George Williams passes out as navigator at Sennen Cove RNLI

There aren’t many volunteer roles where the training goes back four generations before you even start. At Sennen Cove Lifeboat Station, George Williams has just added his name to a family list that stretches back over a century.

A pass-out under close watch

George has passed out as a navigator on Sennen Cove’s Tamar class all-weather lifeboat, completing a full assessment and series of pass-out exercises under Coastal Lifeboat Trainer Assessor Matt Simpson. It’s a qualification that sits under the RNLI‘s Operational Competence Framework, the structure every volunteer works through to be signed off to go to sea and operate the lifeboats safely and efficiently.

Following the family into the boathouse

George’s family have crewed Sennen Cove’s lifeboats for generations. He’s a descendant of Tom Pender, who served as coxswain from 1920 to 1944, and his great uncle John Pender was second coxswain from 1978 to 1982, then again from 1992 to 1999. The station says it’s proud to see George following in their footsteps.

The commitment behind the qualification

Sennen Cove’s crew point out just how much time and effort sits behind a pass-out like this one. Every RNLI volunteer works through the same demanding process to earn the qualifications needed to go to sea, and the demands fall not just on the volunteers themselves but on their families too.

The station thanked its volunteers for their time, hard work and commitment to helping save lives at sea, work that continues whenever the next call comes in.

📷Credit: Sennen Cove Lifeboat Station