We checked out of our rooms at the Royal National Lifeboats Institute mid-morning on Friday (another dark and dreary day) and then were joined by the Browns and Meadows from Cape Town for a tour of the RNLI at 11 a.m. The RNLI, which trains and supplies voluntary rescue crews, boats and equipment at sea and on waterways in England as well as lifeguards on beaches, is funded entirely by legacies and contributions. This is in contrast to the U.S., where the Coast Guard performs rescues and provides emergency assistance at sea while local municipalities and agencies hire lifeguards for public beaches.
The training facility in Poole is state-of-the-art, as are the various watercraft and the equipment used for rescues. The RNLI has over 31,000 volunteers, the majority of them trained to answer a page and be at one of the 235 launch sites within 10 minutes. The organizations averages 22 rescues a day and extends its services to 100 nautical miles from the British coast at a cost of £385,000 a day.
We saw volunteers being trained in the large wave pool, where complete darkness, thunder, lightning, and helicopter recovery can all be simulated. At the end of the tour, we had an opportunity to use the simulator for operating a lifeboat from the bridge, which was truly amazing. It was equipped with all the navigational and monitoring devices of a real lifeboat. We managed to kill off a couple of crew members who had jumped from a disabled tanker which was on fire before rescuing some others. The weather became worse, with confused seas, snow, zero visibility and then fog. We flipped and self-righted a couple times and narrowly missed collision with gunboats, submarines and ferries before returning to the harbour. Luckily, none of us became seasick.
The 10 of us had a filling and delicious lunch at the restaurant at the RNLI College before parting ways. We headed for London, where we got delayed in horrendous traffic on the Northern Circular route but finally made it to the home of Wendy Sykes and Don Fisher in East Finchley. Around their large kitchen table, we chatted and feasted on gnocci and salad (and sausage for the carnivores) before dispersing throughout the house. Matthew and Wil talked about gaming and checked some out online while the rest of us watched an American television crime show, The Criminal Mind.
It's now Saturday, with no sign of the sun, but we plan to go into the city anyway to explore the sites.
The training facility in Poole is state-of-the-art, as are the various watercraft and the equipment used for rescues. The RNLI has over 31,000 volunteers, the majority of them trained to answer a page and be at one of the 235 launch sites within 10 minutes. The organizations averages 22 rescues a day and extends its services to 100 nautical miles from the British coast at a cost of £385,000 a day.
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| Volunteers taking a swimming test in gear |
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| Peter at the helm on the bridge in the lifeboat simulator |
The 10 of us had a filling and delicious lunch at the restaurant at the RNLI College before parting ways. We headed for London, where we got delayed in horrendous traffic on the Northern Circular route but finally made it to the home of Wendy Sykes and Don Fisher in East Finchley. Around their large kitchen table, we chatted and feasted on gnocci and salad (and sausage for the carnivores) before dispersing throughout the house. Matthew and Wil talked about gaming and checked some out online while the rest of us watched an American television crime show, The Criminal Mind.
It's now Saturday, with no sign of the sun, but we plan to go into the city anyway to explore the sites.
Still checking it out, very interesting, England looks really nice (Katie and I like inclement cool weather!)
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