Lifeboats
crews that cover the dangerous waters of the Bristol Channel enjoyed a belated festive gathering this month.

The crews had to postpone
their annual Christmas meet-up, usually held between Christmas and New Year,
because strong winds and bad weather would have made the trip unnecessarily
uncomfortable.

So it was rearranged for the first Sunday in February, and saw
no fewer than eight lifeboats get together off Flatholm.

The
volunteer lifeboat crews from Burnham-on-Sea, Weston-super-Mare, Penarth and
Portishead rafted their lifeboats together alongside the all-weather 14m Trent
class lifeboat Inner Wheel II from Barry Dock and enjoyed coffee and pasties.

Following
the meeting aboard Barry Dock’s lifeboat, the inshore lifeboats undertook a
series of pacing exercises with the all-weather lifeboat Inner Wheel II.

This offered the helms the
chance to practice bringing their craft alongside the larger lifeboat safely, a
procedure which enables personnel to be safely transferred between the two
craft.