RNLI

[fireblake]

Did anyone see that RNLI boat on the news this morning out in the storm looking for a lad swept away. Those guys have the Right stuff. Balls of Steel and hearts of Gold. Stay safe guys and gals?


Mickey

[snapper]

yes matey I wont argue with that ! and they volunteer ! I think this should be a paid job , Like the retained /oncall

[Loz]

Totally agree, very brave guys certainly know i couldnt do it 

[lew600fazer]

Yea brave lads indeed, but did you know it is one of the most over subscribed charities out there.
Not trying to take anything away from the lads that selfishly put there lives on the line.
I lived in Hoylake Wirral were we have an RNLI life boat, recently they had a new lifeboat station built at a cost of over £2 million. There is a childrens Hospice not far away Claire House and they struggle to keep going. Along the Wirral coastline there are three RNLI stations New Brighton has a RIB, Hoylake has a Mersey class lifeboat, West Kirby has a RIB, that is three sets of kit that has to be maintained. The Hoylake boat is pulled across the beach on a specialised tractor unit. I really do think for our area that is over kill, RAF Valley is a 20 minute Helicopter (Search &Rescue).
I am certainly not having a go at the boat crews everyone a hero.
Oh 45 years as a merchant seaman so do actually know what bad weather is like.

[Lampwick]

Yea brave lads indeed, but did you know it is one of the most over subscribed charities out there.
Not trying to take anything away from the lads that selfishly put there lives on the line.
I lived in Hoylake Wirral were we have an RNLI life boat, recently they had a new lifeboat station built at a cost of over £2 million. There is a childrens Hospice not far away Claire House and they struggle to keep going. Along the Wirral coastline there are three RNLI stations New Brighton has a RIB, Hoylake has a Mersey class lifeboat, West Kirby has a RIB, that is three sets of kit that has to be maintained. The Hoylake boat is pulled across the beach on a specialised tractor unit. I really do think for our area that is over kill, RAF Valley is a 20 minute Helicopter (Search &Rescue).
I am certainly not having a go at the boat crews everyone a hero.
Oh 45 years as a merchant seaman so do actually know what bad weather is like.

[Lampwick]

Hit the post to soon,
Got to agree with the above, the crew do get paid,  local lifeboat in Barry has to full time crew, on a bloody good deal, £65 a day for an in house course at sunny Poole for example,I never hear of the crews putting there monthly check back Into the pot, as a charity they waste more money than my Mrs at Xmas.

[lew600fazer]

Hit the post to soon,
Got to agree with the above, the crew do get paid,  local lifeboat in Barry has to full time crew, on a bloody good deal, £65 a day for an in house course at sunny Poole for example,I never hear of the crews putting there monthly check back Into the pot, as a charity they waste more money than my Mrs at Xmas.

Lampwick, standby for incoming abuse.lol

[Doddsie]

Trust me, if you ever need the RNLI to rescue you youll think that £65 was the best money ever spent. What is your idea of a `bloody good deal`? if its that good, why dont you sign up??  And if they do get payed why should they put it back into the pot, If a charity is paying someone, then they are an employee, do you give your wages back to your employer each month? The course in `sunny Poole` isnt a nice jolly weekend away with the lads, its a course training them to save the lives of everyday people they have never met, people like you and me. While they may well be an oversubscribed charity, trying to belittle them with comments like that takes all credibility away from your argument, especially when you cant even control your own Mrs at Xmas!!

[fireblake]

Personally I think they should be paid more than politicians and collect the Knighthoods that bankers and tossers seem to get for services to whoever

[Exupnut]

especially when you cant even control your own Mrs at Xmas!!

Lol

[JZS 600]

Well I'm off sailing from tomorrow to Sunday.


God Bless the RNLI!

[noggythenog]

Awesome footage & they looked dangerously close to the shore, what with the swell I'm surprised they didn't run aground but hey ho i don't know that bit of water, coulda been really deep, tide against swell always makes for tricky seas.


