The Hour

Anyone who has ever been in trouble at sea will know how essential the work the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) does is.

But despite the essential role the charity plays, it receives no government funding, with financial backing coming from voluntary public donations.

The RNLI relies on more than 40,000 volunteers on lifeboats, at stations, on beaches, and in fundraising, to carry out its lifesaving work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

And Alan Craig, from the Troon station of the RNLI the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, is one of those all-important volunteers. He got involved with the charity two years ago, and undergoes training in all aspects of sea survival and rescue Monday evenings.

Speaking about the charity, Alan said: “The RNLI is very important. You’ve got all the sea users, all the fishermen, all the guys who go out and enjoy the water in their wee boats and jet skis and things, and now and again they come into trouble. And if we weren’t there to help them it wouldn’t be such a good day for them.”

Alan has now been involved in 45 rescue operations, helping people in all sorts of situations and circumstances, and it’s something that gives him a huge amount of satisfaction.

“It’s a fantastic resource, a lot of money is ploughed into saving all these guys. It’s definitely needed...you come across some guys who’ve had a right terrible time and the gratefulness and happiness on their faces, you get a huge amount of satisfaction,” he said.

Find out more about the important work the charity does, or find out how to get involved yourself, by going to their website www.rnli.org.uk