RNLI - Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Saturday, September 02 2006
The RNLI is a charity that provides a 24-hour lifesaving service around the UK and Republic of Ireland. There are 233 RNLI lifeboat stations in the UK and Republic of Ireland and most lifeboats are operated mainly by volunteers. The RNLI also operates seasonal beach lifeguards units throughout the south west of England. In 2005 the RNLI rescued 8,104 people. Since the RNLI is a charity organisation they totally rely on gifts and in 2005 they raised an income of £117M. The biggest part came from legacies, 61%, and 32 % was raised by volunteers. Throughout the year many fundraising events are held all over the UK and Scotland. The running costs averaged around £330,000 (€484,510) per day in 2005. For every £1 raised, 78p was spent on operations, 3p was spent on support and 19p was spent on fundraising.
The Islay Lifeboat station can be found in Port Askaig and is located there for more than 70 years. The lifeboat at Port Askaig is a Severn Class Lifeboat which was introduced in 1995. The name of the Islay Lifeboat is Helmut Schroder of Dunlossit II. Some technical details: Length 17m, Range 250 nautical miles, Speed 25 knots, Weight 41 tonnes, Crew 6, Construction Fibre reinforced composite. The history of the lifeboats and lifeboat station at Port Askaig is available here
To help save lives at sea, call the RNLI on +44(0)845 121 4999 or Donate here
The following report is from David Steenvoorden (no not related) who is a volunteer in Grimsby
David Steenvoorden, Coxswain of the Humber lifeboat, recalls his experiences during a particularly challenging rescue in January 2005: ‘I was already watching the weather when we got a call to say that a fishing boat, Sorrento, was suffering engine problems out at sea. The winds were very strong and gusty and the forecast said it was going to get even worse. ‘We set off at 2.43pm and it was a really rough ride out to the casualty. But one of the great things about the training is that the crew don’t panic. They just get on with their jobs. ‘After two and a half hours of pounding through 5m high waves, we arrived at the scene. We could see straight away that it would not be easy. The weather and the motion of the two vessels made it very difficult to pass a tow rope to the fishing boat. On more than one occasion we passed the rope, but the fishing crew were unable to hold on to it. Eventually they managed to secure it and we started towing them. ‘The journey back was a slow one and we had to refresh the tow rope every hour or so to prevent all the strain being on the same part of the rope. ‘It was really intense, because one lapse in concentration can lead to disaster. ‘We eventually got into Grimsby at 6.35 the next morning and the towrope hadn’t parted once. I was exhausted but I knew we had done a good job, which recharges your batteries. There were no other vessels around to respond quickly enough to that fishing boat – if we hadn’t saved them, no one would have. ‘Since then, whenever I go to buy a cup of tea at the café on the docks in Grimsby I’m told that someone has already paid for it. I never know which fisherman has done it, but that is their way of saying “thank you”. It’s a special feeling. ‘If it wasn’t for the public’s support, we wouldn’t have trained crew members to carry out rescues like that. A monthly contribution from someone like you gets us well on our way.
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