Recruitment to begin next week for new St Helier RNLI crew

Thursday 23 November 2017

Recruitment will begin for a new crew for the St Helier lifeboat station next week - and Jersey’s all-weather and inshore lifeboats are planned to return to the island by the end of the year, the RNLI have confirmed.

Following their decision to stand down the St Helier crew last week after an “irreparable” relationship breakdown, the RNLI's Head of Lifesaving Will Stephens says that the charity has already received expressions of interest from 12 potential new volunteers for the town-based station.

An official recruitment programme for a new crew will begin next week, but Mr Stephens said that the RNLI were already in a position to begin training individuals to get St Helier’s inshore lifeboat operational by mid-December.

A combination of volunteers and members of the Fire and Rescue Service will start training this Saturday, and will later take part in training on the all-weather George Sullivan lifeboat at the RNLI’s specialist training facility based in Poole, where the boat currently resides and is undergoing maintenance.

Video: The RNLI took away the Tamar ‘George Sullivan’ all-weather boat after standing down the St Helier crew on Friday.

It is hoped that the boat, which departed the island following the charity’s decision to part ways with the former St Helier team, will return to Jersey before the end of the year for training purposes.

In the interim, Mr Stephens said that they were supporting the RNLI shop volunteers, who will continue their fundraising efforts at Christmas markets this year before reopening in the summer season, and praised the St Catherine’s RNLI team.

In a statement, he said: ‘We want to thank everyone who has supported us during the last few days, reassure the community that we are committed to returning a lifeboat service to St Helier as quickly as possible, and provide an update on our progress. 

“We are committed to rebuilding an RNLI lifeboat service in St Helier and we are confident we will have an efficient, reliable and sustainable RNLI lifeboat service in the near future.”

Mr Stephens later added: “Strong leadership, teamwork and professional relationships are essential to all emergency services. The RNLI relies on its crews and stations to save lives at sea, and this relationship is dependent not only on maritime expertise, but adhering to collaborative and co-operative ways of working. We’re committed to building these relationships and this collaborative way of working as we work to restore a lifesaving service from St Helier.

“We’re encouraged by the progress we’re making and the support from the community, the States of Jersey and our search and rescue colleagues as we work together towards restoring a lifeboat service to St Helier as quickly as possible.”

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