RNLI

Conchir

I've decided I would like to join the RNLI when I'm old enough, however I have one or two questions.

Firstly, I know the minimum age to join is 17, but realistically, is this old enough? Do any crew members here feel a 17 year old would be able to cope with what he/she could face in the RNLI? Do you know crew members this age?

Secondly, how much would being a crew member impact on one's education? I know you obviously don't have to go out on a shout if you're in school, but could it potentially have an impact on homework or study? Would I be better off completing my Leaving Cert first?

Thanks in advance

Pigeon Reaper

Firstly it's great to hear you're interested.

17 is a little young and depending on which station you want to go to they may look for someone a few years older who's settled in the area. Normally this means someone whos done school/college, and lives in the area permanently.

If you're planning on college your better off waiting until it's done before joining. The last thing you want to be letting the others on the crew down because you can't make it. College needs to come first and it only takes a couple of years. It's important to remember that it costs alot to equipment and train crew so if you get the training someone else won't. You should wait until you can give full commitment before you take up the place to ensure that the crew gets the best member possible.

The RNLI will still be around once you've finished and in the meantime you can get experience in first aid/sailing etc so you'll know if you really do like it.

The best thing for you to do is go down to the station and chat to the coxswain and any crew you know.

Conchir

Thanks for the reply!

Yes, I thought 17 might be a bit young. I live very close to Howth so obviously that would be my station if I joined. I have no problems finishing my Leaving Cert, I had already pretty much decided it has to come first.

However, would it be really difficult to commit during college? I plan on studying geography in Trinity for four years, and then joining the Naval Service as an officer. If I manage to get a cadetship on the first attempt, right after college, then I would be committed to that, so I feel those four years of college might be my only chance to join the RNLI.

I probably should have mentioned that I sail a dinghy and have up to Level 4 completed, hence my obsession with the sea and things nautical. There's a number of reasons I want to join the RNLI. However, I can't ignore the fact that one of them is: I want to give something back to the organisation that might one day, me being a sailor, save my life. I think that's why I'm determined to volunteer before I join the Naval Service, because I think the opportunity might be lost after that.

tricky D

While this is very admirable, you do need to think carefully about this.

Firstly, it's not a pretty job in any way. From the website: It's 2.30am on a freezing January morning and the pager’s just woken you from a deep sleep in a snug warm bed. You then head out to sea in complete darkness and 10m waves rise and fall around you, ready to swamp you at any moment. Strong gale force winds throw the lifeboat around like a toy. A fishing trawler is in difficulties 23 miles out to sea. Dinghy sailing in somewhere like Sutton Creek is zero comparison. Also, the bit they don't mention is doing search patterns for dead bodies and pulling them out - grim, bloody grim, especially if they've been in the water for a while or died violently. It is not a romantic job at all.

Secondly, training you up for a year when you might only be available for the next 3 is poor resource usage if it could be used for someone who will be around much longer.

Thirdly, the boat is usually out of the harbour around 10 minutes after the shout. If you are more than 2 miles from the harbour it might be too far.

Fourthly, you are still young. You could well end up in Howth a good few years down the line, when it would be better for you to consider this and be able to commit properly. You also want to go to college. In my book that's not just a time for further study, but also going out partying, fighting and fcuking. Oh and studying. If you do get into TCD geography my brother-in-law will have plenty of work for you. Doing the lifeboat will bite into that. Going on the lash for the weekend will be not as easy. You are only young once, but have over 30 years to join the lifeboats.

However, if you are still interested, head down to the harbour and seek out one of the Duffy's* for a chat. He drives around in one of the harbour master 4x4s and has a very distinctive and big moustache. Often found around the market/ice plant area or the lifeboat station.

You can also consider doing some rescue boat driving down at the yacht club or Sutton if that's where you do your dinghy sailing. Good fun too. That and raising money for the lifeboat.

Good luck



* Note for mods: matter of public record, on their site, no naming problems.

Conchir

Thanks for the reply. You've certainly given me a lot to think about.

Firstly, I won't claim to have coped with anything that comes close to what RNLI crews face. The roughest I've been out in is a force 7 in Dublin Bay during a race. I don't know how I would cope with the conditions until I got out in them for the first time. With the grim side of their work, again, there's no way of knowing how I would react, but I've always thought about this when considering the RNLI and just accepted it as part of their job. Hopefully I could cope.

I would definitely have to commit to college over anything else. I'll just have to wait and see what happens with that and then my career hopes in a few years. As you say, if I can only join for 3, 4 years, it mightn't even be worth it.

Just out of interest, do you know of any college students who crew lifeboats? I would have imagined there were a few, but maybe not.

Incidentally, I was already planning on getting my powerboat liscense as soon as possible and volunteering for rescue at Sutton, as I'm between boats at the moment and will probably remain so for this season at least.

Thanks for everything, certainly a lot to consider.

Pigeon Reaper

I don't know of any college students in the lifeboat at howth. Most people looking to join tend to do it after college. As Tricky D suggests talk to one of the Duffys, look out for a large moustache you really can't miss it.

tricky D

The only young people I reckon who crew would probably be in the fishing game or work on the harbour.

I think your best bet for the near future is to go get your powerboat licence and do crash boats in Sutton or Howth for the summers and weekends. I did that for a few years in Sutton and it was good fun and nice to help out pulling kids from the water every now and again, laying the marks etc...

One thing to note is you might need Garda vetting. We didn't have that and powerboat licences in my day, you just hopped in and off you went.

