Today crew members met up with Neil Dalton, chair of the National Independent Lifeboat association (NILA) and his wife, Lorna. NILA (www.nila.org.uk) formed in 2022 to promote and support independent lifeboat organisations across the UK and St Abbs was one of the founder members. NILA is working hard to ensure representation of independents such as ourselves within the Search and Rescue Community as well as to Government and other agencies. We have benefitted from the shared experience and knowledge gained from NILAs network of over 50 independents, as well as contributing our own knowledge to assist those who are just starting out or are thinking of becoming independent. It was good to meet Neil and Lorna on their fact finding tour. There really is no substitute for visiting stations, talking to crews and seeing the independent experience on the ground so we commend them both for their dedication to the role of Chair.
