The RNLI is entirely a charity staffed by volunteer citizens based in costal communities. Their employers give them release immediately if they get a shout, they hop in their car and tear through town to the boat. The whole town hears the hooter, the volunteers are known by everyone, so the population and the police just get the hell out of their way. It's impressive to see 20 cars screech into the parking lot like an F1 pitstop, the occupants run in, pile onto the boat and tear off to rescue someone. Within these communities becoming an RNLI lifeboat person is seen as a heroic honour. They do nothing but save lives.
Lovely to see a recovery video for a change. Yes launch is exciting for all but we forget the return to station ready to go again in a moment. Much respect to all crew and those manning the station and those who rattle the donations tins
We got towed ashore by the Shoreham lifeboat around 2001, the engine of our dive boat (5.5 m RIB) engine packed in about 3 miles offshore. They gave us chicken soup. The lads on the lifeboat took the piss out of our engine maintenance at first, then we told them we'd only just bought the engine... from the RNLI :-D
Speaking as a prior-service U.S. Coast Guardsman, I have to hand it to the British---that's some rather impressive gear they've got there. :) Stay safe out there, RNLI!
All the more impressive when you remember the RNLI is a charity, and funded by charitable gifts, and fund raisers. Back in the days of "Real" kids TV (The 80s) the BBC kids program "Blue Peter" raised money for them almost every year, and back then a LOT of their boats had the Blue Peter logo on them as bought with money raised by the countries children through jumble sales at schools etc.
Yes in England we have this thing called public or government funding. Not sure if you know what it is in American but look how well everything there is going without it!
@@benharris8013 I understand you think European socialism is all the rage but every time I visit RNLI's website I see this: "Thank you for choosing to support the RNLI. As a charity, we rely on the kindness and generosity of people like you to power our lifesaving. And right now, we need your support more than ever." If you "have this thing called public or government funding" why does RNLI rely on the kindness and generosity of the general public?
I never cease to be amazed at the selfless and thoroughly professional manner in which these volunteers go about their incredible lifesaving duties. If ever there was an institution deserving of support it is the RNLI
When we were kids we use to go into the old boathouse and stand in awe of the Lifeboat, Philip and Dorothy Constant i believe, but could never catch it launching. That's when you could hear maroons going up, to tell the crew that they were needed. Great memories. Love to know what happened to the old girl, broken up no doubt.
Really interesting. I was raised in Ramsgate and the local lifeboats were a topic in primary school, Standard Four. On days out I liked to inspect the Walmer boat, standing in the sun at the top of the slope. We're going back some decades! Bernard.
Very impressive. But, I'm a bit worried about the safety of the crew if that line should part somewhere near the winch. Shouldn't they have some protection from the line whipping back over the boat?
The line they use is a synthetic. So there is no elastic energy stored in the system. Unlike steel cable or chain. If it were to break at a weak point the line would just drop without snapping back. Pretty common technology used in construction and the off-roading community too.
Yeah thats all nice and well but I would imagine that the cage is in place to protect you from grabbing into the winch because if this rope really goes flying nowhere in this hall would really be safe
@@blewyd cage does nothing but help. if that rope were to snap it would be x(pressure) and y(ton of boat) that much force will be lashing backwards towards the cage
This was neat... I have to ask, why doesn't the winch operator have a protective cage in front of him, in case the synth rope breaks or comes unhooked. Sure, We all like to think, such a thing would never happen, but the amount of HP wrapped up in tension on that cable rope, and it being allowed to unleash its full throttle backlash, is a sight you never want to have to witness... Get that man a gage to protect him/her, who ever may be operating the winch controls...
One of the most important features of synthetic winch lines is the safety benefits they provide. Synthetic lines do not store energy while under load and are very lightweight. This means that if something should go wrong and the rope breaks, it will harmlessly fall to the ground.
