Office party

Many of our crew are either self employed or work with just one or two others. For this reason many of them are spared the torture that is an office Christmas party. Both Paul and Nick are in this position, though today, as it was their last day at work before Christmas, I decided to treat them to a little piece of the action and delivered them a mini office party (perhaps stretching the truth slightly...being honest it was a mince pie and a bottle of beer). I think that it was appreciated, at least it was by me! In any case, I think they were relieved to have a chance to stop work for a few minutes and chew the fat.

EffSeaBeeToo

The exercise was a cold one last night but this did not prevent us from being very productive. We had a couple of observers along for the trip, one whom we already knew from last month. Pretty frequently we are asked to take people out to sea with us in order to help them become acquainted with what lifeboat crews do in real life. Often they are new staff who have joined the institution and are working in an area where they are required to either talk with authority about what we do, or need to be able to empathise with the job that we do and the conditions that we work in. In Geraldine's case it's undoubtedly a bit of both.

Unfortunately on this occasion I had little chance to chat with Geraldine and John because no sooner had we launched and got started on our exercise than we sighted a flare and went to investigate, (don't worry Gloria...all part of the exercise)!

Coming alongside what appeared to be another lifeboat it quickly became apparent that they had had some sort of dramatic incident and required urgent assistance. I went aboard initially to assess how many casualties there were. As is often the case in these scenarios, there was a man overboard (immediately ties up one boat searching and limits options for casualty evacuation). There was also a seriously injured man who had fallen through a hatch (although it was difficult to access him initially and make a full assessment, the mechanism of injury led me to expect a spinal injury, possibly a break and likely internal injuries). There was the usual 'red-herring' of someone panicking with sea-sickness and a quiet one who appeared shocked. Plenty to keep us busy!

I made the decision to act as the comms person and requested as many first aiders as were available to come and deal with the casualties. Very soon Kev, John, Daz and Nick were onboard and completing their full assessments on the casualties. Not surprisingly the fellow who had fallen began to deteriorate with increasing 'Capillary refill' and reducing breathing rate. Quite rightly Kev and John assessed him as having an internal bleed and flagged him up a priority 1 for immediate evacuation.

In a very short space of time the man-overboard had been found, all casualties dealt with and the stricken vessel taken in tow back to the station. After a quick de-brief and not so quick crew-meeting it was time for a pint in the Red Lion then home to bed.

All good.

ILB introductory course

One of the first courses any new crew member will take part in is the Introductory course for ILB crew at Poole. It lasts a week and covers all of the basics such as how to perform each of the expected tasks, how to handle the boat and how to keep yourself safe.Nick went on his course last week and one of the first things he found himself doing as swimming in the 'environmental pool' along with a capsized lifeboat.

One of the great things about a residential course as a crewmember is that it allows a first glimpse at the wider RNLI family. Suddenly you realise that Swanage is not the centre of the RNLI world and how we do things so not the only way!

Part of the capsize drill involves swimming under the capsized boat. Often this can be a challenging ordeal for new crew.

The skill in handling a lifeboat underway is not so much how to drive the thing through waves at high speed, rather, it is how to drive it safely at slow speed while close to other vessels. This is taught well.

New crew also learn how to tow other vessels. Often these are appreciably larger than the vessel doing the towing.

Of course the time spent in the bar is not time wasted...it forms an essential part of the bonding experience and caters for different leaning styles.

It's also fun to see so many lifeboats out on the water at any one time.

So Nick, you've passed and are surely wiser and perhaps more importantly, more useful to us as a result. Well done!

What goes around comes around

Well that time of year is approaching again..........Lifeboat week! Yesterday Dave sent out a 25 page planning document to each of us. It contained details of each event, who is responsible for it, what has been booked, what needs doing etc etc.

Each year lifeboat week seems to grow and grow. This year there are some superb additions to the events lined up. These include a Shakespearian evening, Bingo and an open evening at the Boathouse. Of course all of the old favourites like raft racing, darts, sailing and gig racing, build a boat, stalls, cream teas, BBQ music bar and loads more are still there too. There really will be something for everyone so if you're at a loose end from the 10th to the 17th of August come to Swanage for some fun!

If you think you might be able to help please get in touch by e-mailing me or contacting the boathouse.

It's exercise night tonight and both boats will be going to sea, launching at 1900.

Nick here is off on holiday. He departed this morning to visit his brother in law in the USA. Safe trip Nick.

'Cause I'm leavin', on a jet plane,
Don't know when I'll be back again.
(John Denver)

Rescue dinghy

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this before? Some years ago we were tasked to go out and locate a dinghy which had been spotted drifting by a passing yacht. It turned out to be this little plastic thing. Time passed and no one arrived to collect it so it has become one of the stations fixtures and fittings. It's useful too, not only for the crew to get out to their own boats on moorings but also for when we tow casualties in and put them on our mooring. My kids like it too as they can play inside without being told off.

