Angle Lifeboat Station
Gareth Jones
When not helping out on the lifeboat I spend all my spare time diving and researching wrecks. Currently I am working in Borneo and have just started diving a series of Japanese 2nd world war wrecks sunk by the US Navy.
What happens
if you are ill at sea?
You feel very sorry for yourself, and you wish you weren’t
there.
How old were you when you started working as a crew member?
Probably about 33, so I was (or am) a late developer.
What do you wear on the lifeboat?
Everyone wears the required safety equipment
of waterproof jacket and trousers, boots, lifejacket and hat. The rest
is up to each crew. I wear what I was wearing when the pager went off,
unless I was in bed.
How do you keep fit?
Plenty of swimming in
the summer, and some running if it doesn’t rain too much.
What happens if you get
a call out when you are at work?
I start wishing I was
not at work.
What happens if one of the
crew falls in the water?
I fell in a couple of
years ago. You get very wet and climb out quick. Afterwards everyone
else thinks its funny.
What is it like on the lifeboat
when the weather is really bad?
Its exciting, but mostly
you are too busy doing your job to look around.
Do you ever get frightened
when you are about to go out on a rescue?
Normally you are too
busy to be frightened.
What other work do you do?
What does your boss think about you having to leave work and take time
off?
I used to work at a refinery.
I think my boss was pleased to see me go.
What’s the training like?
Is there a lot of reading and writing?
The training is well
organised and interesting, and concerned with practical skills rather
than reading and writing.
Have you ever been up in a
helicopter? If so, was it good?
Every year we have helicopter
training, so most crew have been in a helicopter. Its noisy and shakes
a lot, a bit like Brian’s Landrover, only higher off the ground.
Do you ever get angry at any
of the people you rescue?
No, most times its no-one’s
fault.