A NEW volunteer crew member at Fishguard RNLI lifeboat station has had a vital part of her training funded by a charity.

Saskia van Schip recently travelled to the RNLI College in Poole to complete the charity’s Trainee Crew Course.

A key part of that course is the sea survival element, which enables new volunteer crew to be trained in a variety of crucial subjects including how to ‘abandon ship’ with a 4m jump into water; team survival swimming and coping in a life raft in simulated darkness; how to deal with fires aboard lifeboats; how to right a capsized inshore lifeboat; and the importance of lifejackets.

Saskia's training was paid for by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, an independent charity that funds work to enhance the safety of life and property at sea, on land and in the air. It is funding the Sea Survival element of the Trainee Crew Course for a five year period from January 2011 to December 2015. This additional funding of nearly £1 million brings their total support to just over £1.5 million.

Saskia, who joined the RNLI as a volunteer crew member in May 2014, said: “The five day course was amazing, hard work but really useful. I’d been told about the simulation tank by my crew members at the station and was dreading the 4m jump but managed it on the day. The tank was incredible as they can create waves, darkness and even sound effects – at times it really felt like there was a helicopter and its searchlight above us as we were in the life raft in the darkness. Although I knew no one at the start of the course, we all soon learned to work as a team and I’m really proud of what we achieved.”