Many people imagine that the average RNLI crew member is a selfless, brave, experienced mariner. Crew members are certainly brave and selfless but, today, volunteers with a professional maritime background are in the minority.

The RNLI has always relied on generosity to save lives at sea: the generosity of volunteers who give their time and that of the public who help provide funds. As a result, lifeboat crews and lifeboats have been ready to launch to the rescue for more than 180 years. The need for the service has not changed - the sea is still an unpredictable and dangerous place to be - but the lifeboats and the volunteers who crew them have changed.

Lifeboats have evolved from the pulling and sailing craft, once so familiar to their crews, to take advantage of the latest in marine technology and are therefore far more complex to operate. John Bateman, Launcher and former Mechanic at St Davids lifeboat station in Pembrokeshire, comments: 'When I first started, if you could take the ropes out and row the dinghy, you were in. The lifeboats are so much faster and more high-tech now though. Now, people need to be trained to use the kit.' On top of this, the profile of the 'average' crew member is becoming unrecognisable compared with that of yesteryear.At the beginning of the 20th century, the vast majority of lifeboat crew were an integral part of the maritime community, often being fishermen. By 1975, this could only be said of half. Today across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, only 10 per cent of RNLI volunteers have any professional maritime experience.

Richard Davies, Coxswain of the Cromer lifeboat, Norfolk, from 1976-1999, was a crab fisherman when he joined the lifeboat crew. He says: 'Being a fisherman helped a lot on the lifeboat. You get to know the sea and you develop a sense of balance -you get used to the momentum. It's the same as a jockey. A jockey stays on the horse because he becomes part of the horse.

On the crew, you have to learn to become part of a boat.' Nowadays, even crew from the last remaining fishing communities face challenges on the state-of-the-art lifeboats. Thankfully, volunteers continue to come forward but there are no longer any ready-made lifeboatmen and women offering their services to the RNLI. It is high-quality, specialised and hands-on training that turns these ordinary people into the extraordinary. It costs about £1,000 a year to train every crew member. But who are they and what training can they expect to undergo as a new recruit?You've decided you want to be a volunteer crew member at your local lifeboat station. You've passed a medical and A enrolled. So what happens next? Each station does things slightly differently but the coxswain, helmsman or lifeboat operations manager usually takes the role of mentor to the prospective crew member. Before they can become fully fledged crew and help save lives at sea, there's a probationary period of around 12-18 months.

In this time there's a lot to cover: a lifeboat, equipment, emergency drills and a whole new language with which to become familiar.

In their early days the probationer is introduced to the crew and given a guided tour of the station and the lifeboat. If they're a sociable bunch, there may well be a welcome drink. The mentor lets the newcomer know what to expect over the forthcoming months and explains the various stages of training, outlined in the RNLI Crew Training Task Book.

Once the basics at the station have been covered, the next step is to go out on exercise with the rest of the crew. Most crew train together between twice a week and twice a month, usually out on the lifeboat. At some stations, the probationers will just observe the actions of the crew, while at others the training will be more handson from the start. They may even be invited to don a drysuit and experience what it's like for themselves to be rescued from the water.

7 arrived to the scramble of kitting up. I threw on some spare kit and ran to the lifeboat, lifejacket toggles dangling at my feet. It was blowing a blizzard when I boarded for the night-time exercise. As predicted Arctic weather had hit us. No sooner had we slipped our moorings, hail petted us. The sky flashed white and I could barely see in front of me. My fingers were numb and I wondered what it would be like on a real shout.' Poole Crew Member Alison Payne remembering her first exercise During the probationary period, everybody is trained in the generic role of crew member and waits until they are adopted formally onto the crew before deciding to train for any specific position such as mechanic or navigator and, later, coxswain or helmsman. At some stations, crew members will need extra training tailored to their local needs, such as on the River Thames, where incidents differ in type and frequency from those on the coast.

Whether they're on all weather, inshore or inland craft, all prospective crew members must cover the same basics - but the probationary period is about more than practical skills:'It's about making sure personalities gel with the people already there.' Oban Coxswain Ronnie Mackillop 'It's good to have a trial period. The individuals can review their commitment to the station and I'll know by then whether they'll stick to the job.' Wells-next-the-Sea Coxswain Allen Frary The mentor will judge when the probationer is ready to take the next step towards becoming an RNLI crew member: starting with the RNLI's centrally-organised training courses. If the mobile training unit's in town, this might be after a few months, but it may be a year before they could attend a course at The Lifeboat College at Poole, Dorset. Some of these courses are mentioned in the following personal accounts and there'll be much more about these courses over the next few issues of the Lifeboat magazine.Jess (18) studies forensic science at college and is Rhyl's first female crew member. She has been a probationer since November 2004 'I got involved by chance. I was talking to a friend at work and her granddad used to be on the crew here. It sounded really interesting so I went to the lifeboat station to find out what it was all about. I was surprised at myself for being brave enough to do it! I've only lived by the sea for a couple of years -1 lived inland before that and knew nothing about boats or the sea. The rest of the crew are like brothers to me. They look after me.

'My family and friends are very supportive about it. I have also been paged in the middle of a lesson at college. They let me leave and I got a bus to the station, as I don't yet drive, to help recover the lifeboat after the shout. Being on the crew is even better than I expected. I have got really involved and the training is really in-depth. It is always interesting. If you went out on the lifeboat without the training, you'd be stuck and would not be able to help anyone.

'I've done the first aid and boat handling training so far. The capsize exercise was especially memorable: as the boat went over I swallowed water but I can laugh about it now. I'm hoping to do the introduction to inshore lifeboat course very soon.

