It’s been a busy weekend for the boat and crews, with the Margaret and John Pulfer boat due back out twice more in the afternoon, so this morning’s training session was mainly shore-based and equipment training.
To get things going, nature provided its own training challenge! After yesterday’s vertical shingle ‘wall’ for the tractor to negotiate, today’s surprise was in the form of a dead tree, left by the retreating tide right in the middle of the launch area. This would be a hazard not only to the PLIRB boats and trailer during launch and recovery – a tree that size in the water could easily take the blades off the propeller – but also to other boats and beach users.
Once again, Kev’s tractor-management expertise meant the tractor was able to be positioned as close as possible for retrieving the tree. Meanwhile, trainees were challenged with the task of tying appropriate knots to the ropes needed for the tractor to haul the tree back up.
After this, full crew and Launch Authority Darren took trainee volunteers through vital training, including:
- Dinghy recovery.
- Inventory and familiarisation with the Pulfer boat and equipment.
- Propeller changing (on dry land today, but there are times when the propeller may need to be changed at sea.
- Familiarising with GPS dashboard on the boat.
Then it was time to get the boat prepared for the afternoon’s events, so more time well spent down at the PLIRB!
Don’t forget to stop by if you are interested in volunteering for us or supporting us!
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