RNLI, anyone a member or donate to them?

[kirky]

I'm a paid up member even though I do the majority of my boarding on lakes.

Great bunch of people who do a very dangerous job.

[stack]

Ragging one of the offshore boats must be pretty awsome though.

[skillip]

Im not currently a member but try to regularly donate to them as it is a very worthy cause. At the end of the day it could be your life at risk. I think all boat users on the ocean should pay a small sum or however much they can afford for using the waterways to help the lifeboat, because you never know when you'll need their help. If they can afford to buy and run a boat surely they have some spare change for the charity. Usually its the idiots who don't know how to control their boat and are unaware of what to do in an emergancy, that need the lifeboats and have never donated at all.

[Tower_boy]

I can't agree more with everything Saltwater Cowboy says, these guys are real heros and with the way the UK coastguard/british public leans on them without a penny of gov. funding is an incredible feat.

Throwing a few quid there way will never break the bank and it makes all the difference.

From my local station alone countless people are not just rescued but literally have their lives saved by these guys on a weekly basis.

My deal when seeing a collection box outside the station is simple - if its not a note it goes in and one day it'll not only pay off to myself but others also - i really hope at least one person reading this follows this, without us there is no RNLI.

[samara]

My boyfriend is a helmsman for the RNLI in Brighton and he has been called out to bring in wakeboarders before (...hang our heads in shame!!)

It's easy to think that nothing can really happen when you're out there and it's nice and flat but the amount of boats that break down out there or run out of petrol etc. each year is crazy, not to mention a whole heap of other things that go wrong.

Bearing in mind that it recieves no government funding and relies totally on charitable contributions and also that most crews like Brighton rely totally on unpaid individuals giving up their spare time as volunteers, every penny counts. Thanks to all you guys that do contribute.

[penjpet]

We have been members of the RNLI for several years and also donate when they are doing street collections. These guys and girls are REAL heroes.