@@charlieb3885 Ummmm... Sir, I kindly say, your statement is incorrect, and dangerous. Again, I kindly ask, that you check into a few TH-cam video, tagged or worded as such: synthetic rope testing, breakages, compared to plow steel cable, compared to fiber core, etc.... The rope does not just fall to the ground. Also, one must consider that if any of the hardware fails or lets go and is still attached to the synth rope, you have a projectile moving at subsonic speeds... Please note, I am not trying to sound like a d**khead, as this is a serious matter. the idea that synth rope just falls to the ground, is a sales pitch that was put on the table 10 to 15 years ago, for the off-road market and synth winch cable manufactured by the Chinese company's to sell to the Aussie's, and North America..and now, that myth has spread like wild fire, and has given folks a false sense of security and safety, which as gotten a few people hurt, and in the USA, about 8 people killed in the past 8 years, nation wide, each caught on video,, that we know of. good luck, please look into the testing videos, showing what synth rope looks like when it is pulled past its (W.L.L.)Working Load Limit. If you have ever shot a firearm, with out ear protection, that is what synth rope sounds like when it lets go, while it is extremely violent as the section half try to rid themselves of the stored tension to a neutral state. Now, the synth lifting straps, those have certain features that gives indications, that things are about to go left and cause a measure of trouble, but, even those, if they break, are dangerous, even thought, they are lifting loads... again, good luck.
@@drubradley8821 The RNLI used to use steel cables, but these were replaced by synthetic cables several years ago, due to their inherent safety. These will not whip or recoil if it were to break or snatch, making it much safer for the shore crew. The RNLI takes the safety of their crews extremely seriously, and would not do anything to put them at any undue risk. Thanks for your concern.
@@drubradley8821 Whether the other commentor is right or wrong on the type of rope/cable used, if there was a risk to the operator of being lashed by a snapping rope, that there would be a cage, considering the quality of the other infrastructure and tools available to the RNLI crews. If it was a risk, one can assume it would be mitigated.
Where here's a question I've been asking myself for a long time answered. Thanks. Our French Ramps are all out of commission or use. Modern rescue boats are too big. Those boat houses most cost a lot to run. Curious how RNLI works.
How do they what? Launch or dock. For docking they probably just wait. For launching, they just slide down the ramp with gravity. That’s why it’s so high. So they can launch in 7ft waves
The lifeboat house and slipway are located in the shelter of a harbour, so conditions are very unlikely to get that bad. But if they did, they would find a safe place to moor up, and wait until conditions had improved enough for re-housing
@@jockwood2398 No I was referring to the scale numbers on the stern between the exhaust outlets, they look like depth measurements but are not in feet,
@@paulrichardson3222 I think it's depth to the keel in metric units. The numbers look to be in 8 imperial inch centers spacing which would match up with 20 centimeters which it also appears to be. Each increment is written that way
As it's being raised up you can see it has that lower center section and the one of either side of the boat, the props are in between both the outside rail things and the center one.
*Terry Tytula* "...why can't these boats be tied up at a dock like every other boat?" Because they need to be able to launch day or night, high tide or low, in any sea state. If the waves are causing your boat to rise and fall at the dock like a bucking bronco, you can't safely board it and motor away. By launching from a slipway, the vessel is at full speed with steerageway the moment it hits the water. Also, many of the locations where they are based are not suitable for docks, and responding from a nice port would take too long. See: th-cam.com/video/B3X5JLJl_-4/w-d-xo.html
That said, some stations are suited for docking, such as this one: th-cam.com/video/BaaIbQ-gRtw/w-d-xo.html Others use tractor/trailer setups: th-cam.com/video/xV77uXq2aNE/w-d-xo.html And still others use cranes: th-cam.com/video/yDCNanG8L2U/w-d-xo.html It's all about using whatever means necessary to best get the job done.
Why not just have one person hook up at the bottom of the kiel and just make the pull in one move... would cut the time significantly and if got another call could quick disconnect and be on their way again.
Too much work to get boat back up ramp. Process needs to be streamlined to where boat backs up to ramp and a hook grabs boat and immediately takes it all the way up the ramp to its final resting point.
What's the point in recovering the boat quickly? Any casualty has been offloaded via helicopter or onto an ambulance at a dockside, this stage they're putting the boat to bed. This is the best method when you consider the risk of attaching a cable to the lower part of the stern in rough water.
@@airshots5556 Simple physics show that pulling the boat up the ramp is safer if you pull from lower down the boat, because otherwise there is the potential for the boat to rear up and make a really expensive mess. However you can't reach the optimum cable attachment point at the bottom of the boat when the boat is in the water, so you need to pull it up part way to re-attach the cable in a better place. The boats are designed for the RNLI by an in-house naval architect, and the launch and recovery system is as well. If there was a better way then they would have done it.
@@gregoryclark8217 there is always a better way. Perhaps something like an aircraft tail hook can be quickly lowered from the boat that grabs a chain drive and takes the boat up the ramp.
Also tides... the boat would have to be moored pretty far from, the coast if you want it to stay afloat 24/7, then in case of a storm, getting to the boat from shore would be problematic.