The guys do it coz they like the adventure, are good eggs, the money or the state of the art kit or whatever but i really do think more idiots should be forced to pay for their stupidity.....every day i see the lifeboat out...stuff can happen to even the most prepared.....but most often it is some twat, pissed up on a small badly maintained boat thinking he's captain birdseye & probably has more money than sense & these are the types that should pay into the RNLI for being pompous pricks!

[Lampwick]

Not knocking the crews, but the institution itself, 50% of my immediate colleagues are lifeboat crew! I work right next to an rnli station, as for money well spent on courses how about sending someone with 25yrs plus of messing about on boats, on a 4 day course on how to be a passenger on a rubber dingy, or a D class for those in the know, as for the wife at Xmas, can anyone control them.

[unfazed]

Whats even more impressive is that they are all volunteers.    

[Doddsie]

If the institution itself has made them the most oversubscribed charity, Id say they were doing a bloody good job!!

[lew600fazer]

Whats even more impressive is that they are all volunteers.

Ah!! all volunteers, it is easier to get into a masonic lodge.
Mate of mine is now to old to be lifeboat crew, many years of service ex cox of the boat etc! Now it would be silly to lose all those years of experience. So he now goes around the North West region training crews and is on the payroll now, has a company car nothing wrong with that but does it really need to be a brand new 3 series BMW.
Now ask yourself this around the country count up the number of RNLI lifeboat stations and then count up the number of Air Ambulances there is nation wide, which do you think is of more use.
As I said before not, knocking the Crews of the boats but???? the fat cats that run the RNLI well they are a different kettle of fish.
Which service do you think you would like to see get more financial support Air Ambulance or RNLI. I know what my answer is.
Any way of starting a poll on here bet the air ambulance wins this one.
Just did a google search, there are 230 RNLI stations around the UK and Ireland. There are 27 Air Ambulance services operating 32 Helicopters nation wide. I will say this though there is NO WAY THIS OR ANY OTHER GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO SELL OFF THE RAF SEARCH & RESCUE SERVICES, especially to foreign ownership.
Lew
Standing by for incoming.

[Doddsie]

Then maybe the air ambulance needs to take a leaf out the the RNLIs book. I dont get how you can knock the way its run if they are oversubscribed. Giving the blokes at the top BMWs is a small price to pay for the millions they are pulling in.

[lew600fazer]

Then maybe the air ambulance needs to take a leaf out the the RNLIs book. I dont get how you can knock the way its run if they are oversubscribed. Giving the blokes at the top BMWs is a small price to pay for the millions they are pulling in.

Doddsie, I lived behind the RNLI station in Hoylake, there open lifeboat day is one of the biggest events in the local area. Trust me they get all the little old ladies out with there collecting tins and they all but mug you. We are all wearing tinted glasses when it comes to the RNLI. The old lifeboat station is now a lifeboat museum, property is owned by Peel Holdings. It is a charity and they were paying a pepper corn rent for the property. The RNLI put pressure on Peel Holdings to get the Museum closed as they said it was having an impact on the funds they were raising over the year. Now I am not saying the museum saves lives, but just pointing out the aggressive lengths the RNLI will go to. Can I ask if you have any connection with the RNLI or any connection with the Maritime industry.

[Doddsie]

 They are a charity and the the purpose of any charity is to raise money for the cause and by your own admission, they are bloody good at it! One minute you say your not knocking the crews, then you say you never see the crew putting money into the coffers. According to you the crews get payed and are on a `bloody good deal` and you live behind the station so why are you not a lifeboat man??? You can say what you like, but most people would agree you dont need rose tinted glasses to see these blokes are real heroes which is what the original post was about.

