Saturday 20th October 2018 was Regional Fundraising Day for Sainsbury’s, as part of their campaign to support local charities. And as Pett Level Independent Boat is the chosen charity for Sainsbury’s at Station Plaza, Hastings, we were invited along to the store to set up a stall and put a bit of fun into local fundraising!
Our mannequin has been in the store for a couple of months now, fully kitted out with suit and lifejacket, to help publicise Sainsbury’s support of the PLIRB.
As well as this, for Saturday’s event a gentle tide of crew members came and went across the day, running our stall set up in-store and offering information, freebies such as pens, pencils and key rings and some of our lovely calendars for sale. In this particular photo we have three Johns at the helm of the stall!
Collection boxes for donations were of course also available. A final count-up of the box on our stall revealed a £65 generously donated by people who stopped to chat to us and take an interest in our work.
Meanwhile, our friends at Sainsbury’s have shared that their own efforts so far with the collection boxes and staff events have raised just over £200 – that’s already 10% of their overall target for us, all of which is destined towards our recovery vehicle refurbishment fund.
We truly appreciate the support of the Sainsbury’s. As we’re a small local charity and an independent rescue boat, we are funded through our own fundraising and through our supporters, so the support from Sainsbury’s is really is making a difference. They’ll be sending through a few of their own photos from the day soon too, so please look in our gallery for these soon.
And a big thank you too, to everyone who stopped by to say hello and to those who made donations.
Oh, and please keep an eye on Twitter and Facebook … we’ve got some big news coming up about how you can help us to raise money, but without spending anything extra yourself!
Despite a weather forecast which predicted winds and rain, we’ve had a beautiful day again down at the boat house this Sunday, with a superb low tide giving a fantastic coastal view
Much as we’d love to have been out on the water, vital maintenance was needed for the recovery vehicle winch and the trailer. These and other tasks around the boat were necessary, so the crew moved into maintenance mode for the morning.
To get started, this meant beaching the boat so that the trailer and launch vehicle could be freed up for the work in hand.
Now although a morning spent ‘doing jobs’ on the vehicles and around the boat house may not sound like the most exciting way to spend a morning – and definitely not as thrilling as being out on the boat – the truth is, having willing hands around to help with these essential tasks is what keeps us afloat here: if the equipment and services aren’t ship shape, then it’s impossible for us to serve the community effectively, so we work hard to make sure everything is as it should be.
And speaking of community, we had extra visitors today, all of whom came along to see if they’d like to get involved. Each visitor had a chance to see what goes on here in general, but also good that everyone could see that there are less than exciting tasks to be done, but still plenty of teamwork.
So if you have any skills you’d like to share or start to develop with us, or would like to see what we’re all about, then please come along or get in touch!
It was a beautiful day down at the boat house yesterday, although the sea had a real swell with the incoming tide. With this backdrop, there was a real focus on putting recent and ongoing training into practice with boat-based scenarios.
Although the weather was fine, the launch of the boat was slightly challenging due to the slope and flats of the beach shingle, level of the surf and the rolling tide.
However, the level of the tide and the swell of the water offered a good opportunity to target casualty retrieval, plus locating and assessing unidentified objects in the water, as continued practice in:
Using GPS and co-ordinates.
Effective radio and communication skills.
Helping trainees to learn the logistics of working together.
Management of the boat in the swell of the water, in order to safely manage dropping off the crew and retrieving the casualty.
Boat and safety awareness for crew moving between the boat and water, and back again.
Crew management of the stretcher and casualty – maneuvering safely onto the stretcher and then getting the stretcher onto the boat and then crew back onto boat without incident – all of which was quite difficult to do with such a swell on the water.
And of course all of this is essential practice because it’s the time of year when conditions in the water tend to be not only cold, but also pretty wild.
First up, the crews managed casualty retrieval using Ruth, our body dummy.
Then the crews moved into a second training scenario: the suspicious object in the water training. To approach a suspicious object, the approach of the boat is extremely important, keeping the suspicious object down wind in case there is any substance likely to blow into the boat. Once the boat is safely positioned, crew can then observe and assess the object, with the aim of identifying if it is likely to be a dangerous substance. After identifying any poison markings, the information is radioed back to base, reading out phonetically.
This was all for training purposes, but when this type of incident happens for real coastguards / bomb disposal would have been alerted. In fact, these unidentified substances do occur in this area. Previously down here at Pett beach there was an incident of an unidentified substance, previous episode of substance smoking and bubbling in the sand. Crew investigated, patch of frothy orange, possibly a battery deteriorating.
Crew debrief showed that it was a good training day because new members of the team were challenged in the different situations and all crew members had the chance to work together with others they may not have worked with previously. As always, the beach and the sea also present an ever-changing challenge, even on a relatively calm day, which makes every practice and call-out situation unique. All of which means training is essential, especially across these two scenarios as these situations are two of the most common call-outs for us along here, and it’s all part of our work to try and help others enjoy these beaches safely.
Although initially the sea was beautifully flat, weather conditions were a little on the grim side and the forecast offering high winds on the way, so today’s training was all about the base rather than out on the water.
Trainee crew volunteers were split into two groups, one in the base and one in the boat. Each team then worked with an established crew member to learn all about the GPS system and how to use it. Co-ordinates were passed between both teams, as they leaned how to log, set and respond with clarity and precision, using the correct terminology, coordinates and the GPS system itself.
Team A practice with GPS and the radio in the boathouse.
Whilst team B plot and plan coordinates in the base.
Of course, this is phase 1 of the training. For phase 2, the teams will be on-board and putting things into practice on the boat. Trainees will also need to take and pass their full radio course training in order to become full crew. It’s a long road from beginner to full crew, but an important one to get right in order to ensure we offer the best possible professional sea safety and rescue service.
If you’re interested in joining us as a volunteer, please call or message us. Or practice your navigation skills by coming to find us down at our base on a Sunday morning, to say hello and find out more!
Our treasurer Stella’s been having a busy time counting up the income and outlay from August’s Open Day and we’re very happy to announce a final total of £1666.01!
This amount is amazing considering the absolutely awful weather conditions on the day, which meant that instead of being four hours long the overall event ended up being cut a little short, lasting just over two hours in all.
Huge thanks are due to all crew and friends-of volunteers who gave up a lot of time to prepare for and bring the event to life, as well as to those who braved the weather to come along support the event. Extra thanks are also offered to those who were unable to attend the event, but sent contributions instead.
All funds raised will be well used to help keep the Pett Level Independent Rescue Boat afloat over the coming year and to boost funds available for vital equipment and repairs.
Every and all support is much appreciated, thank you all so much! :thumb:
Recent Comments