On Saturday the 9th of May 2015, New Quay Lifeboats had their annual exercise with RAF 196 Sea King from Chivenor - these exercises are hugely important so all crew are familiar with
winching procedures and how the boats operate with the helicopter.
The weather was blowing a NW 4/5 so it was a bit choppy. Although the ILB is perfectly fine to be out in this weather, we stayed within the bay where we could format with the helicopter. The helm of the ILB is always in communications with the pilot, making sure they are in the right position for winching. Then the winchman is lowered on board the ILB and gets the crew members ready to be winched. The following picture shows the winchman onboard the ALB while two crew members are winched up to the aircraft. Similar winching procedures are followed for the ALB as on the ILB.
The picture below is the winch man using hand signals to communicate instructions with the the winch operator. Hand signals are the only way you can communicate as the noise from the helicopter rotor blades combined with the props on the stern of the lifeboat is deafening.
Winchmen are really pretty cool.
Photo courtesy of crew member, Pete Yates.
We learn how the winching procedure works with the helicopter as well as getting used to how the lifeboat operates - two separate environments. The next time we are winched up, it may be be for real and it most probably won't be in the glorious sunshine with dolphins all around. Howling gales and rolling seas are more likely and we may have to transfer casualties, so being able to work seamlessly with the helicopter in any weather condition to ensure the quick and safe transport of sick and injured patients is the priority.
