Sunderland RNLI volunteer Christian Carney explains his role, and shows us around the charity's station in Sunderland.
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00:00This year marks the 200th anniversary of the RNLI, I've come to Sunder Lake Boat Station to have a look behind the scenes and find out what life is like as a volunteer.
00:09So my day job, I'm a business owner and my role within the RNLI is crewman. I've been on the crew now for 11 years and done various different call outs over my time.
00:20So we're on call, we work on a calendar sort of process with that and then as soon as the pager goes off, we carry a pager with us, as soon as the pager goes off we make our way to the station and find out what the job is like from there.
00:32The intercom on the boat is specifically designed for strong winds to talk in between us on the vessel. So we plug into the main set, we can use the VHF radio, we can talk between us so it's a great way, especially when the weather's not so good, to be able to communicate.
00:50On ourselves, this is all our PPE, this is our life jacket, which is quite heavy. We carry various different sea safety equipment, we've got things like flares, PLBs, we've also got inflation on this so if we hit the water we can pull the toggle and it will self inflate.
01:08We carry a knife, different bits of stuff, we've got a harness there, different bits of safety equipment.
01:14What would this be used in, what sort of snow would that be used in?
01:17We can use it in many different scenarios. We do use it if we need to put against the strops to get in and out of the boat, as a step. So yeah, we can use it for many different reasons.
01:28And what was it which inspired you to get involved in the RNLI?
01:31Originally I was sailing, so I've always been around water sports and things, and then I seen that RNLI joined Dummy Duke of Edinburgh here, so I just joined at quite a young age.
01:44You're only 24, you've been doing it for 11 years, so you started when you were 13?
01:48Yeah, so I went through the Duke of Edinburgh programme here at Sunderland, went all the way through the programme, then joined the crew, joined a shore crew, went through the training programme and now a crewman.
01:59And what age were you able to actually start going out on a boat and help the rescue team?
02:03Yeah, so 17 was the starting age then. You come down, you go through quite a long training and development programme, and then you meet your way, you go through a trainee crew plan, and then you meet your way to full crew.
02:16Yeah, so at Atlantic 85, we use this boat for things that are a little bit further away from beaches. We don't tend to go into the beach with this boat just because of the size and the draft of it, so we use the smaller D-class boat to go into the beach, into rocky areas.
02:32So how far out would this one be taken, if you had to go out and do a rescue? I mean, how far would it take this offshore?
02:36It's designed as a sort of vessel that can be took offshore. However, if it does go too far, we get the bigger offshore boats down, the likes of ones, the Time Elf, the big boats, you know.
02:47How is a boat like this built? Because obviously, I'm guessing you must have had times go out in pretty rough conditions. How is this boat built to withstand that sort of setting out at sea?
02:55Yeah, so these boats are built at our R&LI centre, and they're designed to, you know, to deal with quite bad weather. We've got ballast tanks on board that we can fill up, you know, that stops the movement of the boat. It also helps keep the bow down during them rough seas, you know, so we've got ballast tanks that we fill up.
03:14We've got loads of different safety features on board as well. It self-rights itself, so we've got a self-righting bag. How does that work in terms of self-righting? Yeah, so just at the back. We've got gas bottles on either side, so if it does go wrong, you know, we pull the toggle, we swim out of the bag.
03:29By go wrong, I mean capsize. Yeah, capsize, yeah. If we do, unfortunately, capsize, this boat is designed to re-right itself. So this boat will carry four crew on board.
03:40And who would go where? So main driver there, what would this be used for? Yeah, so this is sort of, we've got navigation here, radio, so whoever's on the nav, the radar, the radio, they sit in the two and three seat. The fourth seat's more of a lookout person, keeping their eyes on the board, and that's what they would do in that seat.
03:59We've got the straps under there, just for your feet to go into. Right. Yeah, so that's how we would secure ourselves. And you actually, one of your roles is to drive this boat, is it, from time to time? Yeah, we do drive. We carry a helm on board, which is a commander of the vessel. Right. That doesn't mean to say the commander drives all the time, so I'm the commander sitting in the fourth seat, but they oversee any sort of search and rescue operations, training, anything like that.
04:22So, you're out on this boat, you get to a casualty, they say they're unconscious in the water, how do you go about, because you're quite elevated here, we're not on the water, but you'll still be quite high up, how do you go about getting a casualty from the water into this boat?
04:34We've got many different ways we can do it, you know, depending on the casualty, the injuries, the circumstances. We've got options, like we said before, the yacht harness, we can strap onto the black straps and use as a step. Sometimes that's not always the best option. We can deflate the sponsons on this boat, if we need to, to bring the casualty on board as well.
04:51So, it's inflatable, inflatable rib craft, so like I said, we can deflate the sponsons, if need be, to get the casualty on board. If the casualty's on board, it's replaced whether they be sort of sat down or if they're unconscious, laying down?
05:05Yeah, so we have got a stretcher as well, we do carry a stretcher with us, so there's that as an option. It all depends on sort of the circumstances of the casualty, what the condition of the casualty's like, you know.
05:18I know we talked about scenarios outside there, but can you talk me through a scenario where you've had to use this particular vessel? I know this vessel goes sort of further afield, maybe with more serious incidents, so can you talk me through a situation where you've had to use this vessel for a rescue?
05:30Yeah, so, tow jobs, you know, sort of most of the crafts, what you see in the marina, we would tow with this vessel. That's sort of the majority of the jobs that we do here.
05:41Is that based on what, engines failing?
05:43Yeah, a lot of things, engines failing, yeah, you know, they haven't planned the boat during the winter, they come on a nice summer's day, they then go out and then, you know, it's poor maintenance over the time, but yeah.
