How we work
Chy Start-Walter, aged 12
'I thought I was going to die... I'm very thankful to the lifeboat crew.'
saved by St Agnes lifeboat
Read more999 or 112. ‘Emergency, which service do you require?' ‘Mayday, mayday, mayday …'
Whatever the emergency at sea, in the United Kingdom the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) coordinates all the search and rescue (SAR) units and decides whether to launch a lifeboat, scramble a helicopter or call out a mud or cliff rescue team or other group. In the Republic of Ireland the SAR units are coordinated by the Irish Coast Guard.
If someone is in trouble at sea the MCA or Irish Coast Guard may receive a call by radio or by telephone (999 or 112 – the European and mobile phone emergency number). Also, one of the modern distress beacons, which many boats and ships carry, can automatically send out a distress signal if it ends up in the water. The Coastguard then decides which SAR unit is needed to go to the incident, calls them out and manages the rescue.
The rescue process
How the rescue process works - from the initial 999 call, through what happens during the rescue itself, to returning home and preparing the lifeboat for the next shout
The rescue process
The lifesaving crew
Find out more about the RNLI's lifesaving lifeboat crews and lifeguards
The lifesaving crew
Shorehelpers
Find out more about the shorehelpers who help run the station and launch the lifeboat
Shorehelpers
Lifeguards
Like our lifeboat crews, lifeguards save lives in dramatic rescues, but much of their vital work is done by preventing accidents in the first place
Lifeguards