Night Bag

During the winter months there is a higher chance of a callout in the dark (due to it being dark most of our 24hrs!), for the Mersey this is no problem since it already has all equipment on board.  However, for the D-class, space is at a premium and certain items simply have to be added as required.

This is where our night bag comes in.  The job of shore crew and anyone else to hand at the boathouse when responding to a shout, is to get the ILB ready to launch as quickly as possible.  When you are likely to be out in the dark, the night bag is packed - this includes two handheld spotlights, two battery packs (these are on permanent mains charge) and two night sights (James Bond style gadgets which work extremely well).  Also in the picture is the handheld radio, which is always put on board anyway but is helpful to grab whilst packing the bag in-case you forget later.   

The night bag is then attached to the clips on the sides of two other storage bags on the boat, seen in this picture.