This Tuesday, our RNLI team set out for Sea Survival training to learn how to Respect the Water and understand in more depth the amazing work that the RNLI does. We had no idea what to expect…
We were greeted by Paul from Poole who took us to the pool… (sorry, Jack Hemens made me). Once he’d taken us through a brief safety presentation, we kitted-up and launched ourselves safely into the water. Immediately, we felt the effects of how cold water can affect your body, despite the pool being 17 degrees (2 degrees above what is classified as ‘cold’).
The highlight of the day was hauling ourselves into a life raft – not elegantly done! A storm was simulated, with the lights turned off, wave machine turned on, rain pouring down, lightning, sound effects and even a shark thrown in. Although we were only in there for a short time, we really appreciated the essentials for survival and the intense training that RNLI teams go through (some spend up to an hour and a half in this simulation).
We finished the day with a high ledge jump into the pool, with many of us feeling quite brave by this point!
Overall, the Sea Survival course was a great experience and we were able to learn how incredibly essential and impressive the RNLI’s work is. Importantly, in terms of our day-to-day roles, we were able to become closer to the RNLI brand and expertise and, more specifically, appreciate and experience first-hand the risks and tactics required for sea survival. We think this understanding will really allow us to make waves this summer with the Respect the Water campaign!
