Flares tested in night-time Newcastle RNLI sea training

22/03/2021

Newcastle RNLI crews have returned to training on the sea for the first time after UK COVID restrictions were lifted and tested their flares at night.

The station has remained fully operational throughout the pandemic with crews on call 24/7, but training has been limited.

The crew took their first training session in daylight hours in Dundrum Bay and the other at night. They all wore the necessary Covid-19 protective equipment as well as their usual sea-going suits and lifejackets during the training.

The Mersey class all-weather lifeboat, Eleanor and Bryant Girling, was used on both occasions.

Speaking following the night-time exercise, Newcastle RNLI second Coxswain Niall McMurray says, “We ran through all the alarms on the lifeboat to reacquaint ourselves with the different sounds and how to react if they were activated in a real-life situation. We practised a fire drill and how to deal with a fire in each area of the lifeboat. We then went on to test our flares which are primarily used to light up an area at night before concluding the evening learning how to rig and operate the emergency steering.”

Newcastle RNLI Coxswain Nathan Leneghan explains, “Maintaining our lifesaving service while keeping our people safe continues to be the RNLI’s main priority. Exercises form an important part of our work, allowing our lifeboat crews to maintain their skills and ensure they are always prepared for what they face out at sea.

“In the daylight exercise, we went on a local area knowledge exercise and mechanical shakedown to trial all the systems ensuring they are ready when required.”

The image is credit of RNLI/Newcastle. 

Read about other RNLI training exercises involving flares.