Why Looe RNLI crews have been out on the river bed at low tide

If you’ve spotted big blue tractors crawling across the river bed in Looe at low tide lately, there’s a reason. The town’s lifeboat crew have been putting in the hours.

Looe RNLI Lifeboat Station has been catching up on the latest training milestones for its volunteers, and five of them, Dave, Rich, Adam, James and Goron, have each passed new hurdles.

All of it falls under the RNLI’s Operational Competence Framework, and much of the work was done over the summer.

📷Dave at the RNLI College Sea Survival pool

From shore crew to boat crew

Dave first volunteered as shore crew. He has since moved on to boat crew.

He recently went up to the RNLI College, where he successfully completed the Crew Emergency Procedures Course. That means Dave is now “safe to go out on a shout” as he works his way towards Tier 1 crew.

📷Tractor training on the river bed. Credit: Looe RNLI / Ian Foster

Learning the launch tractors

The tractor training on the river bed is the part people may have seen from the quay.

James and Adam have passed out as qualified drivers on both the Talus MB4-H and the “agri” tractors.

D Class helms Rich and Goron passed out as qualified “agri” drivers, which means they can now launch the D Class inshore lifeboats.

📷Tractor training on the river bed. Credit: Looe RNLI / Ian Foster

Head launchers too

While they were being assessed on their driving skills, James, Rich, Goron and Adam also passed out as Head launchers.

📷Tractor training on the river bed. Credit: Looe RNLI / Ian Foster

Four new crew closing in on Tier 1

And then there are the station’s four newest boat crew, Nick, Sam, Jonnie and Tom.

They have been training hard through the summer months as they edge closer to their Tier 1 assessment. Most recently their Veering and Towing knowledge was put to the test when both of Looe’s inshore lifeboats launched for an evening training session in Looe bay.

📷Atlantic 85 capsize drills

Hours behind the scenes

Clive, the station’s Lifeboat Operations Manager, said the new skills are the result of the volunteers’ commitment during the year, and that they have all put in significant hours to achieve them.

He also thanked the rest of the crew for supporting and encouraging them during training exercises. Behind the scenes, those crew members have to revalidate their own competences too.

The one face missing from the photos is Goron’s.

📷Tractor training on the river bed. Credit: Looe RNLI / Ian Foster

📷Looe RNLI volunteer crew Dave, Rich, Adam and James. Credit: Looe RNLI / Ian Foster

📷Tractor training on the river bed. Credit: Looe RNLI / Ian Foster