In the Bleak Midwinter...

Lifeboatmen go paddling. With the end of term at school has come a brief lull in the rain, so today I took advantage of this by paddling my kayak along my favourite stretch of coast with some friends as I often do at this time of year.

After a slightly tentative start paddling round Peveril Point, we got into the lee of the cliffs around Durlston Head and had a lovely, if occasionally lumpy ride on the ebb tide down towards St Aldhelm's Head.

Once there we stopped briefly on a small cobbled beach for a snack before the last stretch over Kimmeridge ledges.

Both Andy and Mark had come prepared with sweet stuff unlike me so I enjoyed their extras.

And that was it, a classic December day, crisp, sunny and memorable...thanks guys.

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.
(Words: Christina Rossetti)

The Rose Bowl

So last night was our Christmas party. I'm afraid the whole experience is still proving a little painful so I will write more in the morning. However, I would like to announce that this year John Deere presented the Rose Bowl (given annually to the crewmember having performed the most memorable act during the year) to Dan. Due to the precise circumstances of the act I can't disclose exactly what he won it for. Nevertheless, congratulations Dan...a richly deserved award!

(Thanks to Sophie Atkinson for the photo)

Great lives

Over the last few days Dave and I have added a few more potted biographies to the crew website. If you want to have a look at them click here then click on crew then information and choose the rogue you want to find out more about. I've tried to keep it light-hearted but without being too frivolous or indeed offensive! Hopefully I achieved this...added so far are Martin, Rob, Paul Elleray, Skid, Kev and Ant. The rest to follow over the next couple of days.

Sunny spells

It seems like the rain hasn't stopped for months. My daily drive to work involves passing several rivers and each has been beyond the bounds of it's banks for months now. Despite this, Sunday morning heralded a brief moment of sunshine amongst the dark clouds, and both the ILB and one of the rowing club gigs took advantage of it. Needless to say the rain soon returned and it was situation normal. Don't you just love this global warming?

Super Sunday

Through the winter we are exercising every Wednesday night in the dark so once a month (the first) we go out on a Sunday morning so we can experience being at sea in the daylight. Except, this morning everyone was engaged doing other things elsewhere so there were too few crew present to make it worth launching the ALB.

Still, the ILB went out and Gav, Oli and Sam had a good trip by the looks of it.

Being on my own with the girls this weekend I was late down and arrived just as they got back in and were in the process of washing down their kit.

Somehow Gav (helmsman) got left with washing the boat off...clearly he has failed to educate the youth fully!

Meanwhile, Deasy and Daz were busy taking part in a local duathlon over in Rempstone forest.

I nipped over there on the way to get our Christmas tree and caught some of the action, needless to say it was a hot, sweaty and muddy activity though it seemed to be being enjoyed by all who took part. Well done lads!

RNLI online advent calendar

Trying to summon up the energy to get in the Christmas spirit and spotted this online, not sure how it works but looks cool...Merry Christmas everyone!!

November rain

So there was me thinking that the rain might have disappeared with November. Fat chance, today, down our way has been as wet as ever, perhaps even more so.

Suffering with a cold I decided to stay ashore and do some training in the boathouse with some of our newer crewmembers.

After both boats had gone their seperate ways it was time to head up to the crewroom to begin the exercise.

The ALB put a float into the water at the start of their exercise and then relayed it's position to us for us to work out an estimated position for them to return to in 1 hour in order to search and then hopefully find the 'casualty'.

We spent about an hour running through some simple chartwork then Rob and I worked through a rapid response search pattern with the lads and came up with our Estimated position. To be honest we are both into this sort of thing and enjoyed the process a great deal. Ultimately we came up with two possible positions, one using the factual information that we had...the other adding our own local knowledge to this. Funnily enough our own 'local knowledge' position was much closer to the actual position in which it was found.

In any case, we were all satisfied that our worked example would have stood a very high chance of finding the casualty (though perhaps the incredibly severe rain might have hindered us), so job done.

And when your fears subside
And shadows still remain, ohhh yeahhh
I know that you can love me
When there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain
(November Rain - Guns N'Roses)

Jackline

is the other name by which Jackstays are known. Whichever you prefer, Jackstay or Jackline, both terms actually refer to any line rigged securely between two points and used as a support. Indeed, the names can correctly be used to refer to: the line from which a refuelling hose is suspended when RASing, the centre line used to support an awning rigged over a hot deck, a line rigged between ship and shore along which a breeches bout could be hauled, and a line rigged to a spar on a square-rigged ship to which the head of a sail is attached.

