The Floating Line Incident

At training on Thursday we learnt the new Water Rescue Techniques, to be honest we probably won’t have much call for them as the Swanage Lifeboat Crew will be our first request. But we need to know them just in case.

Anyway after a re-run of the theory section our Sector Manager Rob, decided that we would pop down to the beach opposite the Ocean Bay Restaurant to practice some of the techniques. We use floating line or ‘floaty line’ as we call it, which can be thrown or tied to a rescuer so that they can be kept safe. It’s yellow with red markings as a standard.

It floats.

To demonstrate how well it floats Rob treated us to a ‘floaty line masterclass’. The red bag of line was thrown into the sea and hey presto it floated, and floated....and floated. Yup it definitely stays afloat for a long time. A very long time.

Readers, you’d be amazed how far that floaty line travelled in that very long time.

We were very impressed at how well it floated, ..so were the customers at the Ocean Bay restaurant who were heard to comment “Blimey, that line has floated an awful long way!”. Indeed it had.

That red bag started to appear smaller and smaller. Austen offered to rescue it but given it was half a mile off shore we decided it wasn't worth the risk...

...anyway it was Rob's rope not ours ;-)

While an ‘arrangement’ was reached with a local skipper to put to sea to return the floaty line, the team set about practicing throwing rescue line. It’d be fair to say from the cheers...or was that jeers?..from the restaurant that we may need more practice. For starters when you throw a line it’s meant to go in front of you. I'd like to publically shame an individual as to their rope throwing skills, but we were all equally bad.

Following the night’s performance we were treated to a coffee from Tim the owner of Ocean Bay Restaurant who said how good the cabaret was; could be book us for every Saturday night?

Meanwhile the floaty line returned safe after its voyage across the seas.