Along the coast of the United States, the U.S. Coast Guard helps ships that get into difficulty at sea. The Coast Guard, like th

Along the coast of the United States, the U.S. Coast Guard helps ships that get into difficulty at sea. The Coast Guard, like the Navy, is controlled by the U.S. government. It receives the money that it needs from the government; therefore its ships, planes, and helicopters are very modern.
    In Great Britain the system is very different. There are a small number of men, called lifeboatmen, who go out to help ships in trouble. These brave men often risk their lives, but they receive no money for their work. They live in small towns on the coast, and most have other jobs. The special lifeboats that they need are provided by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (R.N.L.I.), a private group which depends completely on money from private people. The R.N.L.I. does not accept any money from the government. As a result, it can not always buy the best and most modern lifeboats. For example, about ten years ago, British researchers began to criticize the lifeboats which were in use at that time. According to their studies, the lifeboats never sink, but they turned over in certain sea conditions and stayed upside down in the water. However, there was a new kind of lifeboat that did not turn over. The R.N.L.I. began to buy this safer kind of boat, but it could be only one or two every year.
    Some years ago on the southwestern coast of England, a helicopter found a lifeboat lying upside down in the sea and there were no survivors.