RNLI make appeal for volunteers as summer season rescue figures rise

SCOTLAND'S lifeboat crews were launched nearly five times every day on average during the summer, requiring the work of 3,400 volunteers.

The huge amount of labour required to keep the lifeboat network operating will be unveiled by the the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) today as it appeals for more people to join them.

Preliminary rescue figures for summer 2010 show that during June, July and August, there were 430 launches of lifeboats from Scotland's fleet.

The summer holiday season is the busiest time of year for the charity with the number of launches increasing by 53 per cent.

The figures show there was an average of five launches every day for 92 days in the summer.

Wave Crookes, RNLI's divisional inspector for Scotland, paid tribute to the invaluable work that the volunteers do as he unveiled the figures.

He said: "Those 430 launches represent a substantial number of volunteers required to operate the RNLI lifeboat service in Scotland.

"They were on call at a time when most people were thinking of their summer holidays and catching some sunshine whereas our volunteers make themselves available at all times when their bleeper goes off.

"As well as being on call, our volunteers keep up-to-date with a rigorous training schedule, which goes on all year round."

The busiest lifeboat stations were in Fife, with North Queensferry having 36 launches closely followed by Kinghorn with 30.

Substantial increases were also recorded by Arbroath, Troon, Campbeltown, Peterhead and Lochinver.

Michael Vlasto, RNLI operations director, said: "The summer is always busy as more people opt to relax at the coast each summer in the UK and Ireland.

"The figures show that our volunteers are called on much more during this time and the fact they respond every time the pager goes off shows just how committed they are to saving lives at sea.

"Many of our lifeboat volunteers are also especially busy at this time with their day jobs as many of them work in the tourism industry, so we are especially grateful to them in summer.

"We are also grateful to their employers who allow them to stop work at the bleep of a pager to help others, and given the current economic climate for businesses this is a great contribution to the charity."

During the summer there were 211 launches of all-weather lifeboats and each time there is a launch up to 10 people are needed to help on land and on the boat.

There were also 219 launches of inshore lifeboats and a launch, on average, needs six people helping on land and in the boat.