[noggythenog]

Getting back on track, regardless of funding, yep these guys are pretty cool & i think in general the type of people to do this job are decent guys....historically the numbers of RNLI killed at sea whilst being out on basic wooden boats is testiment to this...still brave guys now of course but they also have the safest boats afloat & all the state of the art technology their money commands & why not....im sure some of their marketing probably is questionable but nowhere near as questionable as the fact the government does absolutely hee haw in this arena.......with eception the RAF & Navy helicopters which of course they would also like to cut.

[lew600fazer]

They are a charity and the the purpose of any charity is to raise money for the cause and by your own admission, they are bloody good at it! One minute you say your not knocking the crews, then you say you never see the crew putting money into the coffers. According to you the crews get payed and are on a `bloody good deal` and you live behind the station so why are you not a lifeboat man??? You can say what you like, but most people would agree you dont need rose tinted glasses to see these blokes are real heroes which is what the original post was about.

Think you need to read back on the posts, never mentioned anything about them getting paid, never mentioned anything about the crew not putting their money back in the pot. As far as I am aware the only crew member that does get paid is the mechanic as it is a full time job. I do not know were the figure of £65 a day came from. I would assume that is to cover expenses while they are on training courses and just right to as the individual will be taking time off from his day job. Why did I not join my local boat as a crew member, seeing as I lived behind the station? simples I was a merchant seaman and you have to be available 24/7 seeing as I was at sea and away from home for long periods there is your answer.  You seem to avoiding a question I asked do you have any background with either the RNLI or the maritime industry. As I said I spent 45 years as a seafarer (marine engineer). Yes the RNLI are very good at marketing there charity but I will stick to WHAT I DID SAY THEY ARE AN OVER SUBSCRIBED CHARITY.
I was on a ship called the Union Venus in 1981as the engineer, I should have been on the sister ship the Union Star as I was standing by the building of the Union Star and was to put her into service. The only reason I did not was that the engineer on the Union Venus fell ill and I was transferred to her a month before the Union Star was to enter service, there by the grace of god go I, see below. At no time in any of my posts have I EVER been crtical about the CREWS of the life boats. The article that follows below is testament to the unselfishness and Bravery of the boats crews. The crew of the Hoylake boat by the way are in need of a new boat as the current boat is coming to the end of her service life, but the powers that be felt that the new station was more important. They are still waiting for their new boat, now which do you think would be more important for the safety of the crew new boat or new boat house. While they were building the new station they also decided to spend £35,000 on a bronze statue memorial for the crew that were lost from the Hoylake boat in 1810, why wait so long, simple a marketing ploy, so as said most people look at the RNLI through rose tinted glasses, NOTE I AM NOT KNOCKING THE CREWS.Penlee lifeboat disasterFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia                                        Jump to:               navigation,                search             

