AS PEAK season begins, 12 more Bude lifeguards have gone through their induction and are now on the beaches.

Northcott and Crackington are open for the peak summer period, with all beaches staying open until 7pm from Saturday, July 22 to Sunday, September 3.

Along with induction, on Thursday, July 6, Richard Heard, Bude RNLI lifeguard and member of Bude RNLI Lifeboat crew, organised a joint training exercise between the Lifeboat Station and Widemouth lifeguards to kick off the start of peak season. The training was done after hours, and all involved volunteered their time with the intention to improve the service that the RNLI provides to the community.

The exercise was conducted just south of Widemouth, where a mock scenario was set up, involving a fishing vessel at sea, which was left stranded near the rocks at Millook, with two people on board. To make things difficult, one of the casualties aboard was simulating a heart attack whilst the other was very sea-sick.

Bude’s Inshore Lifeboat was under the command of Charlie Green, with crew onboard including Andy Cloke, Dave James and Mike Tame. The RNLI’s rescue watercraft was also in attendance, which was operated by Jeremy Brown and crewed by Kieran Marshall.

Widemouth lifeguards included IRB helm Sam Bennett and IRB crew Ben Wilson. Senior lifeguard, Billy Roberts, and lifeguard, James Kivell, took charge of the beach, whilst Lewis Putt and Zane Rademaker acted as casualties for the scenario.

Bude’s lifeboat crew worked closely with Widemouth lifeguards to quickly locate the vessel, assess the two casualties and rush them to Widemouth beach, where lifeguards practiced a rapid transfer from ship to shore, and administered CPR on the mock casualty.

Whilst lifeguards carried out the first aid on the beach, Bude Lifeboat quickly affected a tow on the stricken vessel and cared for the second casualty.

The exercise took 48 minutes from start to finish. The aim of the exercise was to promote more effective working between lifeguards and lifeboat crew when under pressure. Both teams performed very well together with the effectiveness of the operation being a testament to the hard work, extensive training and professionalism of the local RNLI teams.

Further joint training exercises are planned for the near future, so that crews can continue to improve their lifesaving service.

Due to the spell of good weather over the recent weeks, visitors are staying at the beach after lifeguard hours. It is not recommended to enter the water if lifeguards are not present, but if someone is spotted in difficulty outside of lifeguard hours, call 999/112 and ask for the coastguard. Do not attempt to rescue the individual; too many people drown trying to save others.