VISAR was founded in 1988, at the request of the BVI Government and was modeled on the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) in the UK, the world's oldest lifeboat service. Like the RNLI and many other lifeboat services in Europe, it is an independent, volunteer-based organisation, funded almost entirely by charitable donations. Since its formation, VISAR has carried out well over 450 search and rescue missions, helped more than 1,200 people in distress, and saved over 40 lives. In the first few months of 1988, a team of development advisors from the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office was sent out to the British Virgin Islands to make development recommendations to the Government of the BVI. One of their recommendations was that the Government invite the group of people running the informal SAR service to create an "autonomous, para-professional, dedicated volunteer maritime search and rescue service." VISAR’s function is simply stated – VISAR saves lives at sea.
