The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, who despite that “Royal” monicker also operate from Ireland, would agree with this 100%.
Sometimes it’s “gale warning? what’s that?”, sometimes it’s “engine maintenance, what’s that?”, sometimes it’s “radio check, what’s that?” and sometimes it really isn’t anyone’s fault because accidents happen.
Whatever the reason, the sea is like fire - it won’t hesitate, it won’t negotiate, and it doesn’t take prisoners, but all mean an RNLI turnout, because saving people is what they do.
And sometimes the dipshits don’t even need boats, because every time there’s a storm, every time there are ridiculously huge waves, every time sensible people are glad they’re well inland, there’ll be some doofus who wants to go surfing in a Force Nine gale, or just watch the big splashy stuff up close.
Here are four examples: one, then twothreefour, all out on the quay to see the exciting weather.
Here’s a wider view of what they’ve come to see, and if the next big breaker or the one after that makes landfall 20 metres to the right, they’ll see it closer than they like. There’s such a thing as too exciting…
That’s when the RNLI people, almost all of them volunteers BTW, have to leave their own safe firesides - because they’re too sensible to be out in this stuff - and go out in that very stuff to rescue the doofuses from the consequences of their own doofidity.
As if confronting heavy weather …
….to deal with legitimate problems like ships heading for the rocks isn’t enough.
The RNLI are like the fire service: they go into storms or into burning buildings even though every iota of self-preservation must be telling them not to. That’s real heroism.
You may never need them. But if you do, you’ll need them like you need your next breath. And it’ll be thanks to them that you get one.
(The RNLI is a charity. Here’s their donation page.)
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