Importantly, given their use in situations where support is required, they should always be rigged with a minimum safety factor of four, i.e. the load supported by the Jackstay, including its own weight, should not be more than one-quarter the breaking strain of the wire or rope used.

(with thanks to 'The Oxford companion to Ships and the Sea' - perhaps the most beguiling book of all time)

Jackstay

Look closely at the photo and you will notice that both Becky and Steve are clipped onto the boat. Becky is attached using her harness line to the jackstay which runs along the starboard (and of course port) side of the wheelhouse of the boat. Meanwhile Steve is clipped to a similar jackstay which runs down the centre line of the foredeck. Using these it is possible to circumnavigate the entire deck in safety and while clipped on. In the sort of weather we have been having recently it has not been uncommon for crew to be clipped on while out of the wheelhouse.

For those of you interested in the pointless details of life, you might notice that Becky is wearing a pair of black boots...not a fashion statement, but simply the only pair of steel toe-capped wellington boots in the world which are small enough to fit her (and this particular brand don't make them in yellow). Dainty hey?!

Wasting police time

It is beginning to seem from news reports that our search on Tuesday night was both futile and a waste of time. One of my colleagues at school yesterday asked me if I wasn't really cross and angry at having given up a nights sleep to search for people who weren't there in the first place. Well...to be honest no, and I think everyone in the crew feels pretty much the same.

The bottom line is, we were called out by Coastguard in good faith. For as long as they have a glimmer of a suspicion that there is someone out there waiting for help we are happy to go. Indeed, we want to go.

And now? Well, at least we know that we didn't break off the search and leave someone out there praying to be rescued. All's well that ends well I say...

Searching

To be honest, conditions for visual searching on Tuesday night were pretty poor. I've read various reports of how extreme the weather was online, some seemed realistic...others a bit over the top. Either way, chances of finding what you are looking for is drastically reduced. Luckily it is beginning to seem like there were no further people in the water and that a more complex and confusing story is beginning to unravel. I for one am just pleased that we didn't leave anyone out there unfound.

Sleepless night

So, following on from a late night at the AGM, we were woken by our pagers at about 1.20am this morning and shortly afterwards launched the ALB to join a search under way in the Poole bay area looking for a group of people, believed to be Eastern European, who were thought to have jumped off the back of the Barfleur (cross-channel ferry) wearing wetsuits and hoping to swim ashore to a better life. One of the party was found alive on a local beach and is now recovering in hospital...the others, sadly, we didn't find. At this stage it is unclear whether they in fact chose not to jump and got ashore by other means, or whether they are still out there. We re-housed at about 5.30am and washed the boat down and re-fuelled. It is likely that the search will continue today.

More news later.

The Vicar of Dibley...

came to visit us tonight. No really, it was our AGM once more and our guest presenter was the new Head of the Lifeboat College, the one and only Geraldine Grainger. Understandably the pull of a major celebrity was tough to resist and the turn out (for a windy and wintry November evening) was impressive.

As it turned out, Geraldine wasn't actually the Geraldine Grainger. Still, she was a pleasant change from the usual old sea dogs wittering on and brought a certain amount of glamour to the whole evening. So thank you Geraldine for being so kind as to grace our AGM, and I apologise for any hint of disappointment you might have sensed from the audience (and for being so dull as to write a whole tedious blog post about what must seem to you like a very poor old joke)!

So there you go...another year in the bag. There were a whole host of awards for long service and good behaviour: David Haines (LMA), Russ Johnson (DLA), Gary Williams (Ex crew), John Dear (for something like a million years service as winchman), Diana for a mention for her Gold Badge and of course all the others who I forget.

Still, despite the company of the rich and famous and the lure of an awards ceremony, it was a relatively impromptu talk by Gav about his and Deasy's recent exploits with the RNLI Flood Response Team in Cockermouth which grabbed the attention and admiration of the assembled crowd. Well done Gav, fine words and fine deeds...

Safe home

Welcome home Gav and Deasy, a quick two days away but lots achieved. From a brief chat with Deasy it sounds as if they have had a memorable experience and achieved a great deal of good work...well done both of you and good to have you back safe and sound. I look forward to getting some photos and stories in due course.

