SHELLY BEACH: 2014 INTENSIVE TRAINING HAS STARTED:

The frenzy of the festive season has come and gone, but this does not mean that the crew can now sit back and rest on their laurels.This is the time to sharpen our skills and spend time getting our trainees up to speed. Shelly Beach training kicked off with a vengeance at the end of January.“We need to stay sharp and that means training and more training until we can do what needs to be done in our sleep”, Acting Station Commander, Pieter Coetzee, said when the new training cycle started on 30 January 2014.To date the first theory module of swift-water training has been presented with a second module still to come, as well as practical training in a local river.This weekend saw intensive refresher first aid training covering wounds, burns and fractures as well as practical training on a demonstration Automatic External Defibrillator (AED). This was followed by practical training at sea in considerably less than ideal weather conditions using both Caltex Endeavour and Caltex Challenger II.“This was a good start. Now we need to gain momentum and sustain it throughout the year”, Shaun Harris, the duty Coxswain, said after the debriefing on Sunday afternoon. Duty Coxswain, Jerry Jackson, explains to trainees the difference between Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) used in rivers and lifejackets used at sea. From left, Morne Beattie, Adriaan Devenage, Jerry Jackson and Jason Frewin. Duty Coxswain, Jerry Jackson, explains the concepts “River Right” and “River Left” during swift-water training. Caltex Endeavour with Caltex Challenger II in the background during a training exercise off Margate in less than ideal weather conditions. Caltex Endeavour with Caltex Challenger II in the background during a training exercise off Margate in less than ideal weather conditions.