As the other replies say, but also these points: 1) Boat enters water with forward momentum so easier start in poor conditions 2) Boat is protected from vandals. (sad but true, idiots will vandalise anything and everything) 3) Boat is protected from elements so it will last longer before needing replacement. 4) Ease of maintenance.
The RNLI is entirely a charity staffed by volunteer citizens based in costal communities. Their employers give them release immediately if they get a shout, they hop in their car and tear through town to the boat. The whole town hears the hooter, the volunteers are known by everyone, so the population and the police just get the hell out of their way. It's impressive to see 20 cars screech into the parking lot like an F1 pitstop, the occupants run in, pile onto the boat and tear off to rescue someone. Within these communities becoming an RNLI lifeboat person is seen as a heroic honour. They do nothing but save lives.
Lovely to see a recovery video for a change. Yes launch is exciting for all but we forget the return to station ready to go again in a moment. Much respect to all crew and those manning the station and those who rattle the donations tins
We got towed ashore by the Shoreham lifeboat around 2001, the engine of our dive boat (5.5 m RIB) engine packed in about 3 miles offshore. They gave us chicken soup. The lads on the lifeboat took the piss out of our engine maintenance at first, then we told them we'd only just bought the engine... from the RNLI :-D
🤣
Speaking as a prior-service U.S. Coast Guardsman, I have to hand it to the British---that's some rather impressive gear they've got there. :) Stay safe out there, RNLI!
All the more impressive when you remember the RNLI is a charity, and funded by charitable gifts, and fund raisers. Back in the days of "Real" kids TV (The 80s) the BBC kids program "Blue Peter" raised money for them almost every year, and back then a LOT of their boats had the Blue Peter logo on them as bought with money raised by the countries children through jumble sales at schools etc.
Fellow Us
Yes in England we have this thing called public or government funding. Not sure if you know what it is in American but look how well everything there is going without it!
@@benharris8013 I understand you think European socialism is all the rage but every time I visit RNLI's website I see this: "Thank you for choosing to support the RNLI. As a charity, we rely on the kindness and generosity of people like you to power our lifesaving. And right now, we need your support more than ever." If you "have this thing called public or government funding" why does RNLI rely on the kindness and generosity of the general public?
@@jepressler pretty sure he was so desperate to bash the American that he didn't realise how much of a self-own that was.
My heart squeezeds when I watch saving lives at sea, so brave and selfless God be with you all 👍🇬🇧
Anyone else think its simple engineering but at the same time also impressive?
The best kind of engineering!
👍👍
No, it seems archaic
Imagine getting the boat all the way up the ramp and tying it down securely and getting another call that would be annoying lol 😂
Probably happens often!!!
I never cease to be amazed at the selfless and thoroughly professional manner in which these volunteers go about their incredible lifesaving duties. If ever there was an institution deserving of support it is the RNLI
When we were kids we use to go into the old boathouse and stand in awe of the Lifeboat, Philip and Dorothy Constant i believe, but could never catch it launching.
That's when you could hear maroons going up, to tell the crew that they were needed.
Great memories.
Love to know what happened to the old girl, broken up no doubt.
Really interesting. I was raised in Ramsgate and the local lifeboats were a topic in primary school, Standard Four. On days out I liked to inspect the Walmer boat, standing in the sun at the top of the slope. We're going back some decades! Bernard.
Very impressive. But, I'm a bit worried about the safety of the crew if that line should part somewhere near the winch. Shouldn't they have some protection from the line whipping back over the boat?
I thought the same thing + the crew took off their helmets before secured. I guess their insurance adjuster will see this.
The line they use is a synthetic. So there is no elastic energy stored in the system. Unlike steel cable or chain. If it were to break at a weak point the line would just drop without snapping back. Pretty common technology used in construction and the off-roading community too.
@@BeerBourbonBaits Thanks. That's reassuring.
Fascinating! Thank you for sharing!
Beautiful coordination and professionalism 🌹😇👌🌹
These guys certainly know what they’re doing, Great respect to you all!
Excellent piece of video👍🏻
Amazing well done guys massive respect to you all 😁👍best wishes from caerphilly south Wales 🙏💙
Amazing!! Much more to it than 'just' saving lives!! Speechless...🙏
yea a lot more .a bloody free taxi for economic migrants
I know that probably the strongest tow line in the world, but that seems like a dangerous place to control the winch from if it were to snap
I think its danleno rope (spelling probably wrong)
Stronger then steel and way more flexible.