I'm just back form a quick paddle in a blown out Swanage bay. The wind is dead offshore so the waves are clean but the gusts pretty unpleasant in the kayak...I quickly decided that discretion was the better part of valour and came home! Not so brave as the surfers who are still lined up there patiently waiting the perfect break.

Spare a thought...

For Deasy and Gav who are up in Cumbria at the moment with the RNLI flood rescue team. The Bournemouth Echo has picked up on the story here. Our thoughts and prayers are with them, as they are with the family of Bill barker, the police officer who sadly lost his life during the flood.

Wet 'n' windy

The weather here is still wild...wet, windy and poor visibility, so I should imagine that this evening's exercise will be another pretty damp affair. Last weeks was characterised by moments when the rain was so thick it obliterated the picture on the radar (no matter how we tuned it)! Roll on summer...

Winter weather

So it's been a windy old weekend, not the first of late either. I've just found this bit of video on my camera from a few weekends ago, somehow cameras always flatten off waves but notice Steve clip his harness on...gives an idea of how lumpy it was:

Mighty Power Rangers

Dave, Tom and Neil have recently returned from the Divisional conference (held annually for key station personnel). At it they were told about the RNLI's environmental policy and how they want to make a 5% electricity saving across the whole of the Institution. Being as our own electricity bill runs in to the thousands each year, this should represent a worthwhile and significant saving. Typically, rather than seeing this as a call to turn off the odd light, Dave saw it as a chance to audit our power usage and develop some sophisticated timers and switches so that we can continued to do everything we need to but make at least a 5% saving and, knowing Dave, twice that.

So Dave's first move was this simple timer which when the button is pressed turns on the heater in the crew room for a set period of time.

Then, in a flash of inspiration he has designed this very clever box of tricks which, if pressed after a shout or exercise, will turn on the drying cupboard heaters for 6 hours...just long enough to dry our sodden drysuits and oilskins.

Alone this should be enough to save the required 5% but Dave is naturally not satisfied with this and now has the hot water boiler and station PC in his sights!

Well done Dave!

There and back

So there was a quick shout this afternoon to head over to the other side of the bay to check on a kayak which had been reported to be in difficulty. As is quite often the case, it turned out that the boat wasn't actually in difficulty but had apparently been practising self-rescue techniques!

Still, it was a pleasant afternoon so most of us were perfectly happy to spend an hour on the slipway watching things happen and catching up on each others news.

Of course Sam was pleased to have got another shout under her belt so all was not wasted.

That sinking feeling!

So the Mersey was out again yesterday, called this time to a small yacht which had been spotted adrift and seemingly unmanned.

Sure enough there was no one aboard so we sorted that by putting Gav on.

Un-accustomed to such burdens, the poor unfortunate vessel promptly sank!

It would seem that the vessel had been cast adrift from it's mooring and had then drifted out of the harbour.

(Photos: Boat camera)

Speechless

It's almost unbelievable but last night Poole lifeboat station was broken into and ransacked by thieves. It's not certain at this point what was taken but what is certain is that many of the Poole crew have had a busy day sorting out their kit and trying to restore the place to some sort of order. Let's hope they catch the culprit(s) and find a way of re-briefing them about how decent members of a society should behave. In the meantime our thoughts are with the lads and lasses in Poole.

Hoodies

Good friend Nigel Saxon brought this new RNLI YouTube video to my attention. I really approve of this sort of attempt to boost the positive image of young people and what they contribute to communities. We are lucky in Swanage in having a good number of young people on our crew with more joining all the time. Please pass this link on to as many people (young and old) as you can. Thanks.

Assessments

Last nights exercise was once more a game of two halves. To begin with the ALB launched at 1800 with an assessor onboard and ran through a number of CoBT assessments. I understand that these all went well and that many of our crew are now closer to being fully competent in all aspects of their training.

The Alb then came in for a crew change and then went to sea for a second time with a more experienced crew and undertook a night navigation exercise using radar and chart-plotter around East Loe channel. Again this went well and everyone demonstrated that they understood what was being done and achieved all that could be expected of them.

On return, I had my first go at re-housing the boat while using a breasting line which proved to be interesting but ultimately successful! Phew...

Bear with me

For a variety of reasons life seems to have got a whole lot busier recently. Consequently I seem to have very little time for blogging at the moment. It's not that nothing is happening in our lifeboating world in Swanage...quite the opposite...things are very busy one way or another. However, for some reason none of it seems easy to write about in the time I have available. So, what I think I'm saying (and this may well change tomorrow or indeed at any other time in the future) is that there is going to be little in the way of action around here for a while 'till things calm down.

