RNLI

Today, we celebrate 200 years of saving lives at sea. Since we were founded on 4 March 1824, our lifesavers have saved over 146,000 lives – that's two lives every day on average. Whether that’s lifeboat crews launching at a moment’s notice, lifeguards patrolling our beaches, or our water safety teams sharing lifesaving skills at home and overseas, we’ve strived to save every one. We’re able to do this thanks to two constants in our 200-year history: our selfless volunteers, who give their time and commitment to save others, and the kindness of supporters like you, powering our lifesavers for 200 years and counting. Thanks to you, we can always answer the call. We’d love to hear your stories, thoughts and memories of the RNLI as we celebrate our 200th anniversary 👇 #RNLI #RNLI200 #200Years #SavingLivesAtSea #Volunteers #ThankYou #LifeboatCrew #Lifeguards

Every other minute someone in the world drowns. This International Day of Charity, we're shining a light on our work to reduce the silent epidemic that claims an estimated 235,000 lives every year; many of them children. The causes of drowning vary from place-to-place, it's therefore essential to find localised solutions and test appropriate interventions. Working with partners and global leaders in drowning prevention we seek to share our 200 years of lifesaving expertise. We do this by raising awareness, conducting research and testing community-led interventions. In Bangladesh 40 children drown every day. Cox's Bazar is a huge and popular sandy beach that had a drowning problem due to lack of swimming and rescue skills. We’ve been working with SeaSafe, a Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh (CIPRB) initiative, since 2012 to build a lifeguarding and community safety service for Cox’s Bazar - so far saving over 200 lives. School visits and swimming lessons help to give children the skills they need to further reduce the risk to life. Our Future Leaders in Lifesaving course has welcomed search and rescue (SAR) colleagues from countries including Morocco, Indonesia and Brazil. It gives organisations everything they need to plan and develop a SAR service, from risk assessments and resource planning to training and operations. People have the opportunity to knowledge share and give peer-to-peer guidance. Several years ago, we supported Tanzania Sea Rescue (TSR) through training and mentoring. TSR were later able to pass on their experience at a Future Leaders event. Tanzania has a large fishing community and people are exposed daily to hazards but few can swim. Like a lot of fishermen in Zanzibar, Ali Hamdu has been involved in serious boating accidents. 'The second time it happened only three of us survived. Nine people died' recalls Ali. Compared to farming and other labour, fishing pays a meaningful wage, forcing many to pay the ultimate price for supporting their families. We're working with The Environmental Management and Economic Development Organisation (EMEDO) at Lake Victoria, to improve water safety amongst fishers through community projects. Want to know more about our work or how you can help save every one? Click the link 👇 https://bit.ly/3X42yj7 #DrowningPrevention #InternationalDayOfCharity #PartnershipWorking #RNLI #International

Our ground-breaking collaborative research project aims to dispel the myth that ethnicity prevents people from floating. The damaging narrative that people from Black and Asian communities are less buoyant than people from white communities has led to a belief that people from these communities can't float. We’re working with the The Black Swimming Association (BSA) and University of Portsmouth with the aim to prove definitively that there is no physiological reason why people from ethnically diverse communities can't confidently float in water. The research will examine floating techniques, as well as the body composition of individuals, to understand whether biological factors contribute towards their floating ability. Danielle Obe, co-founder and Chair of the BSA, told us: ‘Water safety and aquatic activity are not just recreational pursuits; they are essential life skills that everyone should have equitable access to. It’s a myth that some groups of people are physically less able to float but it’s a myth that most definitely exists predominantly in relation to Black communities. This relationship so many of us have with water, our swimming ability (or lack of) and our bone density goes back generations.’ In England and Wales, 21% of people from African, Caribbean and Asian communities live within 1 km of waterways. But the most recent Active Lives data highlights that 96.5% of Black adults and 81.8% of Black children in England don’t participate in swimming activities regularly, nor do 95.8% of Asian adults (excluding those who identify as Chinese), or 79.4% of Asian children. In addition, data from the National Child Mortality Database shows that children of African, Caribbean and Asian heritage in England have a 3.5 times higher risk of drowning, compared to White children. ‘The real challenges are social and cultural. By uncovering these challenges, we can better understand the unique experiences, perceptions, and needs that must be addressed to not just inspire, but to empower all communities to find their own place in the water safely. It’s important to us that this study is being led by the community, for the community. It will help challenge the negative stigmas, narratives and relationships that our communities have with the water.,’ concludes Danielle. One community participant is Olympic swimmer Alice Dearing. Even Alice, a highly experienced swimmer, has discovered that she doesn’t float how she assumed. Her discovery gets to the heart of how this research can help us to reach people with our Float to Live messaging – by refining our language and campaign materials to ensure that our water safety advice is effective for all our communities. We know float advice has saved lives but we want to make sure it speaks to and for everyone. #WaterSafety #OurSwimStory #DrowningPrevention #ParternshipWorking #FindYourFloat

