Milestone Moment for Newquay RNLI Volunteer as Crew Responds to Emergency Call

Photo: Pengers (left) on completion of his launch authority (LA) training in November, with fellow LA recruits Ann-Marie & Jamie and RNLI Assessor Trainer, Carl Beardmore (right). Credit: RNLI/Gareth Horner.

Lifeboat crew stood down after 15 minutes as ambulance resolves incident

Newquay RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew were called out in freezing conditions last Friday (7th February) to support the ambulance service at Towan Beach. The crew responded to their pagers at 8.34pm, abandoning their Friday evening plans with family and friends to prepare the station’s D class inshore lifeboat for launch.

Rapid Response and Stand Down

Alongside Newquay Coastguard rescue team and the police, the RNLI crew quickly mustered at the lifeboat station, ready to assist. However, within 15 minutes of the alert, the situation was safely resolved by the ambulance crew, and all responding teams were stood down with thanks.

A Milestone for Ian Pengelly

For RNLI volunteer Ian ‘Pengers’ Pengelly, the call marked an important milestone. Having served 24 years as part of the crew, this was his first emergency response in his new role as a launch authority. Ian, a former police officer, originally joined Newquay RNLI in 1994 and served until 2018 in roles including inshore lifeboat crew, helm, and shore crew. After rejoining last year, he has been training to authorise the launch of the station’s lifeboats whenever the Coastguard requests an emergency response.

Reflecting on the moment, Ian said: “I’m pleased to be back involved with the crew at Newquay RNLI, and it was good to record the first shout in my first duty week as a launch authority at the station. Even though I’ve got 24 years’ experience on the lifeboat crew, this is a very different role to anything I was doing previously, so there’s always something to reflect on and learn from.”

Photo: Pengers (left) on completion of his launch authority (LA) training in November, with fellow LA recruits Ann-Marie & Jamie and RNLI Assessor Trainer, Carl Beardmore (right). Credit: RNLI/Gareth Horner.