It is almost 200 years since the National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck was formed and this voluntary institution has been saving lives ever since. There should be a celebration in 2024 when the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), as it was later renamed, reaches this anniversary.
At the time of its formation thousands of vessels were under sail around British coasts. They carried such commodities as coal from Newcastle to London and slate from Wales for roofing. A fleet of small fishing boats was also vital to the nation’s food supply.
Apart from the large death toll in major storms, there were also horrible but true tales of wreckers luring merchant ships on to rocks with false harbour lights. Lifeboats, rowed by volunteer crews into towering seas, showed the better side of human nature. The public has been supporting the RNLI with voluntary contributions ever since.
The thousands of small ships braving stormy winter seas have gone but there are still as many lives to save – and it is now the summer when most rescue missions are launched. The RNLI will patrol 240 beaches in the UK and Ireland this season. Volunteers expect a very busy summer retrieving holidaymakers who get cut off, marooned or swept away by rip currents.
• This article was amended on 29 June 2021. An earlier version referred to “rip tides” in the text and subheading, rather than rip currents.