'I have been on quite a few rescues already. There was one the other day where a drunk man ended up in the sea. He was hypothermic. I had to get the first aid kit out and set up the oxygen. He was very scared but relieved that someone had come to save him.'The Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Society opened Rhyl's first lifeboat station in 1825, a year after the establishment of the RNLl.The RNLI took over the station in 1854 and since then one Silver Medal for Gallantry, one Bronze and 11 Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum have been awarded to crew members in recognition of outstanding rescues.

Today's station has a Mersey class all weather lifeboat, Lil Cunningham and an inshore D class inflatable Godfrey and Desmond Nail.Mark (38) is a motor mechanics lecturer at Hartlepool College of Further Education. He has been a probationer since the end of 2004 'I have known one or two of the crew members for a few years now and they suggested I should give it a go. I was soon hooked. You are weary at first, because you are the new kid on the block. It's like when you get a new girlfriend and have to meet her parents for the first time, and of course it is fine. The way everyone was so friendly made a big impact on me.

'I am involved with both the inshore and the all weather lifeboat and I've been involved with a few shouts. There was one where we towed in a yacht, one where we checked out a drifting dinghy, and another where we helped a boat with a fouled propeller.

The training is a lot better than I expected. I have done my sea survival training and I'm looking forward to doing the inshore lifeboat introductory course.

'It is never boring, being on a lifeboat crew. You don't know what or who you might be going out to, and the adrenalin kicks in.

Being on call has not massively affected my lifestyle because I worked for a breakdown recovery service for 15 years and was on call with them. Luckily, I have not had to leave a college lesson yet, or get up in the middle of the night. I always put my clothes out just in case, though.'The station There were lifeboats launching from Hartlepool well before the RNLI was established in 1824. The first lifeboat was paid for locally and was stationed in 1803. Several other lifeboats became operational as well in the following years, although the RNLI had taken them over by 1875. There have been a large number of gallantry awards over the years: one Gold, eight Silver and nine Bronze, as well as four Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum awards.

Hartlepool • The lifeboat station now has a Trent class all weather lifeboat, Betty Huntbatch, and a B class Atlantic 75 rigid inflatable inshore lifeboat, BBC Radio Cleveland.Adam (32) works in a boat chandlers. He finished his probationary period and became a full crew member in March 2005 'I got involved with the crew because some of my family are already on the crew - the Coxswain is my uncle. The family suggested I give it a go and I really enjoyed it. I helped with launching the lifeboat first of all and then started being on the actual crew. I live about half a mile from the lifeboat station.

There are three of us at work who are all on the crew and one of them is the Coxswain. If there is a rescue, he always goes, and we make a quick decision about who else will go too.

That depends on how busy we are at work and whether there are other crew available.

The training has been really important because, even though I used to do some fishing, I've not got lots of sea experience. The fishing helped with knowing how to tie up and getting my sea legs, but I've learnt so much. The older crew members are very good at passing on their knowledge and I enjoyed the seamanship course that I did in the mobile training unit.

The training comes in handy with even the simple rescues where you just attach a tow, because you need to know your rope work.

'When people are in trouble on the sea and their boat is in danger, they need to trust that the lifeboat crew know what they are doing. You can see when someone is confident in what they are doing and it makes you all feel safer.'The RNLI delivered Kilmore Quay's first lifeboat in 1847. Around 10 years later, the station was closed and RNLI lifeboats did not launch again from there until 1884, when a new boathouse was built and the station reopened. This was replaced in 1992 with a new boathouse, complete with workshop, crew room and shop.

Nine Silver Medals, one Bronze Medal and eight Thanks of the Institution Inscribed on Vellum have been awarded by the RNLI to local lifesavers.

Not all the awards were for lifeboat crew members: seven of the Silver Medals were awarded to members of the Coastguard station who carried out rescues while the lifeboat station was closed in the 1800s.

• Kilmore Quay Today's RNLI crew launch to the rescue aboard aTyne class all weather lifeboat, The Famous Grouse.Paul (34) is a chemical process worker and has been a full crew member for a year 'I got involved when the Second Coxswain at the station asked me if I was interested.

There was a crew shortage at the time and I knew him from school. Being on the crew has not affected my job really because I work shifts. It has changed my lifestyle though, because I get on well with the crew and socialise with them. I've also bought myself a little boat since I joined.

'I have done the same job for the last 18 years and being on the crew has given me something new to think about. My wife is really supportive and I've got two young children who love the lifeboats.

'Training wise I've done the introductory inshore lifeboat course, first aid and fire fighting. I'm hoping to get involved with the mechanic side of things as I already have some engineering skills. I'm also quite an assertive person, which is another skill that you can bring to the crew. For people like myself, who have not had much experience of the sea, the training makes a real difference. Without it I'd have been clueless aboard a lifeboat The RNLI uses competence-based training methods, which I think is excellent. You need to be able to prove to people that you have a skill - if you cannot demonstrate it, you can't do it.'The station The RNLI's first lifeboat house at Fleetwood was built in 1859, costing just £ 175. A new wooden lifeboat house was built 20 years later for £450. Just 12 years later, another boathouse had to be built due to railway works. This boathouse and slipway cost £1,630, but the slipway was often covered in sand. As a result, yet another boathouse was built at a new site in 1901, with the railway companies footing the bill. Now, a new boathouse is once again being built while the crew are temporarily based in the old winch house next to the station.

Fleetwood There are two lifeboats at Fleetwood - a Tyne class all weather lifeboat, William Street, and a D class inflatable inshore lifeboat, Saddleworth..