If you saw the winch, it was in a cage so in theory, if it were to break, it shouldn't hit the controller. This is just what I think, though
@@blewyd It's not the winch he was thinking of but the line and the recoil if it breaks.
Yeah thats all nice and well but I would imagine that the cage is in place to protect you from grabbing into the winch because if this rope really goes flying nowhere in this hall would really be safe
@@blewyd cage does nothing but help. if that rope were to snap it would be x(pressure) and y(ton of boat) that much force will be lashing backwards towards the cage
Awesome! Mott only what these guys do but the engineering and design of the retrieval. Top notch!!
Hard work, well done guys!
This was neat... I have to ask, why doesn't the winch operator have a protective cage in front of him, in case the synth rope breaks or comes unhooked. Sure, We all like to think, such a thing would never happen, but the amount of HP wrapped up in tension on that cable rope, and it being allowed to unleash its full throttle backlash, is a sight you never want to have to witness... Get that man a gage to protect him/her, who ever may be operating the winch controls...
Crazy spot to put the controls and Same for all the crew standing around on the back deck.
One of the most important features of synthetic winch lines is the safety benefits they provide. Synthetic lines do not store energy while under load and are very lightweight. This means that if something should go wrong and the rope breaks, it will harmlessly fall to the ground.
@@charlieb3885 Ummmm... Sir, I kindly say, your statement is incorrect, and dangerous. Again, I kindly ask, that you check into a few TH-cam video, tagged or worded as such: synthetic rope testing, breakages, compared to plow steel cable, compared to fiber core, etc.... The rope does not just fall to the ground. Also, one must consider that if any of the hardware fails or lets go and is still attached to the synth rope, you have a projectile moving at subsonic speeds... Please note, I am not trying to sound like a d**khead, as this is a serious matter. the idea that synth rope just falls to the ground, is a sales pitch that was put on the table 10 to 15 years ago, for the off-road market and synth winch cable manufactured by the Chinese company's to sell to the Aussie's, and North America..and now, that myth has spread like wild fire, and has given folks a false sense of security and safety, which as gotten a few people hurt, and in the USA, about 8 people killed in the past 8 years, nation wide, each caught on video,, that we know of. good luck, please look into the testing videos, showing what synth rope looks like when it is pulled past its (W.L.L.)Working Load Limit. If you have ever shot a firearm, with out ear protection, that is what synth rope sounds like when it lets go, while it is extremely violent as the section half try to rid themselves of the stored tension to a neutral state. Now, the synth lifting straps, those have certain features that gives indications, that things are about to go left and cause a measure of trouble, but, even those, if they break, are dangerous, even thought, they are lifting loads... again, good luck.
@@drubradley8821 The RNLI used to use steel cables, but these were replaced by synthetic cables several years ago, due to their inherent safety. These will not whip or recoil if it were to break or snatch, making it much safer for the shore crew. The RNLI takes the safety of their crews extremely seriously, and would not do anything to put them at any undue risk. Thanks for your concern.
@@drubradley8821 Whether the other commentor is right or wrong on the type of rope/cable used, if there was a risk to the operator of being lashed by a snapping rope, that there would be a cage, considering the quality of the other infrastructure and tools available to the RNLI crews. If it was a risk, one can assume it would be mitigated.
A well organized process.
Where here's a question I've been asking myself for a long time answered. Thanks. Our French Ramps are all out of commission or use. Modern rescue boats are too big. Those boat houses most cost a lot to run. Curious how RNLI works.
All volunteers and public donations and fund raising.
How do they go in bad weather??
How do they what? Launch or dock. For docking they probably just wait. For launching, they just slide down the ramp with gravity. That’s why it’s so high. So they can launch in 7ft waves
Same way in calm weather. Carefully
Use to see that been down at Newhaven just down the coast in the 60s and 70s for that Kathleen Mary
Great video!!
Why does the winch operator have to stand inline of the tow cable?
My guess is so that he can see if the boat starts to drift off to one side or the other more easily and respond quickly to that.
Just curious why not leave the boat in the water
Plant growth
@@devinnoordenbos1922 bottom paint
Getting into it in rough weather. Also it would get knocked about if it was just left moored up....
@@wideyxyz2271 that makes more sense
Barnacles !
How does this work when it's rolling 10-15 foot waves?
The lifeboat house and slipway are located in the shelter of a harbour, so conditions are very unlikely to get that bad. But if they did, they would find a safe place to moor up, and wait until conditions had improved enough for re-housing
how is this done in anything but a flat calm?