Lifeboats 365

I have mentioned recently to a few folk that I had a new idea for a blog which I was mulling over. Over the summer I got a fair number of photos from tourists, friends and other people involved with lifeboats which they thought might find a place on this blog. Having given this some thought, I've decided that I would like to keep the Lifeboat Scrapbook fairly exclusively about our crew and boat in Swanage but create a space for a more collaborative blog about lifeboats and maritime lifesaving in general. Here is my first attempt, if you would like to contribute (and there will only be any content if you do) then please e-mail me at lifeboat365@gmail.com remember to include both photos and pictures which I do not intend to edit unless absolutely necessary.

700

As I anticipated, Paul Savage, Clinical Lead from the RNLI, felt inclined to add some detail to yesterday's post:

John,

Last year the MCA requested that P4 was dropped in favour of the term "dead". This is partly because in strict international triage rules P4 does not mean dead. P4 is a category called "expectant" which means the patient is not dead but will not survive the injuries they have sustained. This call is usually made by a doctor.

Also, in line with all the other emergency services, when involved in a major incident management and using the triage sieve, if the patient is not breathing they are "declared" dead. Certification of death will be done after the incident by a doctor and police officer.
These rules only apply on mass casualties, the definition of which is casualties outnumbering rescuers on a 1:to:1 ratio.
When rescuers outnumber casualties non-breathing casualties will always be given CPR and be a P1 patient.

Hope this helps.

Paul

Many thanks Paul for the detailed information...it all makes sense now!

Priorities

Dave has just sent an email around to let us know that a new piece of kit has just arrived at the station. He often does this to keep us in the loop and fully informed of what is changing. Not that we often have to resort to triage, but in the past we have identified each casualties priority level with a card tag which would be attached to them. We now have these rather nifty arm bands which are much clearer and will remove a lot of the confusion. The said, I'm suprised to see that we should now be categorising casualties as 'Dead' rather than the old P4...somehow it felt more subtle and perhaps professional to refer to them as a priority number (also, we have always been told that we are not qualified to declare someone as being dead therefor were not allowed to use the term. Just goes to show that things do change.

Thanks Dave for the photo

Happy ending

The ILB was out again yesterday searching for a pensioner who had Alzheimer's and had gone missing. The ECHO reports today that she has been found alive...good news.

Sometimes

shouts come out of the blue and fall through the gaps. Yesterday afternoon the ILB was about to launch on exercise when a member of the public asked them to investigate a friends boat which was overdue and they thought might have broken down. Tom, Oli and Ty quickly launched, located the boat and recovered it to the council slipway in textbook fashion. Hardly expected at this time of year and on Monday afternoon to boot.

And of course I knew nothing about it until I got the latest launch bulletin this morning in my inbox! Each Monday I turn my pager off as I leave for work. This is because our new ones keep ringing until they are turned off, unlike the old ones which used to time out after a set period of time. So of course, when I get home and turn it on, any messages which have been sent in the interim will have been lost to the ether.

Anyway, for what it is worth, well done lads.

Congratulations!

So, this morning at 6.45 my wife Liz, Crewmate Steve, next-door neighbour Joe and acquaintance Paul leaped off Swanage pier (thanks Russ for opening up and Chad and Cameron for seeing us off). Their intention? To swim from Swanage Pier to Bournemouth Pier!
Becky was there too in her kayak and much appreciated it was too. The weather was fine with just a slight ground swell running.

A little more than an hour later all four of the swimmers passed Old Harry and were looking very strong.

Friends Tom and Rachel came down from Hamble with their RIB to provide additional safety cover. Rachel had also provided deliciously welcome food for the boat crews.

And so, at 1031 the swimmers arrived at Bournemouth pier and after touching the structure continued in to the beach for a glass of champagne.

A big congratulations to you all. I for one could never dream of swimming anything like 8.3 miles so the whole endeavour appears to me a truly awesome feat of endurance. Well done!

Liz was swimming to raise money for the Lewis-Manning hospice which provides palliative care to 600 local people each year. If you feel inclined you might make a donation on her JustGiving page. I hope that you feel able to make a contribution towards their valuable work.

