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New Volunteer Launch Vehicle Driver for Dungeness RNLI

Lifeboats News Release

On Monday 17 April, trainee launch vehicle driver Brent Bull successfully completed his assessment at RNLI Dungeness lifeboat station after 15 months of joining the crew.

RNLI/Jason Adams

Assessor Matt Parr with Brent Bull

Brent and his wife Maria joined the station in early 2022 where Brent took up a role as shore crew and wife Maria joined the boat crew.

Since then, Brent has been committed to his training to become a launch vehicle driver of the Shannon Launch and Recovery System (SLARS).

The SLARS is a state-of-the-art vehicle comprised of a tractor and interconnecting carriage that acts as a mobile slipway and allows the RNLI volunteers to launch the Shannon class lifeboat in harsh terrains and environments. When it’s time to recover the beached lifeboat bow first onto the tractor’s unique turntable cradle, it can rotate the lifeboat 180º, ready to be launched again.

RNLI Assessor Trainer, Matt Parr, visited the station to assess Brent on his skills and was very pleased to inform Brent that he had passed.

On completing his assessment, Brent had a message to his fellow volunteer crew:

‘Thank you to all the crew, shore crew and operations team that have supported me and helped me over the last 15 months, you are a great team and we are truly One Crew.

Special thanks go to Dave Mills, Martin Flack and Jason Adams for their knowledge and guidance. I look forward to being able to continue Saving Lives at Sea in this new role.’

Brent is now the fourth launch vehicle driver at Dungeness RNLI Lifeboat Station where they are on service 24/7 365 days a year to launch to anyone in distress on the water. The launch vehicle driver is an integral role, ensuring the lifeboat gets in the water as quickly and safely as possible to help save lives at sea.

Notes to Editors

· Dungeness lifeboat station has been running since 1826.

· The station received the first Shannon-class lifeboat in the RNLI fleet – The Morrell

· The station is famous for its Lady Launchers, local women and wives of the crew who helped launch the lifeboat in the 1950s.


RNLI media contacts
For more information please contact Sarah Beck, Dungeness Lifeboat Press Officer on [email protected] or 07956 615429, Paul Dunt, Regional Media Officer on 07785 296252 or [email protected] or alternatively, Regional Media Manager Julie Rainey on 07827 358256 or [email protected]. RNLI Press Office is available 24/7 365 days a year on 01202 336789.

RNLI/Mark Richardson

The Shannon Launch and Recovery System (SLARS) at Dungeness

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.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.

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