On Friday, May 16th, Rob, a volunteer crew member from Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA), visited us. SARA is an independent search and rescue organisation that provides lifeboat and mountain rescue services. It is completely run by volunteers and supported by donations from businesses, local communities, and the general public.
You can find out more about their work here.
In preparation for the visit, we watched this beach safety video in the morning, and the children remembered lots of information from it, like what different flags on the beach meant, sun safety, and what to do if you get into difficulty in the water.
Rob tested our knowledge by asking us about these during his visit. He told us how emergency calls can come at any time of day or night and showed us how he sometimes has to jump out of bed in the middle of the night and quickly put on different layers to stay warm in the water.
His dry suit even has boots attached! This suit keeps him completely dry so he can stay in the water for longer during a rescue. He wears a buoyancy jacket on top of the dry suit to help him float. He had different things attached including a light and whistle which could be used to communicate in the dark. Rob brought a rescue raft and showed us different ways to inflate it.
Some of the children from Wrens tried pumping it up using a hand pump. Once it was inflated, most of the children tried sitting on the raft, although some started jumping on it like a bouncy castle! We discovered that the raft is made of a very strong material, so it doesn’t rip easily. Also, the bottom of it is flat, so it can go in shallower water, for example, after a flood.
Thanks for teaching us so much, Rob!
