Milestone for Newquay RNLI volunteer as crew called to support ambulance service
Milestone for Newquay RNLI volunteer as crew called to support ambulance service
Lifeboats News Release
Newquay's RNLI lifeboat crew responded to their pagers in 'icy cold' conditions at 8.34pm last Friday (7 February) in support of the ambulance service at Towan Beach, a call which also marked a milestone for one of the station's new launch authorities.
After abandoning their Friday evenings with family & friends, the RNLI crew mustered at the lifeboat station and prepared to launch the charity's D class inshore lifeboat, but the situation was resolved safely by the ambulance crew and Newquay RNLI were stood down with thanks within 15 minutes of the alert, along with Newquay Coastguard rescue team and the police, who had also been called to assist.
For RNLI volunteer Ian 'Pengers' Pengelly, who's previously served as part of the crew for 24 years, this was his first call in his new role as a launch authority for the station. Ian, a former police officer, joined Newquay RNLI in 1994 and served until 2018 in a variety of positions, including inshore lifeboat crew, helm and shore crew, before rejoining last year to train as a launch authority, responsible for authorising the launch of the station's two inshore lifeboats 24 hours-a-day, whenever an emergency launch request is received from the Coastguard.
Ian said: 'I'm pleased to be back involved with the crew at Newquay RNLI and it was good to record the first shout in my first duty week as a launch authority at the station. Even though I've got 24 years experience on the lifeboat crew, this is a very different role to anything I was doing previously, so there's always something to reflect on and learn from'.
Notes to editors
Main picture: Pengers (left) on completion of his launch authority (LA) training in November, with fellow LA recruits Ann-Marie & Jamie and RNLI Assessor Trainer, Carl Beardmore (right). Credit: RNLI/Gareth Horner.
Newquay lifeboat station first opened in 1860. Today’s RNLI volunteers operate two inshore lifeboats and are on call 24-hours-a-day to save lives at sea off north Cornwall.
RNLI media contacts
For more information please contact Andy Hobkinson, volunteer Deputy Lifeboat Press Officer at [email protected] or 07880 507464 or Emma Haines, RNLI Regional Communications Manager at [email protected] or 07786 668847 or contact the RNLI Press Office (24 hours) on 01202 336789.
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.
