A pair of volunteer lifeboat in Chiswick undertook a lifesaving training course thanks to a whopping £1m funding boost.
Two new coastguard crew trainees at Chiswick RNLI, Graham Hill and Tim Hughes, completed the sea survival course which included how to abandon ship with a four metre jump into water; survival swimming and coping in a life raft; and dealing with fires aboard lifeboats.
The training programme took place at the RNLI College in Poole, Dorset, and was funded by Lloyd's Register Foundation (LRF), as part of an ongoing relationship between the two charitable organisations.
Wayne Bellamy, manager of Chiswick RNLI, said the LRF funding for sea survival element of the trainee crew course covered a five year period from January 2011 to December 2015 and the additional funding brought their total support to just over £1.5M.
Mr Bellamy added: "Our volunteers can expect to face all manner of conditions – sometimes the worst of what nature can throw at you.
"So the RNLI insists on giving them the most realistic experience of what it can be like.
"The centre includes a powerful wave tank and a fire-fighting simulator, and conditions of wind, rain and total darkness can be created, allowing trainees to experience first-hand some of the scenarios they may encounter at sea as lifeboat crew."
Allen Head, divisional operations manager for the RNLI said: ‘The support given by the
Lloyd’s Register Foundation is hugely important to the RNLI.
"We are extremely grateful that it has chosen to fund sea survival training, which teaches vital core skills to our volunteer crew.
"This training is central to allowing the RNLI and its volunteers to stay safe while on rescue missions.
"It equips volunteers with essential sea survival skills; providing them with the courage, poise and self-confidence to save lives even in the most perilous seas."