Good luck

ExCrew

Think carefully before you join up.Its a big commitment, and not always as rewarding as it should be.You will end up carrying a pager 24/7, and constantly trying to be available for a shout. Thats OK, but the Coxswains and mechanics get a phone call or a text before the pager goes off.If they notify their mates on the crew, you can end up busting your nuts to get to the station, only to find a boatload of the prewarned heading off on the shout.

delop

I had a disappointing experience trying to volunteer for this service, Some who admire the Volunteers might find what Im about to say unfair, but in my experience, the RNLI apart from the lifesaving work they do is another closed crony shop...

I spent many years working as a professional Sailor (skipper) worked all over the world, Ive skippered 3 transatlantic's . I worked in marinas fixing boats and diesel engines , GRP work anything yo can think of, I rescued 2 crews from sinking boats in the Med during different deliveries , I also was a sailing instructor for a bit, can award licenses up to coastal skipper...

I came back to Ireland a couple of years ago , and started working in office work again (IT) , I live quite close to an RNLI station and had a brainwave one evening, that all I had learned was going to waste, so I went down to the station and offered my experence...

I was told forget it!, when I asked why, I was told that there was a waiting list to join, I asked if any on the waiting list had anything like my experience.. The guy basically told me to get lost and walked away...

ExCrew

Delop- Your biggest problem would have been your experience. In my experience,there is a lot of "Its my ball, I decide who plays with it". Another very apt saying is "put a uniform on an Irishman, you are in trouble". They are very wary of anyone who might know more than a Coxswain,Helm,Mechanic, LOM, or any other person who has achieved a title within the organisation.

When I signed up, my local station was actually advertising for crew, because they were short of people. I had experience, so signed up. I was sent on shouts before I had ever been to Poole for training, I was sent out on ILB shouts when no Helm had turned up for the shout, and the paperwork was forged afterwards to cover this up ( the boat is not allowed to go out without a helm). I went out on boats with a Helm, who it was later found couldnt even read a compass. Lots of other stuff I wont go into at the moment.

Fast forward a few years, they have a surplus of crew, and suddenly the geniuses with titles who had chips on their shoulders re me for years, start a campaign to get rid of me.

My advise- dont do it. They want to operate a little clique for the chosen few. Every other crew member is there to do the school visits, the Paddys Day parade, the menial work, and to go on shouts when the chosen geniuses are not available. The amount of money wasted is also unbelievable.

delop

ExCrew as I said I was disappointed , but not surprised :-) I was in the Height rescue part of the civil defense in the early 90's when I was a teenager, and saw some similar carry on....

They can keep their Org, I wont upset them :-)

I offered myself as crew on sailing boats down in Dun Laoghaire, and went out on a few boats a few years ago, I learned very quickly not to tell the skippers that I had any experience, basically when I showed knowledge I didn't get called back, we do not seem as welcoming as other countries when it comes to sailing , volunteering , conversely had some great experiences in the solent UK ....

We are a funny sort of people when it comes to clubs and volunteering ...

Id love to sit down for a pint with ya, Id bet we would have some funny stories/experience to exchange :-) for example I was giving a boat brief to a tourist in the Med. he rented the boat for a week, he asked me 'Does the water go all the way around this Island?' :-)

Mycroft H

Their is politics in every organisation and the voluntary emergency services are the worst of it IMO. It is sad to hear that that the RNLI are like that, but I suppose I was being a bit naive. Would have always liked to have joined them

I surely could tell you a few stories of OMAC that would make you cringe :rolleyes:

ExCrew

I saw one genius on a lifeboat at sea ,when he saw the salvage(auxilliary) water pump in action, say "Thats amazing, where does all the water come from?" Funny.

Unfortunatly, I also found myself on a shout, trying to treat a hypthermic casualty, unable to keep him warm, because some genius had removed all the blankets from their stowage, and put them somewhere else on the boat. Not quite so funny.

delop

I was approaching west cork in heavy weather one day when I heard an emergency call on channel 16 , some guy in a fancy motor yacht was screaming in panic that his engine had failed, and was drifting towards the rocks , Baltimore life boat station was responding, they could hardly get a word in edgewise, they told him that they had launched the lifeboat eta 20mins , and then asked him if he had dropped his anchor....

You could almost hear the penny drop, across the airwaves :-) he responded a few minutes later and sounded a lot calmer, guess he didn't think of that in the panic he was in .... turned out he ran out of fuel .. there were a few smiles in bushes pub that nite :-)

ExCrew

There was a lad down here years ago, called the Coastguard, gave his position, and said he had dropped his anchor. Lifeboat searched that area for ages, then DFed him(direction finder on VHF). He was about 6 miles north of the position given. Turned out 40 feet of anchor chain doesnt hit the seabed in 60 ft of water.

delop

I hear you , you often hear the one ' No your echo sounder is no broken, it just don't read deeper than 100m' :-)

ExCrew

We are digressing. This thread was about joining the RNLI. Anyone else have a similar experience of joining/attempting to join?

ectoraige

ExCrew wrote: »

We are digressing. This thread was about joining the RNLI. Anyone else have a similar experience of joining/attempting to join?

Not of joining the RNLI, but a few years ago I decided I wanted to join a vol and was very interested in mountain rescue. However at the time I didn't know how much time I could afford to commit, nor if I could sustain the commitment. The local mountain rescue are a small body so I was concerned about wasting their resources on training me should be unable to commit fully.

In the end I joined the Civil Defence as I felt if I dropped out it wouldn't be as damaging to them. It's proven to be very rewarding and has given me a lot of self-confidence. I still have it in the back of my mind that I might apply to mountain rescue, and if I do they'll get somebody who already has experience as a vol plus some level of medical training.

I believe some of the medical vols have college-based societies, perhaps you might find that at the moment this would be a good route to go down.

ExCrew

The Civil Defence do great work, and are underrated. They have a water rescue service down here with 2 RIBs. Unfortunatly some of the lifeboat crew look down their nose at them.I,m glad your experience has been a good one.