Bro Alex Williams, initiated into Huntcliffe lodge in 2016 gives an insight into his volunteering for the RLNI.

I first started volunteering when I was 15. I would attend the practises and help to clean down the lifeboat station, maintain the PPE and make the crew hot drinks when they returned from sea. Once I turned 17, I sent my application forms away to join as Inshore Lifeboat crew. I completed various training modules such as towing, anchoring, capsize procedure, man overboard, radio communication and navigation. After around 6 months I spent a week at the RNLI college in Poole undergoing the intensive training course that covered a little bit of everything. The highlight of this training was the time spent in the pool where we would complete actual capsize training where a crane would flip our boat and we would have to re-right it using the righting systems built into the boat, as well as sea survival training in a simulated storm.

Back at station my training continued with me completing additional courses such as Marine VHF and Casualty Care. We would train once a week at sea and complete additional shore-based training for new starts. At sea our training sessions were varied and including things such as slow speed manoeuvring, anchoring, towing, practising in rougher sea states and occasionally exercises with the Search and Rescue helicopters where we would carry out winching operations

During my 10 years as crew, I met a lot of amazing people and made lifelong friends. I learned skills that I couldn’t have learned in any other environment and had experiences that money couldn’t buy. Standing down wasn’t a decision that I took lightly but was the right decision for me at this time in my life. Going forward I’m looking into other volunteer roles both in and out of the RNLI.