Unbelievable 'rescue' numbers

[Guest]

Unbelievable \'rescue\' numbers

From a magazine today, absolutely nothing to do with yachting, boating or the sea, falls out a flyer from Royal National Lifeboat Institution. It begins by saying that the RNLI 'responded to 6904 emergencies around UK and Ireland last year'.
I am sorry, but I find this figure very hard to believe. This 'statistic' is of course, then used in the leaflet to ask for money of which RNLI has already an awful lot. One hears that the income is used to finance promotion to obtain more income.
But to revert to the 'emergencies'. Where do these figures come from? What is an 'emergency'? And, most important, is this figure audited by a reputable independent organization or form?

 

[Rabbie]

Why?

I understand that there are 224 lifeboat stations administered by the RNLI. This works out that on average they received about 31 calls/emergengies each last year. Hardly difficult to imagine!.

 

[pvb]

Truly unbelievable....

You only have to visit any RNLI place and read the reports they post of their "incidents" to realise what a farce this publicity is. The truth is that the RNLI is awash with money - hundreds of millions of pounds - which they can never spend wisely. They have managed to build themselves into the charity of choice for thousands of little old ladies who leave their life savings to the RNLI, not realising that they already have more money than they know what to do with. It is truly unbelievable, and a sad comment on our society.

 

[SteveA]

Re: Truly unbelievable....

I find what you say to be totally repugnant - the people that operate the RNLI boats are true heroes - I have the honour of knowing both the locoal crew and Ladies Guild ( including my wife) and know that they are incredibly dedictated.

What the hell do you do for others!!!

 

[pvb]

Re: Truly unbelievable....

Well, actually, I do a lot for others. However, this thread relates to the figures which the RNLI publishes and which, in many people's opinion, are less than credible. I'm sure that lots of those who support the RNLI are dedicated, but I'm equally convinced that very few of them are aware of the true funding situation of the RNLI, which has millions of pounds sloshing around in its coffers. True? Or unbelievable?

 

[poter]

Whoa down......

I don't think there is any critisim of the Life boat crews on here. but I for one was totally unaware that the RNLI was "awash with money", is there any way that this can be verified????

Even if true, again I don't think its is an implied critisim of any lifeboat crew, but more likly the admin/head office.


poter

 

[jimi]

Good Planning

I'd rather they had too much money than too little.

Jim

 

[Guest]

Re: Good Planning

Perhaps they could give lessons,the government should get in the quick.

Lash

 

[Twister_Ken]

money

From RNLI Report and Accounts, 2001
Income £128 m
Expenditure £104 m
Reserves £148 m

(Cost of generating funds £22.2m)

 

[jimi]

Re: money

Prove's Lash's point .. a service like that for that amount of money, not bad! But as I'm not aquainted with the technicalities of charity accounting I feel unqualified to make any other comment!

Jim

 

[Ohdrat]

Re: Unbelievable \'rescue\' numbers

Well they can't claim this one in their stats! http://Yacht crew plucked to safety What I cannot get my head around is that the yacht doesn't appear to have had a liferaft!

Edit .. link above not working the url is http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2240225.stm

 

[jimi]

Re: Unbelievable \'rescue\' numbers

link still disnae work .. a bit like ma bluidy computer or i'd hae signed aff 6 hoors ago!!!

Jim

 

[Chris_Stannard]

Re: Unbelievable \'rescue\' numbers

For an article I was writing I asked the RNLI for figures and they gave me a breakdown. The callouts for the year 2000 were about 6400. This included callouts to commercial vessels, fishing boats(quite a lot) diving boats, people on airbeds who had floated out to sea and so on and the numbers were credible.

A large number of the callouts, about 1800, were to yachts and motor boats. About 400 were for stranding and a lot were for yachts, (Yes I do mean with sails) that had a problem with their engine and could not cope without it. 11 people died as a result of incidents on yachts.

With regard to the crews, who are all volunteers, there have been many lifeboatmen who have given their life in the attempt to rescue others, you may not remember the Penlee disaster when the lifeboat and all its crew were lost in the 70s. I think that was the most recent in a long line of such incidents. My own view is that the crews deserve the best equipment that can be provided.

As regards the funding, I have my doubts about the need for a massive HQ, such as that at Poole, and it seems to me to be excessive to spend 20% of your income on fundraising, but I think this is about average for charities so they are no worse than anyone else.

Finally, I have been in the vicinity of two yachts in difficulty when the lifeboat was called out, and was very glad for those in trouble that they were there. In both cases the weather was bad, and in one mid channel, lives would have been lost had they not been around. Perhaps the HQ sucks but remember the chaps who will come to your aid should you be in that situation.

