Our Services
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inshore rescueThe inshore rescue service which operates around Guernsey's coastline and the adjacent islands is provided by the Ambulance & Rescue Service. Two inshore boats, on call 24 hours a day, are housed at the Ambulance & Rescue Headquarters, ready to be despatched overland to the launching slipway nearest any reported incident. The Service also maintains a small inflatable boat for despatch to inland flooded areas or water-filled quarries. The inshore rescue boats are called to rescue people trapped by rising tide, to save small boats or windsurfers blown out to sea, or to evacuate injured casualties from the base of cliffs. Sometimes this involves operating in hazardous conditions amongst dangerous rocks in the hours of darkness. technical detailsLength: 4.95m 16' 3" crewThe inshore rescue boats have a crew of three; a Coxswain and two crew. Most are Emergency Medical Technicians or Paramedics, but who as members of the inshore rescue team have undergone additional training in boat handling, marine navigation and water rescue techniques. The crew wear dry suits and helmets, with divers knife, stobe light and lifejackets for their own protection; the helmets have built-in intercom and radio headsets to enable communication between the members and with ships or shore stations. general descriptionThe boats are 'D' Class EA-16 lifeboats, manufactured by Avon Inflatable’s and powers by a single 40hp 4 stroke outboard engine giving a maximum speed of about 20 knots. They are built to the same standard as those used by Britain's Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Their small size enables them to be towed through the Island's narrow road system to a launch site near an incident, and their pliant structure makes them suitable for work amongst the rocks at the base of Guernsey's cliffs or in shallow water. EquipmentBoth boats are fitted with a marine vhf radio, an ambulance frequency radio, and GPS satellite navigation equipment. Hand held spotlights and illuminating flares are carried on board for night searches. They carry a medical kit and can take a floating basket stretcher if required, or a special stretcher which can be heated in water and rolled out to form a rigid splint for hypothermic injured casualties. Other equipment includes charts, pyrotechnics (flares), heaving line, compass, navigation lights, a sea anchor (drogue) anchor and chain, bilge pump and a tool kit for the engine. fundingAs with other rescue activities of the Ambulance & Rescue Service, such as the cliff rescue team and marine ambulance, the inshore rescue boats are funded entirely by donations and rely on public generosity to continue their service. historyThe Ambulance & Rescue Service pioneered the use of inflatable boats for inshore rescue work before Britain's Royal national Lifeboat Institution adopted the craft. Inflatable dinghies launched from rigid boats were used in the late nineteen-forties and fifties, paddled by hand. During the nineteen fifties the Services assisted the designers with research into the requirements of craft for inshore rescue work, and in 1961 introduced the Island's first powered inflatable inshore rescue boat. Experiments with rigid keels and wider boats have been conducted, and for a time the Service maintained a 17-feet Beachcraft with a double-skinned fibreglass hull at a mooring in St. Peter Port harbour. This was powered by twin 40hp outboard motors giving a speed of 30 knots. In 1992 the Service purchased an all-aluminium craft, as used in some parts of New Zealand, and conducted extensive trials in its use in local waters. Over 50 years experience has resulted in a preference for inflatable boats which can be nosed against sharp granite rocks at the base of cliffs or driven into shallow surf in gullies. The boats are mounted on trailers built to the Service's own design, and are narrow enough to be towed through the Island's road system to a selected launch site nearest to any incident. |