Penlee lifeboat disaster Penlee Lifeboat Station Date 19 December 1981 Location Mount's Bay, Cornwall, England  (50°03′08″N 5°34′39″W / 50.0523°N 5.5774°W / 50.0523; -5.5774 (Tater Du)) Outcome 16 lives lost; no survivors The Penlee lifeboat disaster occurred on 19 December 1981 off the coast of Cornwall, in England, UK. The Penlee Lifeboat went to the aid of the coaster Union Star after its engines failed in heavy seas. After the lifeboat had managed to rescue four people both vessels were lost with all hands; in all, sixteen people died including eight volunteer lifeboatmen.Contents  [hide] 1 MV Union Star 2 RNAS Sea King helicopter 3 RNLB Solomon Browne (ON 954) 4 Aftermath 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links MV Union Star[edit]The MV Union Star was launched in Ringkobing in Denmark just a few days before it was wrecked on the Cornish coast. A mini-bulk carrier registered in Dublin, Ireland, it sailed to IJmuiden in the Netherlands to collect a cargo of fertiliser for its maiden voyage to Arklow in Ireland.[1] It carried a crew of five: Captain Henry Morton;[2] Mate James Whittaker, Engineer George Sedgwick, Crewman Anghostino Verressimo, and Crewman Manuel Lopes.[3] Also on board was the captain's family who had been picked up at an unauthorised stop on the east coast of England:[2] his wife Dawn and teenage stepdaughters Sharon and Deanne.[3] Near the south coast of Cornwall, 8 miles (13 km) east of the Wolf Rock, the new ship's engines failed.[1] She was unable to restart them but did not make a mayday call.[2] Assistance was offered by a tug, the Noord Holland, under the Lloyd's Open Form salvage contract but Morton initially refused the offer, later accepting after consulting his owners.[4] Winds were gusting at up to 90 knots (100 mph; 170 km/h) – hurricane force 12 on the Beaufort scale – with waves up to 60 feet (18 m) high.[5] The powerless ship was blown across Mount's Bay towards the rocks of Boscawen Cove, near Lamorna.RNAS Sea King helicopter[edit]In light of the closeness of the ship to the beach, the Coastguard at Falmouth summoned a Royal Navy Sea King helicopter from 771 Naval Air Squadron, RNAS Culdrose. It used call sign "Rescue 80" during the mission. The aircraft (airframe XZ574) was flown that night by United States Navy exchange-pilot Lt Cdr Russell Smith, assisted by Lt Steve Marlow, S/Lt Kenneth Doherty and Lacmn Martin Kennie of the Royal Navy.[6] However, due to the extreme wave conditions, they were unable to winch anyone off the ship.[2][7]RNLB Solomon Browne (ON 954)[edit]The Coastguard had difficulties contacting the secretary of the nearest lifeboat, Penlee Lifeboat Station at Mousehole on the west side of the bay. They eventually contacted Coxswain Trevelyan Richards and asked him to put the lifeboat on standby in case the helicopter rescue failed. He summoned the lifeboat's volunteer crew and picked seven men to accompany him in the lifeboat.[2] They were: Second Coxswain/Mechanic Stephen Madron, Assistant Mechanic Nigel Brockman, Emergency Mechanic John Blewett, crewmembers Charlie Greenhaugh, Kevin Smith, Barrie Torrie and Gary Wallis.[8] Neil Brockman, the son of Nigel Brockman, got to the lifeboat station on time, but was turned down for the trip by Trevelyan Richards, who was reluctant to take out two members of the same family that night.[8] The lifeboat launched at 8:12 pm and headed out through the storm to the drifting coaster.[1] The lifeboat was the Solomon Browne, a wooden 47-foot (14 m) Watson-class boat built in 1960[9] and capable of 9 knots (17 km/h).[2] After it had made several attempts to get alongside, four people managed to jump across;[7] the captain's family and one of the men were apparently safe. The lifeboat radioed that 'we’ve got four off', but that was the last ever heard from anyone on either vessel.[2] Lt Cdr Smith USN, the pilot of the rescue helicopter later reported that:[10] [font=]“[/font] The greatest act of courage that I have ever seen, and am ever likely to see, was the penultimate courage and dedication shown by the Penlee [crew] when it manoeuvred back alongside the casualty in over 60 ft breakers and rescuing four people shortly after the Penlee had been bashed on top of the casualty's hatch covers. They were truly the bravest eight men I've ever seen who were also totally dedicated to upholding the highest standards of the RNLI.[/t] [font=]”[/font] Lifeboats were summoned from Sennen Cove, The Lizard and St Mary's to try to help their colleagues from Penlee. The Sennen Cove Lifeboat found it impossible to make headway round Land's End. The Lizard Lifeboat found a serious hole in its hull when it finally returned to its slipway after a fruitless search. Wreckage from the Solomon Browne was found along the shore, and the Union Star lay capsized onto the rocks west of Tater Du Lighthouse. Some, but not all, of the 16 bodies were eventually recovered.[2] The inquiry into the disaster determined that the loss of the Union Star and its crew was because of:[2] the irreparable failure of the ship's engines due to contamination of fuel by sea water while off a dangerous lee shore; the extreme severity of the weather, wind and sea; and the capsize of the vessel on or shortly after stranding. The loss of the Solomon Browne was: [font=]“[/font] in consequence of the persistent and heroic endeavours by the coxswain and his crew to save the lives of all from the Union Star. Such heroism enhances the highest traditions of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in whose service they gave their lives.[/t] [font=]”[/font] Aftermath[edit] The memorial at PenleeCoxswain Trevelyan Richards was posthumously awarded the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's gold medal, while the remainder of the crew were all posthumously awarded bronze medals. The station itself was awarded a gold medal service plaque.[10] The disaster prompted a massive public appeal for the benefit of the village of Mousehole which raised over £3 million (£9.74 million as of 2013),[11] although there was an outcry when the government tried to tax the donations.[2] Two nights before the disaster, Charlie Greenhaugh had turned on the Christmas lights in Mousehole. After the storm the lights were left off but three days later his widow, Mary, asked for them to be repaired and lit again.[2] The village has been lit up each December since then, but on the anniversary of the disaster they are turned off at 8:00 pm for an hour as an act of remembrance.[7] Within a day of the disaster enough people from Mousehole had volunteered to form a new lifeboat crew.[2] In 1983 a new lifeboat station (still known as 'Penlee') was opened nearby at Newlyn where a faster, larger boat could be kept moored afloat in the harbour. Neil Brockman later became the coxswain of the station's Severn class lifeboat.[8] The old boathouse at Penlee Point with its slipway is empty but has been maintained and a memorial garden was created beside it in 1985 to commemorate the crew of the Solomon Browne.[11] Airframe XZ574 is today preserved at the Fleet Air Arm Museum at RNAS Yeovilton, mainly due to its being flown during the Falklands War conflict by Prince Andrew, Duke of York.

