St Catherine's RNLI Lifeboat station has almost doubled the number of launch vehicle drivers after a successful assessment recently, with 4 new drivers assessed as competent in the role.

Madalin Spataru, Simon Cousins, Jim Chandler and Brian Brown have all recently completed their launcher training and have been passed out as launch vehicle drivers for the Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat launch rig. The St Catherine's lifeboat is launched from a trailer pushed by a specially modified tractor which is manoeuvred from the boathouse and into the sea.

The training covers a wide range of scenarios and the launch vehicle driver is expected to be able to deal with the numerous issues that might present themselves during a lifeboat launch. These include mechanical issues for the tractor and trailer, recovery issues caused by the shingle and various tide and sea states, and people management, dealing with potentially dangerous equipment and in relatively confined spaces.

Michael McNally, Launch Authority for St Catherine's RNLI Lifeboat Station, said:

"Congratulations to all 4 for passing their assessment, which is set at a challenging standard and is examined by an RNLI assessor. The launcher role is particularly tricky at St Catherine's due to the wide variety of conditions that we are required to launch into and the nature of the ever-changing shingle beach we operate from.

Having another 4 volunteer launchers available at St Catherine's will relieve pressure on the existing rota and will allow greater flexibility for holiday cover."

The new launchers bring the total number of launchers at St Catherine's to 10.