We're opening our archive to show you some of our favourite historic letters for World Letter Writing Day. There's something special about seeing someone's writing - you can imagine them sat at their desk putting their thoughts to paper. In the case of our founder, Sir William Hillary’s letter, you can witness the RNLI coming to life! And in Robert Peel's letter of 1824, we can read the acceptance of our first Royal Patron, His Majesty King George IV. Another of our treasures is a letter from Mary Roberts, a stewardess on board the Titanic, describing life on board the ship. She survived the disaster only to work on the HMHS Rohilla, which sank in 1914. Thankfully, Mary was one of the 144 survivors rescued by us. A number of writers and celebrities appear. Explorer Edmund Hilary writes that he feels connected to our founder and cause and would like to visit one of our lifeboat stations if invited. Enid Blyton writes in reply to us about an essay competition in 1952: ‘should you, say, want one of your true and really wonderful stories written up for children to comment on, then I’ll do it with pleasure.’ The then Poet Laurate, John Betjeman declined to write a poem for our 150th anniversary as his 'muse is wilful and reluctant.' Other famous names include Valerie Singleton, John Noakes and Peter Purves. Their typed letter celebrates the lifesaving impact of the Blue Peter inshore lifeboats - these had a celebrity all of their own! And a pun from comedian Spike Milligan allows us to see his personality coming through. These letters offer a glimpse into how our history is weaved into the nations we operate in, and into people's lives. It's a story that's still being written; we continue to receive hundreds of letters a year. #WorldLetterWritingDay #RNLI #Archives #HistoryUncovered #History #RNLI200

Our Shannon class lifeboat can reach 25 knots and handle hurricanes. But how is it made? We’re taking you behind the scenes of our All-weather Lifeboat Centre, Poole with Daniel Sharp, Production Control Manager to find out 👇 Step one and two: Composite builds, 24 weeks We create the hull and wheelhouse, using SPRINT™ composite material. It's laid into empty moulds and cooked overnight under vacuum pressure. Our boatbuilders then glue and bond bulkheads and stiffeners into place. Our boat is removed from moulds. Next, we install the lifeboat’s composite furniture. ‘That’s things like cupboards and vent boxes in the engine room,’ explains Daniel. The hull and the wheelhouse are still separate, but the team temporarily put the hull and deck joints together to make sure they’ll be a perfect fit – known as dry fitting. Next, around 1,500 fibreglass pads and fixings are accurately positioned and glued onto the surfaces of the structure so that more components, like pipework and electrical boxes, can be fitted once the boat is painted. Think flatpack furniture! Step three: Painting, 7 weeks The hull and wheelhouse are then painted inside and out. The hull bottom is painted with an abrasion-resistant ice-breaker paint to prevent hull wear during beach recoveries. Daniel explains: ‘Antifoul is added, a paint that prevents marine organisms from growing.' Step four and five: Fit outs, 24 weeks Next, the components are fitted to the hull and wheelhouse, using the fibreglass pads and fittings. All the hull cables are installed and made ready to be fitted. A collapsible mast is also fitted to the wheelhouse, and capstans and bollards are fitted on the deck. ‘A bollard is a metal pole for towing,’ says Daniel. ‘A capstan is similar but motorised – it has a winch on top.’ Then our lifeboat moves onto the final build stage. First, the wheelhouse is glued to the hull to create the hull-to-deck joint. The deck then has fendering (big rubber bumpers), stanchions (vertical poles which hold up the guardwires on the perimeter of the boat to stop people falling overboard) and cleats fitted. We install windows and add decal decorations. The wheelhouse electronic cables are also fitted, with cables going in and coming up from the hull. ‘The hull and wheelhouse are connected as a system, so it all works as one boat,’ says Daniel. Finally, the seats are installed – and the boat is powered on! Step six: Launch and trials, 7 weeks A small ceremony to celebrate our Shannon getting wet for the first time is held, and the two Scania UK Power Solutions engines are fired up! The lifeboat then begins its harbour acceptance trials and sea trials. These trials include an inclining experiment to check the stability of the boat and to ensure the boat could self-right. Finally, our lifeboat is handed over to it's new crew for approximately 50 years of lifesaving service ⭐ #Engineering #Manufacturing

