Busiest Month Ever !

Despite our current situation with cut backs and reducing costs someone forgot to tell the public!

As July closes we have just had the busiest month ever in the history of the team with 39 incidents, hard work for a group of volunteers.

Diving incidents seem to make up a bulk of the call outs, but then we also had a 500lb bomb and a heath fire which were a little unusual.

With all the call outs come the "behind the scenes" work to ensure the equipment, vehicles and team are ready for the next call out.

Jelly anyone?

This jelly fish was found on the beach at Studland this week. We were told this type was safe and did not sting, however some species do so our advice is never to touch one.

I had a little accident

Whilst giving some training today at Studland I managed to drop the car keys down between the gaps in the decking........and i was the only one small enough to go and get them, however whilst I went and got the boat hook, the DSO managed to get them out but didn't tell me.

Carnival and Its a Knockout

With Swanage Carnival on Sunday we thought we best polish the truck and car. So Rid and Nick set to work while Gareth and Tom went to collect spare kit from the ambulance station, oh and have chat and eat some biscuits. When they got back the truck was nice and shiny! Sorry chaps. Meanwhile Austen sorted the plumbing , John some maintenance out back, while Ian sorted out the end of month paperwork.

We're all looking forward to the Its A Knockout on Saturday. We may have man mountain Big Brian (Brian's big little brother) and Tam from the ambulance team who volunteered to join in. What a team.....

Weever Fish

Well with the warm weather we are likely to get visitors to the beach this summer, but not necessary welcome ones!


....I’m talking Weever Fish.

Above:- Grumpy looking Weever Fish

These pesky little blighters like sunning themselves in warm shallow water, nothing wrong with this, but they have sharp spines in their dorsal fins which if you step on them hurt like…um well it is excruciating. If you sit on one, it’s a double helping of ouchers!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10785371


If you are unfortunate enough to be on the sharp end the best remedy is putting the area in water as hot as you can take, (a footbath or ice cream tub) keep topping this up with hot water; normally bang on one hour the pain suddenly goes away. Naturally if the person has allergy issues you may also wish to seek and ambulance also.

Two ways of preventing a sting in the first place are (i) wearing sandals or crocs in the water or (ii) not going in the water, neither a good solution to be fair. We get a few in Swanage each year but given the hundreds of thousands of beach visits you would have to be pretty unlucky to step on one. I spent my childhood in and out of the sea most days and it would be fair to say that neither I nor my friends ever got stung.

You should try being stung by a lionfish, wow that really did hurt! Luckily they don't visit Swanage.

Just a little footnote......The Swanage Beach Wardens deal very well with these incidents.


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Food

Above: Ian and his sausages.

There's a Team BBQ next weekend which will no doubt result in a major job half way through.


The boss asked how many people were coming, one chap said 10 friends. He was immediately rumbled for telling fibs as he doesn’t have ten friends. It would appear that the cunning plan was that these ten friends would not turn up and then he would have the opportunity to eat all the extra burgers and sausages that were left over.


In other news I have been told not to feed Austen. The text simply said “Don’t Feed Austen’. I don’t know why and I’m not going to ask…..

A short clip

There is a short film coming out to promote Swanage in the Summer.

Here is a short clip.

*****The casualty shown in the clip is an actor and the injuries are make up*****

Busy Weekend

Sorry for the lack of blogs this weekend, its been a bit busy around, 5 incidents on Saturday and 2 today.

Updates to follow during the week.

More important people and Dave

Sadly whilst a photograph of the beach wardens, Police and Coastguard was being taken, Dave got upset that he wasn't in the picture, so Emma stepped in and made his day.

Anything to keep the peace!

Gone with the Wind

Today's incident had this craft blown out to sea.......please be aware off off shore winds when at the beach.