The King is Dead

Yesterday was something of an exciting day for some of the crew members at SARA Beachley lifeboat and Mountain Rescue station, but it was also tinged with a great deal of sadness. We welcomed the Sea King helicopter rescue crew from RAF Chivenor for an afternoon's cross training with the lifeboat and land crew, but as the UK's search and rescue responsibilities are in the latter stages of being privatised, this was probably the last time the iconic yellow helicopter will be seen at Beachley. 

Smooth Operators

Training today consisted of some of our expert coxswains and helmsmen coolly holding SARA lifeboats 1 and 3 stationary against a choppy Severn Estuary whilst the pilot hovered above, winching helicopter crew down to the boats, and lifeboat crew into the Sea King. The level of skill and precision required of both the boat and helicopter crews cannot be underestimated. Both craft are essentially prone to be thrown off course or balance at any moment by wind or wave, which makes the entire manoeuvre extremely hazardous.

                               

Over Dry Land

Once the lifeboats had finished, it was time for the remainder of the crew to take their turn at 'stage 2' helicopter drills. Having studied the theory behind the safe way to approach a helicopter in the buffeting downdraft caused by the rotor blades, emergency procedures and winching, it was now time for a practical exercise. With the helicopter hovering unnervingly steady 15 metres above the ground, we took turns to be winched onboard before lowering back to the ground again. As would be expected, the Sea King crew were incredibly professional and competent in going about their jobs. Although the replacement search and rescue service will still be staffed by expert pilots and crews, it does seem a shame that some of this expertise will be lost forever.

A Brave New World for SAR

The contracts have been signed for the replacement search and rescue helicopters, and a number of Mountain Rescue teams have already begun training with the new helicopters and crews from Bristows. The rollout isn't quite as advanced in this part of the world, so we'll have to wait a little longer to make our acquaintance with the new teams.

A Brave New World for Tally

I couldn't write this post without giving a mention to Tally, Search and Rescue Dog in training. One of her tasks before becoming a certified SARDA dog was to demonstrate that she could cope with helicopter transport, in case of deployment some way off in an emergency. Thanks to her fantastic temperament and the patience and skills of her handler Kathy, Tally passed with flying colours, staying aboard the noisy chopper throughout the drills before being the last to be winched down again!

A Walk on the Newport Levels

I took the opportunity of a sunny day today to do a bit of a recce / research walk for a magazine article I'm working on. With my focus normally set in the hills and mountains, I forget sometimes how lucky I am to live by the Severn Estuary with its wide horizons, diverse wildlife and scenery that changes with every tide.

I headed out from the Newport Wetlands Reserve; a strangely calm wildlife haven in the shadow of Uskmouth power station and within earshot of the M4. Thick reed beds obscured any kind of view for the first 5 minutes or so until I climbed up onto the sea defence wall, topped by a small lighthouse. The early morning clouds had almost completely disappeared within 30 minutes, and I was soon overheating in my winter layers.

The tide was on the way out, so already there were slick rainbows reflected in the thick and greasy mud and with little wind present it was hard to tell where the mud ended and the dark river began. 

I could quite happily have spent the morning wandering along the flood defences, but unfortunately my path was barred two kilometres in. It seems that some of the birds in the reserve are more delicate than others, so a large swathe of the area is out of bounds. That meant a long diversion inland for me, eventually re-emerging on the sea wall at Goldcliff. The sea defences there looked as though they had been spray-painted yellow, with mottled patches all along the boulders beneath me, and even a few spots on the track itself. The air must have been very clean, as the yellow dots were in fact large colonies of lichen exposed by the low tide.

The walk became more of an inland mud-fest soon afterwards as I began to loop back across semi-flooded fields in an effort to avoid retracing my steps. I came across a few flocks of unusually assertive sheep, with one group running around behind me in order to follow me all the way to the gate of their field. I guessed that there must be a few pregnant ewes within the flock for the other sheep to be behaving so defensively, and the next flock even had a very early lamb within it.



Despite the mud, the walk was pleasant enough, and gave me the opportunity to sample a small section of the Wales Coast Path, and see off a few of those Christmas pounds!