The RNLI has released its rescue figures for 2024, which show the charity’s lifeboats on the Isle of Wight launched 178 times last year.
There were over 3,100 shouts in the South East alone, across 31 lifeboat stations stretching from Swanage to Southend – including London and the Isle of Wight.
Launches were made in response to 123 sailing vessels, 27 paddleboarders and 21 inflatables. A total of 26 animals were rescued including 22 dogs and a cat.
Proudly, the RNLI saved a total of 124 lives in the South East in 2024.
Across the UK and Ireland, the charity’s lifeboats were launched over 9,100 times in 2024, making it the 4th busiest year in the charity’s 201-year history.
The busiest station on the Isle of Wight was Bembridge – which hosts both a Tamar-class All Weather Lifeboat and a D-Class Inshore Lifeboat. The volunteers and staff there launched to 92 shouts.
Cowes RNLI were also busy in 2024 with their Atlantic 85 Lifeboat launching to 52 shouts, whilst Yarmouth’s Severn-class All Weather Lifeboat hit the water on 34 occasions.
With demand for its lifesaving services at a high, the charity is putting out its own ‘Mayday’ call, and urging the public to get involved with its biggest national fundraising event, the Mayday Mile.
Participants are challenged to cover a mile a day for the month of May, with every penny raised helping to make sure that the charity’s lifesavers have everything they need to keep people safe this summer and beyond. Running a 24/7 lifesaving service is expensive and costs are rising – in 2023, it cost over £190million to run the RNLI.
Guy Addington, RNLI Regional Water Safety Lead for the South East, says:
“Usually it’s our crew heading out to respond to Mayday calls, but now we’re the ones asking for help. Thousands of people get into danger on and around the water each year and need our help, but everything we do is only possible thanks to the generosity of our supporters”.
Whether you choose to walk, jog, hop or skip, a mile every day in May will help raise vital funds for RNLI lifesavers, so that they can continue to keep people safe at sea.
To sign up for the Mayday Mile, or to make a donation in support of the RNLI’s lifesavers, visit www.rnli.org/supportMayday.
It’s a shame they are sometimes being called out as a breakdown service.
Is there any record of those who have been saved, making a donation to the service to compensate them, especially the breakdown call outs?