownings happen in low- and middle-income countries.
Despite the scale of the problem, it is barely recognised – a silent epidemic. It’s hard to believe that this is not yet a global priority. We are working to change that.
Working in partnership with others, we are expanding our international work to provide communities with the knowledge, equipment and skills to try to reduce this staggering loss of life.'

They even provide a map of the world to show where they are working
 
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Barnacle Bill said:
I thoroughly approve.

RNLI is a very rich charity, spends a lot of money on new equipment - when plenty of countries have nothing like that level of gear, and would dearly love to be able to afford stuff that UK lifeboatmen would consider obselete.
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It depends on what you regard as rich, if you mean lots of money to spare then they aren't rich and as the father of a volunteer cox´n I am all in favour of new equipment,
 
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