Sadly, the dinghy next to it is no longer with us. During the winter it was washed away in a storm while not tied up (not sure who was responsible for that - Matt)! So if anyone knows where Martin can get another small dinghy he would be most greatful.

On a separate note, spare a thought for Becky who is having a operation on her Knee today. Something to do with a crucial ligament I think so let's hope it goes well.

It's also nick's birthday so happy birthday Nick!!

Holidays

No sooner back from Scotland and North Yorkshire than I am away again (the Solent sailing this time with a school expedition). Many thanks to Nick for keeping things going in my absence, excellent work! Becky has agreed to post a few thoughts this week then we are back to normal next week.

The picture by the way is the recently completed boathouse in Whitby harbour. It is a superb building, mounted on stilts and built in the local materials of sandstone, brick and red pantiles. It's been carefully designed to blend into the harbour scene and I think it does this superbly. It looks awesome and will no doubt serve Whitby well for many years to come.

Windy start

Well, it would seem that all the anticipated visitors to Swanage this Easter weekend have well and truly arrived. As I walked the dog this morning I watched crowds of people hurrying down to the town for morning teashop visits, breakfasts in cafe's and pottering time in the shops.

I also bumped into the lovely Kim and Becky, out with Ben (Gav's dog) - they too were battling with the strong windy gusts which seem to have arrived with the crowds.

It's another day for fundraising with the Swanage Sea Rowing Club. John Deas has got the crew organized to come into town this afternoon for a rowing competition against the fire brigade - winners get a crate of beer... should be a good turn out then!

Pics to follow later........

Over to you

The holidays are upon us and I must head to the North of the country for a few days. The weather looks set to be breezy for the duration so there's plenty of chance of some action. Once again I've enlisted the help of one of the crew as guest blogger. Some say he's as articulate as Shakespeare; others claim his wit is a match for Oscar Wilde's; all I know is he's called Nick. Good luck!

Salvage pump

As part of yesterday's exercise Martin wanted Nick and Oli to spend the time dealing with a scenario based around a search for a water-logged boat. The starting point was getting the 'x-boat' rigged, into the water then using the salvage pump to fill it with water. Although this was only meant to be setting up the exercise it proved to be a significant task in itself!First Oli tried to untangle the hose.Then Nick tried to prime it with water.Then Oli tried to get the pump to start. Then he tried again with the fuel turned on!Then they sprayed water into the dinghy until it was quite full.'Dead fred' didn't look too happy......never does.

Seeing double

Well, I was right, it was cold last night. We still had a profitable exercise though. In a rare occurrence we simultaneously had two lifeboats on station. The 'Robert Charles Brown' has had her repairs completed so was brought back to us from Poole by Rob, John D, Gav and a few others.Martin decided that we should use the opportunity to exercise double the number of crew and take both boats out to sea and do some towing and close quarters manoeuvring.On completion of the exercise we tied alongside the pier and swapped our kit from 'Bingo Lifeline' onto the 'Robert Charles Brown' and vice-versa. We then returned RCB to her place in the boathouse and had our crew meeting. Not huge amounts were discussed though Nick and Oli came to the end of their Probationary period and became full crewmembers so congratulations are in order. We also took on 3 new faces as shorecrew. With luck they will in due course prove to be an asset and progress onto the crew proper.

CoBT

The pressure is now on. We are fully back into the exercise cycle and the crew are working hard towards their Competency Based Training Scheme (CoBT).

Each crewmember gets a training scheme which varies depending on what their position is onboard the boat (mechanic, coxswain, navigator, crewmember, 1st aider or probationer). Each key skill or bit of knowledge is set down in the training manual and every once in a while an assessor will visit and judge whether the standard has been met by each individual.

Rob, our second Coxswain and Training Co-ordinator has now deemed that everyone who has been on the crew for 2 or more years must have completed all assessments by Christmas. This seems reasonable. Nick pictured here has made good progress so far but must now get the last few parts signed off so that he can fully demonstrate his proficiency. Go for it!

Big cheesy grins

The grins say it all, Nick and Becky had fun on Sunday. Why? Well, a couple times a year we exercise with Whisky Bravo, our local coastguard rescue helicopter, and typically a few crew will get lifted and have a ride. Last Sunday it was the turn of Nick and Becky. I would say by the look on their faces that they enjoyed themselves. Indeed, in Nick's own words, 'It was the best thing I've ever done'..........shh, don't tell his wife, the Divine Naomi!

Dead Fred!

