LIFEBOAT LAUNCH

Mike Taylor goes behind the scenes to discover the chain of events that occur when a sailor makes a distress call

What really happens when a Mayday goes out?

As a maritime nation rescuing lives in peril from the sea around our shores has been a primary objective for centuries and came sharply into focus during the 1800s when several boats were built specifically for the task. In 1824 the National Institution for the Preservation of Lives from Shipwreck was inaugurated and the following year, 15 lifeboats were built under their stewardship.

Today, the RNLI is a hugely impressive organisation, with 238 lifeboat stations and 431 lifeboats. To get an idea of its size, in 2018 RNLI craft were launched 8,964 times rescuing 9,412 people. Yet, the organisation remains a charity, totally dependent on the benevolence of the general public, funded entirely by donations. Today, the RNLI utilises the latest technology to achieve its objectives and is well advanced with the introduction of its new all-weather Shannonclass lifeboat programme, built at their impressive Poole headquarters.

To clarify the relationship between HM Coastguard, who coordinate all the rescue assets at their disposal and the RNLI, Matt Leat from HM Coastguard’s National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) in Fareham tells us, ‘HM Coastguard is responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all civil search and rescue activities within the UK’S search and rescue region. This encompasses the RNLI, HM Coastguard search and rescue teams and Coastguard helicopters, independent lifeboats, auxiliary rescue services, the police and the support of other vessels nearby. The RNLI is one of our declared assets and we co-ordinate all launches of RNLI lifeboats.’

LOCATING

Locating a vessel in distress, such as a yacht or motor vessel, is achieved in various ways. ‘It’s possible for a lifeboat or a helicopter to locate someone when all they’ve used to make the distress call is a mobile phone, though it’s so much quicker if they have a VHF radio,’ continues Matt. ‘As for small kayak-size craft we advocate the use of the free RYA’S Safetrx app.’

Continues Seb Pinkard, Area Lifesaving Manager for the Poole region, ‘A critical component in any rescue mission can be the weather. Some lifeboats have limitations on the kind of weather they can endure, so forecasting is just as essential for us as it is for the leisure sailor. However, some sailors may not have the latest and most accurate weather forecasting app on their phone when they check on conditions before they put to sea.’

‘The benefit of a VHF Mayday transmission is that every boat in the locality equipped with a similar device will hear the call so