Eagle eyed harbour followers will notice that every other Tuesday evening the Port St Mary all-weather lifeboat Gough Ritchie II slips its moorings and heads out to sea. The inshore lifeboat Frank Martin is also launched.
The volunteer crews of both lifeboats undergo extensive training to refresh their skills and also provide essential practical activities to new recruits and existing crew members seeking additional qualifications.
A typical training evening will encompass numerous scenarios including Navigation, Search Patterns, Mooring and Berthing. Emergency procedures to be actioned in the event of system failures of the lifeboats themselves are undertaken including fire and steering failure.
This training prepares the crew members to respond to any situations that may encounter on a shout. No two service calls are the same and new skills are continually evaluated.
This level of training does not come cheap and the generosity of the general public making donations only makes this possible. The crews of the lifeboat stations around the coast are all volunteers and prepared to go to sea at any time of day or night and put the training to practical use in saving lives at sea.
Coxswain Michael Keggen emphasised the importance of training which is undertaken locally and also at the Lifeboat College in Poole in preparing crew members to successfully execute the demands made of them when attending a shout.
Ends
Notes to editor
• Attached photo of Port St Mary RNLI leaving the harbour . Credit: RNLI/Port St Mary/David Hill
RNLI media contacts
For more information please contact David Hill, Port St Mary RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer at (07624) 471410 or email [email protected]
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.