"...just keep swimming..." 🎵 Thank you to everyone who supported and took part in the 24-hour Swimathon to raise money for the RNLI! With over 100 swim slots booked in our sea survival pool, there was an incredible mix of lane swimming, a water polo match, rescue board racing, and even a few mermaids making a splash 🧜♀️. Together, everyone covered an impressive 100,000m (that’s 4,000 lengths) over 24 hours. Well done, everyone! 👏

August’s roundup might just be our favourite yet 😍 We love seeing your photographic interactions with our volunteers, crew, and lifeguards in action - keep them coming! Have you got any RNLI stories from the summer? We’d love to hear them - share your experiences below 👇

Project update 📢 In 2022, we joined forces with the Environmental Management and Economic Development Organisation (EMEDO) to launch The Lake Victoria Drowning Prevention Project. Fishing in Tanzania can be very hazardous. Fishers work alone or in small groups, often with no protective or communication equipment. As many can't swim, this can prove to be a fatal combination. The Project supports local fishers who use the lake, mainly for their work. Since launching, we've been working with the local communities to learn how the drowning prevention interventions that have been put in place are affecting them. Phoebe Chipchase, Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Adviser, from our International team recently travelled to Ukerewe, Lake Victoria: 'I spent a week working with EMEDO, and a social enterprise called InsightShare on a six-day participatory video project. The purpose was to understand the changes that local communities have made in relation to drowning prevention since the start of The Lake Victoria Drowning Prevention Project.' Whilst there, Phoebe filmed this update for us 👇 For more details on our use of participatory video for this project click the link: https://bit.ly/3M2ojL5 #RNLI #Innovation #DrowningPrevention #PartnershipWorking #EMEDO

Could targeted patrols help to save lives at sea? The problem: Sully Island in the Vale of Glamorgan is a tidal cut-off hot spot. The causeway becomes submerged very quickly and people get trapped on the island or swept into the water. Barry Dock and Penarth RNLI lifeboats are called to dozens of emergencies annually. The solution: Since the end of May, we've been running a new water safety initiative at Sully Island. A team of dedicated water safety volunteers have been carrying out in-person patrols on the rocky causeway, talking to people about the specific dangers of tidal cut-off in the area. The aim is to help visitors make an informed decision about whether they should cross, and if they have enough time to get back safely. One of the volunteers, Anna Snow (pictured), told us: 'We’re not here to be the fun police and stop people exploring and having a good time. Our role is to help inform people about the potential dangers of making the crossing at the wrong time – and how that could quickly lead to being cut-off or ending up in the water in a strong tidal current. We want everyone to come to the coast and have a great time, whilst keeping themselves and their families safe.’ The volunteers are on patrol on days deemed as high risk, during the two hours before the causeway cuts off at high tide, and one hour after high tide. These are predicted using data on tide times and heights, likelihood of high visitor numbers and the weather. For example, this bank holiday weekend is deemed high risk as lots of people will be out enjoying the coast. This coincides with some really big tides - at high tide the water comes in further up the beach and the currents will be strong and fast flowing. The results: ‘So far this project has been a great success, we’ve seen zero lifeboat call outs to Sully Island during the patrol times which really shows the positive power of water safety intervention.' Reports Ellie Smith from our Water Safety Team. The challenge: Could this success be replicated elsewhere? And how do we ensure that these projects are sustainable? In part it's about working with others. This initiative has been a collaborative project with the National Coastwatch Institute (NCI) Nell’s Point and HM Coastguard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Milford Haven. Locals have also supported the project for example, Gordon Hadfield and his team from the Spinney Caravan Park. How can we all keep safe? Before you head out, check the tide tables using a trusted online source, such as the Met Office website, BBC Weather or a tidal prediction app. While you're out, be aware of your surroundings and the tide's direction and always carry a means of calling for help. If you find yourself, or see anyone else in difficulty, call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard. #RNLI #PartnershipWorking #DrowningPrevention Maritime and Coastguard Agency

We're thrilled to announce that we've entered into a three-year partnership with Grangers! Grangers becomes our Official Aftercare Partner, emphasising our shared commitment to protecting those who enjoy the outdoors and those who dedicate their lives to saving others at sea. Grangers will provide our all-weather lifeboat stations with their eco-friendly spray-on cleaner and proofer. Together, we aim to keep our crew kit in great shape for longer. [30 of our lifeguard units will also benefit.] They’re donating a percentage of sales to the us, while also sharing our vital water safety advice with their customers and ambassadors! #PartnershipWorking #Sustainability #WaterSafety