CHOPPY WATERS
THE PARTS OF THE UK COASTLINE WHERE YOU ARE MOST LIKELY TO NEED A LIFEBOAT
THE waters around North Wales have the highest rate of lifeboat call-outs in the UK, compared to population. Analysis of figures from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) reveal lifeboats and lifeguards were called out 6,378 times from British stations in 2016, excluding hoax calls.
Some 308 launches were from stations in Gwynedd in North Wales equivalent to 249 for every 100,000 people who live there.
Waters around Argyll and Bute in Scotland were the next most dangerous, with 169 call-outs for every 100,000 people who live in the area.
The most common reason for a lifeboat launch was machinery failure which covers cases where lifeguards were called after a boat’s engine broke down.
That happened 1,338 times in 2016 the latest year for which data is available.
Boats were launched 736 times in response to people in distress, and 461 times in response to people in danger of drowning.
A vessel had capsized on 239 occasions, and there were 106 incidents classed as “man overboard”.
On six occasions the RNLI were called out after an aircraft crashed, and on another six occasions they were called after someone discovered an unexploded bomb or mine.
The RNLI or others were able to assist in 93 per cent of cases - though there were 21 times that a search was unsuccessful for people in danger of drowning.
Luckily for lifeboat crews, the sea conditions were smooth, calm, or glass calm 58 per cent of the time at launch.
The number of lifeboat call-outs from British stations fell significantly between 2009 (when they reached a peak of 6,973) and 2015 (when they fell to 5,991).
However in 2016 the figure rose to 6,378 - the highest since 2011.
Of course, population figures don’t necessarily equate to the number of people who use the sea, so the analysis should only be taken as an indication.
The RNLI is the largest charity that saves lives at sea.
It operates around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man however there are other lifeboat services that also operate in the same waters.
This means that the actual total number of incidents was higher than the RNLI figures suggest.