£1M fund helps local volunteer learn lifesaving skills
A new volunteer crew member at Appledore RNLI lifeboat station has had a vital part of their crew training funded by Lloyd’s Register Foundation.
Jo Tattersall, one of Appledore RNLI’s newest lifeboat crew members, recently travelled to RNLI College in Poole, Dorset, to complete the charity’s Trainee Crew Course.
A key part of the course is the sea survival element, which enables new volunteer crew to be trained in a variety of crucial subjects including how to ‘abandon ship’ with a 4m jump into water; team survival swimming and coping in a liferaft in simulated darkness; how to deal with fires aboard lifeboats; how to right a capsized inshore lifeboat; and the importance of lifejackets.
Training took place in the Sea Survival Centre at the charity’s college, which includes a 25m wave-generating survival tank, allowing trainees to experience first-hand some of the scenarios they may encounter at sea should they ever need to abandon their lifeboat.
The training was funded by Lloyd’s Register Foundation (LR Foundation), a UK registered charity that connects science, safety and society by supporting quality research and promoting skills and education. The Foundation is funding the Sea Survival element of RNLI’s Trainee Crew Courses for a further 5 year period from January 2016 to December 2020. This additional funding of £1.06M will bring their total support for RNLI crew training to just over £2.46M*.
Talking about the training, Jo said: "It was great to be able to both consolidate training learned on station and try out techniques for the first time. Having the ability to experience the abandonment to the life rafts and the capsize, re-righting and re-boarding of an Atlantic 85 in controlled conditions was invaluable. Thankfully, we all managed to weather the storm! I also really enjoyed meeting fellow volunteers and sharing these experiences with them.”
When asked what inspired Jo to join the RNLI, she explains: "I've been aware of the RNLI most of my life, but it wasn't until I moved to Appledore last year that I was in a position to take an active role. After an open day visit and chat with the Crew, I decided that I'd give it a try. 14 months on and with a few shouts under my belt, I'm eager to carrying on and am currently deciding which route I'd like to take on the lifeboat over the next few years. Another reason for the initial interest is that my Step Dad is a Seafarer up in Fleetwood so I understand how important it is for ordinary people like me to take up these important and potentially life-saving roles. I'm proud to be part of Appledore Lifeboat Crew and the wider RNLI family."
Jo has already been on several RNLI emergency rescue shouts including an All-Weather Lifeboat shout when they were tasked to investigate an unidentified floating object of Baggy Point / Croyde Bay. The object was luckily identified only as a large cable drum, which washed ashore as the lifeboat arrived on scene. In March this year Jo was part of the inshore lifeboat crew when it was launched to assist a broken down RIB with two people on board and tow it to safety.
Appledore’s Lifeboat Operations Manager said: ‘The support given by LR Foundation is hugely important to the RNLI. We are extremely grateful that the Foundation has chosen to continue to fund sea survival training, which teaches vital core skills to our volunteer crew.
‘This training is vital to help keep volunteers as safe as possible while on rescue missions. It equips volunteers with essential sea survival skills; providing them with the courage, poise and self-confidence to save lives even in the most perilous seas.’
This donation is just the latest in LR Foundation’s relationship with the RNLI, which was recognised in 2010 when it received the Group Supporter Award from HRH Prince Michael of Kent in recognition of its valuable support of the charity.
Notes to Editors
*Lloyd’s Register Foundation donated £1M to the RNLI over 5 years from 2010–2015; and £400K over 2 years from 2008–2009, taking over the obligations of the Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust in 2013.
About Lloyd's Register Foundation
Lloyd’s Register Foundation is a charitable foundation which aims, through grant making, to connect science, safety and society by supporting research of the highest quality and promoting skills and education.
www.lrfoundation.org.uk
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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 146,000 lives.
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