When the hurlyburly's done

it still remains for someone to wash down the boat, stow all of the kit properly and then give the engine a bit of TLC. Here Matt is flushing it out with fresh water through the muffs.

First Witch: When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
Second Witch: When the hurlyburly's done,
When the battle's lost and won.
(Macbeth; Act 1, scene 1)

Rough weather launch

I never manage to feature many photos of ILB due to me now spending almost all of my time on the ALB. However, last night due to weather conditions we didn't launch the ALB so I was around to take a few snaps of the ILB boys (and girls) practising their rough weather launch and recovery techniques.

This is a tricky manoeuvre which requires precise timing and solid teamwork. Communication is tricky so it is vital that it is practised and that all members of the team share a common vision of what is trying to be achieved. Here the Helmsman is watching the waves and also maintaining contact with the winchman who will be ready to slip the rope at his command.

Once in the water the launch crew push the trolley deep enough so that the Helmsman can drive the boat purposefully off the trolley and through the first breaking wave.

Here the ILB has disappeared into the trough behind the first wave and only the masthead light is visible. Slightly un-nerving for any mothers watching, but all normal run of the mill stuff really!

And they're through, safely past the surf zone and heading out to sea. All that remains is to come back in and get safely back onto the trolley and dry land...

Crazy?

While at the boatshow last weekend, I bumped into a charming (but possibly slightly bonkers) fellow called Tom McNally. He intends to sail across the atlantic later this year, not once, but twice, in an impossibly small boat: 3 foot ten inches long! This is not the first time he has done this sort of thing. Indeed, he has previously held the record for having sailed the smallest boat ever (5 feet 4 1/2 inches) across the 'big pond'. Since being beaten by an American sailor (5 feet 3 1/2 inches) he has decided to have another crack at the record. He claims to have no interest in fame or money, he just enjoys sailing small boats and having a challenge!

Anyway, many people might think that he is completely off his rocker...as it happens I don't share this opinion. I think that he's certainly eccentric (and possibly doesn't give enough consideration to his own personal comfort) but quite sane.

Good luck Tom!

Both boats

The advantage of having two boats is that they often offer complimentary strengths. For example, during last night's shout the vessel in difficulty had drifted into shallow water near Old Harry which could well have made it difficult for the Mersey to approach given it's draft.
However, with the ILB available, we were able to use them to transfer people as necessary and pass the tow line whilst the Mersey waited further out to sea in deeper water.

Once the tow was attached, John stayed aboard and the ILB returned to station while the Mersey commenced a tow up into Poole harbour.

Another example is when we have a casualty on the shore under the cliffs, the ILB can get there faster and get into the shore, while the Mersey can provide the stable platform often needed to treat casualties upon.

So, we count ourselves lucky that we have two such fine, but different boats (as no doubt did last nights casualties).

Rubbish photos

I've got a thing about bad photos.

I've discovered that, despite my best efforts, not every photo I take turns out anything like I had hope it would. Last Wednesday evening was a case in point and pretty much every photo was an unmitigated disaster. However, for some reason, I still like some of them. Perhaps it's because...uncluttered with detail and out of focus they just somehow give a sense or 'feel' of what it was like to be there?

Anyway, here's us heading south away from the Jurassic coast towards France (only temporarily).

And I liked this one too because of the way that if gives the impression that the cabin is somehow a warm and cosy place to be...

Down under up here...

Last night's exercise was another good one. We had along some full time Coastguard employees from New Zealand who are, I think, here in the UK spending some time with the RNLI and our Coastguard learning how we do things. Part of this was to be brought over to Swanage by our old inspector Andy Whyte for a trip out to sea with a 'proper' crew.

Matt spent the first part of the exercise showing Nick how to use the drogue, which went well.

Cheryl, an area manger from the South Island of New Zealand, got to have a go at helming the boat.

And while we were there a truly spectacular sunset took place which showed our patch of to it's very best...I think the Kiwis were impressed by our scenery.

Quickie

The ILB was out for a quick shout this afternoon. I was stuck at home roasting marshmallows over and open fire while on my own with the girls. Hence I have few details about the shout just now. All I do know is that the person aboard the casualty vessel was well equipped and recognised that he needed help so fired a flare to bring attention to his plight. While I'm not sure 'exactly' who was aboard the jetski, I do suspect that someone might be buying a few beers after the exercise tonight!

(Photo: Swanage Lifeboat photo archive)