| Royal National Lifeboat Institution |
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lifeboat being winched up its Slipway ]] The Royal National Lifeboat Institution ('''RNLI''') is a charity dedicated to saving lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland . It is largely a volunteer organisation founded on March 4 , 1824 as the ''National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck'', adopting the present name in 1854 . The organisation is funded entirely by membership fees, voluntary donations and legacies from members of the public. Its headquarters are based in Poole , Dorset , along with its new training college which was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 2004 . Since the RNLI was founded, its Lifeboat s have saved over 137,000 lives. The RNLI operates 5 classes of inshore lifeboats, both Inflatable Boat s and RIB s, of 20-40 Knot s (37-74 km/h), and 6 classes of all-weather Motor Life Boat s with maximum speeds of 16-25 knots (30-46 km/h). It maintains an active fleet of 332 Lifeboat s based at 233 lifeboat stations. It also has an active fleet of 4 Hovercraft introduced in 2002 allowing rescue in mud flats and river estuaries inaccessible to conventional boats. The crews of the lifeboats are almost entirely Volunteers , the 4,600 sea-going crew members, including over 300 women are alerted by pagers backed up by maroons and attend the lifeboat station when alerted. The RNLI also operates 59 Beach Lifeguard Units in the South West of England employing over 300 lifeguards. In the United Kingdom , ships in distress or the public reporting an accident must call HM Coastguard on MF Radio , VHF Radio or dialling 999 on a telephone. In the Republic Of Ireland they must call the Irish Coast Guard , or dial 112 or 999. The Coastguard co-ordinates rescue at sea and may call on the RNLI or their own land-based rescue personnel or rescue helicopters to take part. Air-Sea rescue Helicopter s are provided by the Royal Air Force , the Royal Navy and the Irish Air Corps . CLASSES OF LIFEBOATS IN SERVICE , Anglesey , Wales ]] ''Main category: .'' The RNLI has two main categories of lifeboat:
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