No

I didn't mention foreign aid. You did.

I was referring to the dispute around the St Helier lifeboat Coxswain taking a major donator out on the boat and the sacking of staff of the Whitby lifeboat being over a bawdy mug and some off colour stuff in a private chat group.
Google the St Helier dispute. At one point the RNLI recalled the lifeboat. It all got a bit tasty. It almost broke away and became an independent station.

Caister is an independent station. There was an incident in 2013 when the RNLI boat at Yarmouth got a shout over them to rescue a diver when they were much closer, there was a lot of anger that the RNLI didn't call on Caister. Again, I saw a lot of this in various forums. People were talking about pulling their funding and giving to Caister instead.

I've a lifelong interest in sailing and watersports so I read a lot of publications and forums that talk about this stuff. I've been an offshore member of the RNLI for a long time so I think I have a right to comment. I donate every month by direct debit. My dad donated all his life too, until he passed away this year.

There's also the the fact that the front line staff are still unpaid volunteers yet there's an army of highly paid people in a very swanky HQ. Some people are increasingly uncomfortable with it and funding is falling, which is a shame.

I think I said some of this in the thread.

Try again and don't put words in my mouth this time.

Posted By: Captain Bligh, Nov 1, 15:43:28