05:54And that scenario there, I'm guessing if you didn't go out and rescue them, it wouldn't take long before you drift?
05:58Yeah, it's like we said before, the offshore wind, you know, can still catch you and drift you off, no matter how heavy the vessel is.
06:05So, I mean, what sort of size boat could this tow, then? I mean, how big are these engines you've got in the back here?
06:11So, we've got 215 horsepower Yamaha engines in the back, so it does go quite big.
06:18Could you tow sort of a medium-sized yacht with this thing?
06:22Yeah, yeah, no, we could tow a medium-sized yacht. We can tow most things. When you start to get into bigger stuff, you know, heavier stuff, then we would get a bigger boat down.
06:31But yeah, the majority of things around here we can tow with this boat.
06:35So, is this the one which is generally called that, or would it be the smaller boat over there for most rescues and most rescues?
06:40I would probably say a little bit of both, you know, the littler boat does jobs up the river.
06:46So, obviously, you're the guys who go out in the actual boat. You mentioned launch crews and what have you, and various other roles.
06:52So, what are the other roles which people would do here as well as going out on the boat?
06:55A lot of people are qualified to do both things, as in shore crew and boat crew here.
07:00So, the shore crew is launching recovery of both boats using the davits on the lines.
07:06And then, if anything happens on the pontoons, they're there as shore crew.
07:12I'm guessing in terms of your training, obviously, it's not just being able to drive the boat and that sort of thing.
07:17Because, obviously, when you get the casualties, you've got to get them to hospital maybe as quickly as you can.
07:21But sometimes you've got to deal with first aid situations there and then.
07:23So, I'm guessing you're all very well qualified first aid wise as well, yeah?
07:26Yeah, so we do our own allied casualty care course, which qualifies us to use first aid.
07:32We've got a quite in-depth casualty first aid course.
07:38I'm guessing this is the time of year when you get most of your call outs during the summer months?
07:42It certainly increases, but we do find normally in the winter we are busy as well.
07:48We are quite a busy station here at Sunderland.
07:51So, you get a call, your page or your phone goes off, you've got to be here within 10 minutes, is it?
07:56So, what happens next when you get here? What would happen next?
07:58Yeah, so we try to get down in around 10 minutes.
08:01We then go into the changing room, get our kit on as well, you can see here.
08:05The boat crew will get chosen. So, if we're going with the 85, that would be 4 crew, the D class 3, the helm, the commander of the search and rescue operation would say to us,
08:16this is the crew, this is the incident we're going to.
08:19The rest of the crew that isn't going on the incident would come to this section here, get the PPE on, the shore crew PPE, and then prepare us for launching.
08:27When you pull the toggle, this is what you get when it inflates.
08:31You've got different safety features on there again. You've got a whistle, you've got a light, you've got a hood if need be.
08:37So, that's what this life jacket looks like inflated.
08:39So, would you use that in an emergency situation if you'd gone in?
08:42We wouldn't if we were going to get a casualty.
08:44However, if we find ourselves in difficulty or we maybe had a casualty, this also gives us more buoyancy, so it keeps us up above the water as well.
08:53Okay. And obviously, you've got your normal gear on there. What's this one here then?
08:57These are our casualty mannequins.
09:00So, we use these for various different scenarios, bringing a casualty on board, different things like that.
09:09What we've got here, obviously, is this quite a bit of history in terms of who's been a volunteer here or who's led the set?
09:15What are all these?
09:16These are all jobs that we've done over the years.
09:18We had to stop at one point because we'd have a station full of boards.
09:23Because I understand as well, it's the 200 years you've analysed being in existence, is that right?
09:27It is, yeah.
09:28So, it's your anniversary this year?
09:29Yeah.
09:30Have you got any plans at the station to celebrate? Are there any events going on for the public?
09:34Yeah. So, we're doing an event this evening where we're getting the crew down and we're doing a photograph to celebrate it.
09:40You know, various stations around the country are doing it as well.
09:44This is where we come. So, say we get a call out, we come to here.
09:48This section is where our commanders will be.
09:52We've got a screen that tells us who's attending the station.
09:56So, we can see all that information on there.
09:59The commander will come in, call the Coast Guard, find out what the job is and then, obviously, take the team from there and then decide on our brief and things like that.
10:07So, the commander is a helm at the lifeboat station.
10:11He's in command of the boat.
10:13He's in command of the lifeboat, making sure the crew is safe and making sure, most importantly, it's safe for us to go to that job.
10:21There's one of the reasons why it's set out like this. There's a specific order you've got to go through to make sure you get your kit on in the quickest possible time.
10:28Yeah. So, we've got different features of the kit here.
10:31This is our woolly bear, so this is what we wear underneath the dry suit.
10:35Then, we've got our dry suit here, which is attached as the wellies.
10:40You can see they're attached at the bottom there.
10:42Do you wear all that even in the middle of summer?
10:44Yeah, we have got different sort of base layers and things we can wear, but they're the main features of the kit.
10:51Obviously, you're volunteers. You go out in all conditions. You must deal with some pretty unpleasant situations as well.
10:58For you, what is the best thing about being part of the RNLI as a volunteer?
11:02What motivates you to want to keep doing it and what's the best thing about it?
11:05Yeah, it's been a big part of my life for a long time now.
11:09Being around the water, you can see things sharp go wrong.
11:12It's that feeling of when you've maybe saved somebody or when you've done something that's made someone's day better.
11:20It's that feeling that keeps us down here.
11:22You've got a sort of camaraderie and close-knit team as well. Is that part of it as well?
11:26Yeah, definitely you have to be.
11:28For the kind of environment that we volunteer in, you have to be a close team.
11:33It's like a second family here down here.
11:39For more information, visit www.rnli.gov