Sea Rescue - History of the Inshore Rescue Boat with a link to Tidal and Weather Information

The States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service Inshore Rescue    

The States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service have had an inshore rescue capability since 1960. Originally employing a Zodiac Inflatable, the service carried out approximately 35 rescues using this vessel in its first year. For a short time the service experimented with a ridged hulled catamaran rescue craft, but the design of the original craft proved to be far superior and inflatable designs have been adopted ever since.

All Firefighters in the Service are trained to crew our Inshore Rescue Boats. This training begins with the Royal Yachting Associations (RYA) Power Boat ‘Level 1’ Course as an introduction. Firefighters who have qualified as RYA Powerboat Instructors are responsible for initial and continuation training of crew members. After completion of the ‘Level 1’ Certificate, our Service Instructors continue to train crew members with the aim of preparing them to undergo the ‘Level 2’ Powerboat assessment which coincides with the end of the Firefighters’ probationary period.

Crews continue to train throughout the year and in addition to this training crew members’ gain tremendously from their experiences of real emergencies. The final phase of programmed training for crew members comes in the form of the RYA’s Safety Boat Course. This two day course introduces crew members to varying types of sea going craft and focuses specifically on rescue techniques; this final assessment coincides with the Firefighters qualifying exams which are taken at the end of his / her fourth year of service.

The design of our equipment and nature of our training allows us to access areas of Jersey’s coastline that are denied to many other types of vessel.  This attribute, twinned with our rapid Island wide deployment capability, enables us to contribute to the resources that Jersey’s Sea Rescue Centre have at their disposal, making Jersey’s coastline a much safer place.

For emergencies that require a seabourne response:
Dail 999 or 112 and for sea rescue

''The States of Jersey Fire and Rescue Service inshore rescue fleet now comprise of two ‘Evans/Avon’ 16 foot rescue boats, the current craft were commissioned in 2000 and 2001; A new vessel will be joining the fleet in 2008 to replace the very tired 2000 model. These ‘D’ Class Lifeboats have been hard at work as can be seen from the graph below:''

Over time, a general decrease in the number of emergency calls attended by the Fire and Rescue Service's boats can be seen, there are many possible reasons for this; one of the most significant reasons for the reduction in callouts is the strengthening of the Island's RNLI resources. The RNLI form the backbone of Jersey's Coastguard Service, however, the D-Class lifeboats operated by the Fire and Rescue Service were made for environments just like Jersey's rocky inshore areas, and so, these boats are generally reserved for close-to-shore emergency calls.