Calshot RNLI carry out joint training exercise with local diving club
Volunteer lifeboat crew members from Calshot RNLI Lifeboat Station recently carried out a joint training exercise with divers from the Calshot Sub-Aqua Club.
The purpose of this joint exercise was to help the RNLI crew familiarise themselves with the type of equipment commonly used by UK divers and to learn how to deal with divers and their equipment in an emergency situation.
Calshot Sub-Aqua Club, based in Eling near Totton, are a branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) with around 30 members aged between 12 and 69 years. They meet every Wednesday evening to both teach and plan diving along the south coast of England.
The evening started with a presentation covering a range of diving equipment and its configuration. All BSAC divers are taught safety and rescue skills in the initial course and so are well versed in various rescue techniques.
The evening then progressed onto a practical demonstration by qualified instructors on how best to remove the equipment from a fully kitted diver should the need arise.
The divers and volunteer crew from Calshot RNLI then took part in mock rescue exercises. This consisted of both the Atlantic and our D class lifeboats going afloat and a number of divers swimming out from shore. Our crew then practiced lifting the divers and their equipment into the lifeboats with the divers acting as both conscious and unconscious casualties to highlight the difference between someone who can help themselves and someone who can not.
Both crew and divers commented afterwards that they found the exercise to be very informative, useful and fun. The RNLI crew said that practicing this type of rescue was beneficial as it is an unusual type of incident, one they luckily do not deal with very often.
RNLI media contacts
- Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Joanne Pearson, 07780 457731, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Joanne Pearson 07780 457731, [email protected]
- Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Peter Lewis, 07745 949684, [email protected]
- Tim Ash, RNLI Public Relations Manager (London /South East/East), 0207 6207426 / 07785 296252 [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 146,000 lives.
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