WHAT does a naval officer, a stay-at-home mum, a teacher, dairy farmer, librarian, ex-garda, mental health nurse, engineer, builder, tree surgeon, and those who work for multinational corporations, have in common?
They are all volunteer members of the Toe Head Glandore Coast Guard unit which is hosting an open day on Sunday August 31st for anyone who wants to have a look around this impressive €2m facility, and for those who may wish to sign up to become a volunteer.
There are 44 Coast Guard stations nationwide, eight of them located in West Cork, and two of these are amalgamated.
As one of the two amalgamated units Toe Head and Glandore has 21 active volunteers but the capacity to recruit 11 more.
Brendan Cahill, the officer in charge, and Julia Bertram, his deputy, hope people will pop in to check out the facility and the equipment, while others can chat with the members about signing up for a 12-month period as a probationary volunteer.
Brendan explained that most people who join have a strong sense of West Cork being a coastal community, and have personal reasons – either through a bereavement or a well-timed rescue mission – for wanting to be involved in the work done by the Coast Guard.
It’s a tightly-knit and vital unit that has been called upon to assist in all kinds of circumstances including land searches for missing people, and recovery operations at sea.
Toe Head Glandore Coast Guard has the resources to train 11 new volunteers and is hosting an open day from 11am until 3pm on Sunday August 31st next.
Brendan explained: ‘You won’t be allowed to operate until such a time as you have a full set of personal protective equipment and this includes jackets, trousers, rain gear, hats, gloves, climbing gloves, climbing helmet, torch, and headtorch. Basically, everything you need will be provided free of charge.’
Julia said some people have the erroneous idea that you have to be a kind of superman or superwoman, with huge resources of strength and energy, to sign up, but she is quick to point out that training in three disciplines (first aid, manual handling and VHF radio) will be provided to all volunteers in the first 12 months.
Volunteers commit to turn up to one of the two three-hour training sessions each week, and their enthusiasm and fitness for the tasks will be taken into consideration.
‘But that is a two-way street,’ said Brendan, ‘because there is an onus on either myself, or the training officer, to assist the probationary volunteer in terms of safety policies, health and safety and human resources.
‘We are here to help volunteers achieve familiarity with all of the equipment, as well as familiarity with procedures,’ he added.
There is, of course, an obvious exception to that: It is only after the volunteer has passed probation, and a medical, that they are issued with a personal dry suit, worth €1,200, thermals and a helmet worth €400 before being sent to the National Maritime College in Cork for a two-day boat operations training course.
‘No volunteer can step onto a boat until such time as they have completed that boat operations and personal survival training,’ said Brendan.
‘There is a community and social aspect to every Coast Guard unit,’ said Julia. ‘Some people might be daunted by the requirements of the first 12 months, but it is structured that way because we need to see a commitment, and also because of the cost involved in training and equipment.
‘In a bid to assist every volunteer, there is a handout, an overview of what is required so they can proactively check their training, their own progress, and where they might like to call on us for additional help,’ she added.
A number of the 21 volunteers from the Toe Head Glandore Coast Guard have 30 years of experience, but there are newbies too, and room for 11 more willing volunteers keen to join the organisation.
The open day is from 11am until 3pm on Sunday August 31st, or anyone who is interested but can’t make it on the day can email: [email protected], or phone: 086 8501809.
