MVS Helps RNLI Exercise
The MVS national training vessel East Sussex 1 recently took part in a joint exercise with the Eastbourne all-weather and inshore lifeboats.
For the purposes of the exercise ES1 was sailing from Eastbourne to Newhaven when she ‘hit rocks’.
The RNLI crews then had to locate and assist a vessel that was unsure of her position and starting to sink with injured crew members.
RNLI crew boarded ES1 to be faced with a realistic scene which included several ‘casualties’ below decks, with various injuries for the lifeboat crews to assess and treat.
The RNLI team used their new water transfer pump to simulate pumping out a flooded compartment on the stricken vessel before she was taken in tow by the all-weather lifeboat to complete the exercise.
Coxswain of the Eastbourne all-weather lifeboat, Mark Sawyer, said: “I would like to say how beneficial these joint exercises are for training our volunteer crews so that they are prepared to deal with any life threatening incidents that they may be called to”.
The MVS part in the exercise was co-ordinated by VPO Tim Apps who said: “Exercises like these are valuable training opportunities for our members.
Being able to work effectively with the RNLI is an important skill for our skippers and crews”.