Chris Stannard

 

[billmacfarlane]

Statistics and damned lies.

We all know the saying about statistics and damned lies and in this case as in most cases a favourable stat is quoted ,seemingly plucked out of thin air , for some use which is , in this case to raise funds. So what ? Yes the RNLI is a very rich charity , probably wasteful and inefficient in some of its dealings and I've criticised them in the past on this site for some if its stats on so called rescues , which it obviously tries to present in the best possible light. If that's what it must do to keep the cash coming in then as far as I'm concerned that's fine because the bottom line is that , if I'm offshore on a truly horrible night and in trouble , I know that some bloke in a pub having a beer with his mates or at home with his wife watching the telly , will voluntarily drop everything and possibly risk his life to come to my aid and I think that that alone justifies the odd slant on its stats.

 

[ccscott49]

Re: Unbelievable \'rescue\' numbers

With the cost of one of those super lifeboats etc, they need all the money they can get, also remember the tynes are due for replacement, for a new slip launched boat, the developement and manufacture costs to this standard are horrendous, more like building an aircarft than a boat! But I believe as do a lot of the crews, the ex RN influence in the service is too much and it's beggining to become a RN retirement home! (the main office that is) Also they do need a big base, for the spares they need alone! But not swish offices for the hangers on (management).

 

[Jeremy_W]

Re: Unbelievable \'rescue\' numbers

Nobody, I trust, doubts the courage or questions the integrity of lifeboat crew. You know I'm a fan of Seacheck. We all admire their rescue work in foul conditions. I do remember the Penlee disaster. But there are pressures on the organisation as a whole to keep its "lives saved" figures high. So any extra shouts they can do aid the stats.

One day our engine didn't start after a race. No problem - skipper's a pro engineer - so we drop the genoa and hold station against the ebbing tide under main alone (fairly near the lock entrance). Lock-keeper gets on the VHF (Marina working channel - not Channel 16) to ask if we want a lock-in. "Not yet, we can't get the engine to start". Next thing you know the local Inshore Rescue guys in an over-powered RIB are alongside: "Want a tow"? It would have been churlish to refuse, really so after a tow of 200 metres we enter the stats - one vessel assisted / seven lives saved / another incompetent yottie who needed help because of engine failure in a decent sailing wind!

A friend had the same experience when becalmed off Holyhead (out of the separation zone; nowhere near any rocks) - reported to Coastguards the engine failure and said he was working on fixing it. Food, water and booze for 14 days; generator would keep their radar, nav kit and lights going till kingdom come. .. next thing, out pops the lifeboat. Have you ever seen a 72 foot ferro schooner planing?

 

[jimi]

Re: Unbelievable \'rescue\' numbers

Is there not another possible angle? i.e. the more practice they get the better the individual crews will be in a real emergency?

Jim

 

[Guest]

Re: Unbelievable \'rescue\' numbers

Thank you pvb for bringing the thread back to the subject. We are not discussing the dedication and bravery of RNLI crews, nor even the office block and administration. What is at issue is the touting of statistics for 'emergencies', 'rescues' or whatever they call them. These appear to be unaudited and piled in by both RNLI and indeed HM Coastguard whose incidents are inevitably entwined.
In vain one hopes they might be better classified, dissected and analyzed rather than just being pushed out as 'hyper-activity'.
Underlying this is a very important aspect for yachters and boaters. Such numbers can be ammunition to government and others who would like to regulate us.
Considerable anecdotal evidence shows that the rescue industry - and it may be well meaning - is too quick to 'help'. We used to have to wait six hours until the tide floated us off!
Remember the skiff sailor who suffered a knock down in the round the island race. A helicopter winchman appeared above him. Sailor: 'What's all this?' RAF man 'We've come to rescue you'. Sailor 'I don't want to be rescued. I'm just trying to get my boat upright again'.

 

[pvb]

Read the figures again!

If you look more closely at the RNLI Report & Accounts 2001, you'll see that their total reserves are a massive £503 million!

The £148 million you quoted is only what the RNLI likes to call its "free reserves".

You'll also see that the RNLI (largely thought of by the public as an unpaid volunteer service) actually spent over £28 million on "staff costs" in 2001.

Incidentally, their staff also benefit from a final salary pension scheme (remember those?) which had over £100 million tucked away at the end of 2001.

 

[poter]

Re: Read the figures again!

Crikey

So if say each boat costs, for arguments sake, £500,000 including development costs etc. thats over a 1000 extra boats, without touching the "free reserves"

hmmmmm.

So really, whats the reserve dosh for????

poter