West Cornwall RNLI work together during joint rescue exercise in Mounts Bay
On Wednesday (15 May), a combined rescue team of RNLI lifeguards and lifeboat crew were tasked to rescue six casualties in difficulty at St Michael’s Mount in Marazion, in what was a challenging but rewarding training exercise for both teams.
Marazion RNLI lifeguards called for assistance from Penlee RNLI lifeboats at around 12:30pm on Wednesday afternoon to help rescue six casualties who appeared to be in distress dotted around the east side of St Michael’s Mount.
Four of the casualties were on kayaks but had capsized and been dragged away from their watercraft with the strong easterly wind howling across the bay. There were also two people stranded on the vigorous rocks hugging the iconic St Michael’s Mount with one appearing to be badly injured with a possible shoulder dislocation. Significant distress, pain and hypothermia were amongst some of the suspected injuries.
For exercise purposes only, having the use of an unconscious non-breathing mannequin (Dead Fred) was a great tool to use when prioritising the casualties and having to perform casualty care. In this incident Dead Fred was floating face down in the choppy seas with no sign of movement, the Penlee all-weather lifeboat crew recovered him immediately to the lifeboat and performed casualty care.
Patch Harvey, Penlee RNLI Coxswain said,
‘It was a great afternoon and very beneficial for both RNLI teams and the service as a whole.
Practise makes perfect and both lifeguard and lifeboat teams worked extremely well together, providing smooth communications and a very professional approach. A very worthwhile day and thanks to all that took part.’
Ollie Shilston, RNLI Lead Lifeguard Supervisor said;
‘The training scenario ran very smoothly and the prompt communications between the Coastguard, lifeguards and both lifeboat crew was excellent. It was great to see all three services working so well together. Training exercises like this are so valuable for both teams to understand how each other works in case they need to work together in a real situation.’
Notes to Editor
- Please see attached images of the RNLI lifeguards and Penlee lifeboat crew training at Mounts Bay credit RNLI/Becky Bright
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