RNLI Lifeboats

Help save lives and make our waters safer for everyone.

About RNLI Lifeboats

RNLI. The charity that saves lives at sea. Every day of every year, people of all backgrounds get into danger in the water. It’s a problem that they are here to tackle. Working together with partners and communities, they aim to educate, influence, supervise and rescue those at risk from drowning.

The RNLI philosophy remains the same as it was in 1824: to provide their lifesaving service using volunteers wherever possible, with voluntary donations supplying the funds needed to do so. Every day of every year, people of all backgrounds get into danger in the water. They are here to explain the risks, share safety knowledge, and rescue people whose lives are in danger. They are here to work with others to make the water a safer place for everyone. They are here to prevent tragedies on and offshore. And with your support, they always will be.

RNLI Lifeboats goals

• A 50% reduction in drowning in the UK and Ireland
• Reduction in serious incidents
• Effective drowning prevention strategies in place in the highest risk areas internationally.

Critical to achieving these goals are the completion on the 25-knot all-weather lifeboat fleet and rollout of the lifeguard service to the remaining beaches that need patrols. All this will be underpinned by their preventative approach of safety and education.

They need to deliver a balanced lifesaving service to educate, supervise, rescue and influence those at risk from drowning. This service needs to be based on reliable data on the local risks, which then informs the activities that will need to be undertaken to provide the appropriate services in the local community, both by the RNLI and in partnership with others.

They will continue to build on their rescue service but will specifically strengthen their coastal safety work to ensure they focus their efforts and resources in the most effective way. They are aware of the resources that will be required to deliver this outcome, the cost of which is reflected in this plan.

Internationally, their focus will be to grow understanding and awareness of the global drowning problem, build a broad international coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), develop successful community interventions and then, with their partners, ensure there is broad evidence of the effectiveness of drowning prevention strategies for at-risk nations.

These activities alone will not be enough to reduce deaths from drowning – they need to be able to work more effectively in coalition with others, identify how they can influence the lifesaving community and, if required, influence those outside this community. They also need to share their knowledge, experience and expertise in a way that is relevant to the local communities where people are drowning.

Please visit: Donate a Bit