WALES AND THE WEST COUNTRY S6t the ball rolling in June when around a dozen station honorary secretaries from those areas attended the first training course aimed specifically at their role within the RNLI.

Training officer Lt Alan Tate and his deputy, Lt John Caldwell were augmented by staff from the operational and administrative sections of head office in leading a series of lively discussions and tutorials during the two-day course at Poole Training Centre.

This inaugural course involved honorary secretaries and deputy launching authorities from Burry Port to Barry Dock, Weston-super-Mare to St PeterPort, Guernsey and was considered both by its organisers and those taking part to have been a success.

The aim of the course was to provide station honorary secretaries with a better understanding of the Institution's requirements for the operational management of lifeboat stations.

This was achieved by giving them the chance to meet "in situ" head office staff whose work has a direct bearing on their own station activities, as well as attending a number of classroom sessions.

In the latter, subjects covered included RNLI/HM Coastguard structure, operating procedures and launching rules; the capabilities of their own and flank lifeboat stations; rescue records and returns of service; crew training; helicopter and fixed wing aircraft, SAR organisation, capabilities and limitations and the different equipment available for crew call out and alerting procedures.

Since June, honorary secretaries from several other stretches of coast have attended similar courses at Poole and the plan is to give all who want to attend the opportunity, subject to the demands of crew training and other uses of the Poole Training Centre..