The first south west Women in Search and Rescue (SAR) event was held at Plymouth Lifeboat Station on Sunday (27 October), with around 30 women in different roles within the charity gathering for a full day of operational exercises and information sharing.
The day provided the opportunity to build friendships, networks and learn from each other’s experiences. The event was organised by Plymouth RNLI volunteer Beth Barratt who was inspired after attending the inaugural Women in SAR conference at the RNLI Lifeboat College in Poole in March.
Beth says;
I wanted to bring the incredible experience we had at the college in March, down here to the south west and open up the opportunity for all women, whatever their role within the organisation, to gather together to practice skills and learn from each other.
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It was great to be able to host the event in Plymouth, with our male crew also taking a big role in organising the day and delivering the exercises. It was fantastic to have support from key leaders within our station, who have been championing inclusivity for females at our station and within the whole organisation.
The feedback from the day has been overwhelmingly positive and everyone found it extremely useful. I believe we all returned to our stations full of enthusiasm, ideas, and a renewed sense of determination to encourage other women to join the charity.’
The event included operational shore-based exercises including casualty care, navigation and chart work, extraction of a casualty in dive gear from the water and the use of salvage pumps. There was also time afloat on the station’s all weather Severn class lifeboat and inshore Atlantic class lifeboat.
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Halfway through the event, the station was tasked by the Coastguard to respond to a motor vessel with engine issues, so an all-female crew made up of qualified volunteers from Plymouth, Weymouth, Teignmouth and Lyme Regis responded on the Inshore Lifeboat. This was the first time an operational shout in the south west has been conducted by an all-female crew in the charity’s history.
The day ended with an opportunity for reflection and the sharing of experiences in all environments within the RNLI, including the operational environments, and how the inclusivity for women working within search and rescue can be improved.