So Doddsie do you actually have any connection with the sea ?? I know many lifeboat men and a few are friends, they will tell you themselves the RNLI is not what it used to be, it is just a money making machine and has more than it's fair share of fat cats all pulling BIG salaries. There is no reason why they cannot pass on some of there vast sums and help out other deserving charities.

[taurus66]

Yes, Indeed, very brave, they could not have been more than a couple of hundred yards from the beach,  I can imagine their hull could not have been far from the sea bed at times like that.   My other half live but 1/2 mile from that point and was watching through a telescope. Not fun to watch I can imagine.

[Doddsie]

No sorry, original post was aimed at `Lampwick`, got you a bit mixed up later when you quoted his post. To answer your question I do come from a naval family. Not me personally but grandad, dad, 2 brothers and a sister were all in the royal navy.

[maddog04]

lew...............you beat me to it...........crews at Penlee showed the highest act of bravery and in my book should have all been awarded the George Cross. I'm in the Fire and an ex marine once told me that the Penlee crews were so, so brave..............hear hear
should the bean counters be driving beemers?
not in my view but the reality is that these types aren't in it for the love of the regime (RNLI/POLICE/FIRE/AMBO'S/NHS/ARMED FORCES etc.) they will quickly move on if they don't get the perks. They're mostly the type who could never do it at the sharp end but are more than happy to rub shoulders with the celebs at fundraising bashes, unfortunately we're stuck with them whether we like it or not
the public rightly hold the RNLI in high esteem and that's probably why they're doing so well with fundraising. HMG are closing the Crosby MCA centre and switching it all to Wales..............local knowledge does count when the chips are down and its frightening that bean counters can be so callous. RNLI/POLICE/FIRE/AMBO'S/NHS/ARMED FORCES are all under severe attack from HMG and once they're gone we wont get them back. Support your local stations or face the consequences when you need them

[fireblake]

Thanks for putting that up Lew. The ultimate sacrifice was paid by such awesome men and their families.  I'm proud to be British with them as my brethren.