Our casualty last night was not feeling too well. In fact, by the time we arrived he was utterly lifeless. Wedged among the rocks access was going to be hard. Dave, Coxswain for the evening, chose to use a breaches bouy to recover him. Nick and Jo set this up under my supervision having first anchored.Paul E rowed the x-boat in to the coast. This is harder than it looks due to the tide and the drag from the ropes. Nevertheless he achieved it and soon had the casualty in the bouy.Meanwhile Dave, Jon and Jo advised from the Mersey on how to achieve the rescue.........left a bit, right a bit etc etc!And before long he was alongside and being recovered on board. Sadly our station Dummy, 'Dead Fred', did not survive his ordeal...........Still, I don't think he suffered too much!

Not Under Command

Last night was the last of the shore based exercises. It was the final chance for Jo, Becky, Ollie, Nick and Mark to swot up on their IRPCS before their assessment in a weeks time. To be honest it is a tough nut to crack, particularly when you get to lights, shapes and sound signals. Even with Rob's impressive teaching style and some input from me I thought I detected the odd glazed look by the end? Still, the carrot was there..........Stuart, landlord of the Anchor, has agreed to lay on Chips and Sandwiches after evening exercises. What a gent. Sadly this does then require us to sample some of his fine ale (try the broadside)!

Comings and goings

There was a shore based exercise last night at the boathouse going over some first aid type stuff. I wasn't there but met up with the gang in the Anchor afterwards so as to have a brief meeting with Becky about lifeboat week. Needless to say this didn't happen......or if it did our conclusions are lost. Nevertheless, the gang was on top form and provided excellent entertainment. Jon Deas was being his usual quite and retiring self. However, he did come up with the most excellent nick-name for our two latest recruits, 'Laurel & Hardy'. Poor Nick and Ollie are still trying to work out who is who but I am sure it will stick.Jo was also there last night, always up for an impromptu party and full of fun and mild amounts of madness (think cat on a windy day).Congratulations to Ant Corben who has just this week finished his probationary year and is now a fully fledged crewmember. He has a very large pair of lifeboating wellies to fill but I am certain he will do this with panache and style.....welcome aboard!

5.30 on a sunny evening

The crew are starting to get hungry, three nights in a row we have had a shout at about 5.30!

Yesterday evening I was just on my way home from a spot of fishing and was about to put our Easter leg of lamb in to roast when my pager went off.

Once again it was the old story of early season engine gremlins and floating ropes which were the culprits. A 28 foot motor boat had broken down and was being towed by another passing vessel. Unfortunately the tide was too strong for them to make any headway. Once we arrived on scene off Durlston head we quickly set up the tow and began the tow back to Swanage. Fortunately for the casualty which was out of Poole, Poole lifeboat were just concluding another rescue in the harbour and were able to come towards Old Harry to take over the tow from us and return the casualty to their home marina.

Once again, no lives saved as such but still a very valuable shout; Three of the 4 man crew of the motor boat were beginning to get cold and would have been in more serious difficulty within a few hours. No doubt in my mind that it is better to extract folk from their predicament before it becomes worse.

From a crew training perspective these shouts are very valuable. Yesterday we took a core crew of 6 to sea and then also Nick and Oli who are very recent crew members. For them it was their first shout (well done lads..........I'm looking forward to that beer) and in very controlled and relatively easy conditions. This allows them to put into practise the lessons of recent exercises and build confidence not only in our capability but also theirs.

Youth Work

Nick Webb has recently joined the crew. In the real world he is a Youth Worker for some local churches (He didn't stand a chance, his Dad is a Vicar, a Canon no less......whatever one of those is?) Naturally this means that he is very (and I mean VERY) available for shouts. You get the full picture of Nick's availability when you realise that the local coffee shop is essentially his office. And this is great for us. We desperately need people who are around town and able to drop things and respond to their pager at a moments notice. The added bonus is that Nick is fully skilled up at dealing with challenging youths...........perhaps a useful skill when Matt is around?!

We band of brothers.

Yesterday evening was the first 'dry' exercise that I have taken. The idea is that though most of the training we do necessarily happens at sea, some can be better achieved ashore in the boathouse. Becky, Nick and mark are all newish crew members, along with Tom we went over responsibilities for keeping watch at sea and how to properly use the watchkeeping equipment (Binos, night-sight, search lights, compass and radar). Obviously this was all broad brush stuff but sometimes even the obvious needs to be pointed out. We then did some dry runs through on how to rig up tows and how to deploy and recover the anchor. After a bit of practise throwing the heaving lines (Becky, she who makes everything look effortless, was scarily accurate) it was time to repair to the pub for a de-brief.

And that's the funny thing. There we were, a dozen or so young fit friends in our usual pub, the England football match was on, so what did we do? Naturally we left and went to another pub. One without a telly so we could chat about the important things in life (like boats, holidays, mountainbiking and having fun). We all agreed, life should be spent living not watching football on tv. And gradually we all sloped of home leaving just a hard core, Jon, Steve, myself and the awesome Becky. Happy to chat and plan the summer ahead.

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother;
(William Shakespeare)