£1m training fund helps Cardigan RNLI lifesaver learn vital skills
A recently recruited volunteer crew member at Cardigan RNLI lifeboat station has had a vital part of their crew training funded by Lloyd’s Register Foundation.
Gareth Owen, 35, from St Dogmaels, Pembrokeshire recently travelled to the RNLI College in Poole, Dorset, to complete the charity’s Crew Emergency Procedures course. Gareth was inspired to join up as a volunteer crew member because growing up close to the River Teifi Gareth used to watch the Lifeboat going out on callouts as a young boy which inspired him to join the RNLI. Gareth now has three children and his family spends a lot of time on the beach and Gareth was keen to give something back to his local community and joining the RNLI meant he was able to do this.
The course sees volunteer crew being trained in a variety of crucial subjects such as how to ‘abandon ship’ with a 4m jump into water, team survival swimming, coping in a life raft in simulated darkness, how to right a capsized inshore lifeboat, and the importance of lifejackets. It also covers emergency fire theory such as how to deal with fires aboard lifeboats, and practical sessions on the correct use of flares, fire extinguishers and throw bags.
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, a charitable foundation that helps to protect life and property by supporting engineering-related education, public engagement and the application of research. The Foundation is committed to funding the RNLI’s Crew Emergency Procedures course for a second 5-year period until 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, Gareth, who volunteers as a crew member said: ‘The training was excellent, the course was well constructed and planned, and the instructors were really helpful and encouraging. Everything we learnt during the course will be help me as a crew member and has provided me with skills and knowledge that I know I will be using on callouts in the future.’
David Knaggs, Lifesaving Delivery Training Manager at the RNLI said, ‘We are so grateful to Lloyd’s Register Foundation for choosing to fund this vital part of our volunteer crews’ training.
Their support is hugely important to us, and it’s fantastic how many of our crew have so far been able to benefit from Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s support of their training. This training is crucial in helping keep our volunteers as safe as possible whilst carrying out rescues. It gives volunteers the confidence to save lives even in the most difficult conditions.’
This donation is the latest in Lloyd’s Register 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.
- Lloyd’s Register Foundation have supported the training of over 3000 volunteer crew members for the RNLI
About Lloyd's Register Foundation
Lloyd’s Register Foundation is a charitable foundation which helps to protect life and property by supporting engineering-related education, public engagement and the application of research. www.lrfoundation.org.uk
For more information please telephone Tracy Newman on 07805 246975 or [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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