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 [size=1em]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!![/size]

[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. :thumbup 

[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. :thumbup

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.