Different location, but this is how th-cam.com/video/M6CjcbYs4vY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=v4dKvP8cCSEnSf6C
What a coxswain !
Can we have one so we can see what they do after
Check my channel, lots of other videos already uploaded
What is the numbered scale on the stern of the lifeboat for, and what measurement scale is it, it is not in feet.
The numbers (and letters on inshore craft) represents the class of vessels. rnli.org/what-we-do/lifeboats-and-stations/our-lifeboat-fleet
Paul Richo Depth markings from the bottom of the keel. Bottom one is 1 metre, then 1.2m, 1.4m and 1.6m.
@@jockwood2398 No I was referring to the scale numbers on the stern between the exhaust outlets, they look like depth measurements but are not in feet,
@@paulrichardson3222 I think it's depth to the keel in metric units. The numbers look to be in 8 imperial inch centers spacing which would match up with 20 centimeters which it also appears to be. Each increment is written that way
So what keeps it off the props?
Its jet powered....you would have noticed that when it came in
@@TheNemosdaddy except it isn't, it's an outboard with a fixed propeller.
As it's being raised up you can see it has that lower center section and the one of either side of the boat, the props are in between both the outside rail things and the center one.
The props are protected in partial tunnels
Difficult to do at night with a rough sea
And why can't these boats be tied up at a dock like every other boat?
Have you ever done an oil change when your car is parked on the street? Wouldn't you rather be in a nice warm windproof garage?
*Terry Tytula* "...why can't these boats be tied up at a dock like every other boat?"
Because they need to be able to launch day or night, high tide or low, in any sea state. If the waves are causing your boat to rise and fall at the dock like a bucking bronco, you can't safely board it and motor away. By launching from a slipway, the vessel is at full speed with steerageway the moment it hits the water. Also, many of the locations where they are based are not suitable for docks, and responding from a nice port would take too long. See: th-cam.com/video/B3X5JLJl_-4/w-d-xo.html
That said, some stations are suited for docking, such as this one: th-cam.com/video/BaaIbQ-gRtw/w-d-xo.html
Others use tractor/trailer setups: th-cam.com/video/xV77uXq2aNE/w-d-xo.html
And still others use cranes: th-cam.com/video/yDCNanG8L2U/w-d-xo.html
It's all about using whatever means necessary to best get the job done.
Cuz they will get wet bottom.
☺️😉👍👍👍
Why not just have one person hook up at the bottom of the kiel and just make the pull in one move... would cut the time significantly and if got another call could quick disconnect and be on their way again.
it adds the risk of slipping on the ramp and going under the boat getting crushed
Awesome #buzzofftoxic
Too much work to get boat back up ramp. Process needs to be streamlined to where boat backs up to ramp and a hook grabs boat and immediately takes it all the way up the ramp to its final resting point.
Nice idea but it would never work in practise
What's the point in recovering the boat quickly? Any casualty has been offloaded via helicopter or onto an ambulance at a dockside, this stage they're putting the boat to bed. This is the best method when you consider the risk of attaching a cable to the lower part of the stern in rough water.
@@sumpyman The whole process seems archaic and not very efficient.
@@airshots5556 Simple physics show that pulling the boat up the ramp is safer if you pull from lower down the boat, because otherwise there is the potential for the boat to rear up and make a really expensive mess. However you can't reach the optimum cable attachment point at the bottom of the boat when the boat is in the water, so you need to pull it up part way to re-attach the cable in a better place.
The boats are designed for the RNLI by an in-house naval architect, and the launch and recovery system is as well. If there was a better way then they would have done it.
@@gregoryclark8217 there is always a better way. Perhaps something like an aircraft tail hook can be quickly lowered from the boat that grabs a chain drive and takes the boat up the ramp.
Why both taking it out of the water? Just leave it tied up and ready to rock. Like they do everywhere else in the world.
No suitable mooring with 24/7 access in this location
Also tides... the boat would have to be moored pretty far from, the coast if you want it to stay afloat 24/7, then in case of a storm, getting to the boat from shore would be problematic.
As the other replies say, but also these points:
1) Boat enters water with forward momentum so easier start in poor conditions
2) Boat is protected from vandals. (sad but true, idiots will vandalise anything and everything)
3) Boat is protected from elements so it will last longer before needing replacement.
4) Ease of maintenance.
I came with the same question :) Thx for the answers!