New Volunteer Coxswain for Lytham St Annes all-weather lifeboat

Vinny Pedley has been appointed as the latest volunteer Coxswain for the Lytham St Annes all-weather lifeboat (ALB) Barbara Anne, after he completed his final training pass-out at sea a few weeks ago. He joins Coxswain / Mechanic Tom Stuart, 2^nd Coxswain John Atkinson and staff Coxswain / Mechanic Martin Jaggs, as fully qualified to take command of the lifeboat when at sea on exercise or rescue service.

The training to become a coxswain covers all aspects of the highly skilled requirements to take command and lead the volunteer crew at sea. This included courses at the RNLI College in Poole, Dorset as well as on-station training. As with all these important roles for the charity’s life saving work, it is externally assessed to ensure all future coxswains meet the same high standards throughout the RNLI fleet of lifeboats, which covers the entire coastline of the British Isles.

Vinny, the manager of a local tyre company, joined the Lytham St Annes lifeboat crew in 2010 and became an inshore lifeboat helm in 2016. Since then he has completed the rigorous training to become an ALB coxswain, despite the delays initially caused by the Covid pandemic, which severely limited the number of training exercises allowed for RNLI lifeboats.

Lytham St Annes Lifeboat Operations Manager, Paul Little later said:

'After the training night launch was rearranged for the RNLI assessor to carry out the final part of Vinny’s course, a huge well done Vinny and thanks to all the crew who changed their training night to accommodate the pass-out. The external assessor was very complimentary on how professionally it was run which is a credit to you all'.

Vinny has since taken command of the Barbara Anne on service off Blackpool, faultlessly carrying out the coxswain’s role.

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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