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I spent the whole weekend with a bunch o strapping men. Have I got your attention? Ok, now I'll explain.

I'm one of the volunteer coastguards here in Unst, and had the opportunity of attending training to learn how to use the new equipment that all UK coastguard rescue teams are being issued with.

Training was held in Unst, as there is a great facility here in the ex RAF property, perfect for this sort of group event. We had guys from all over Shetland, including some from Fair Isle, which is as far away from Unst as you can get. Our trainers were the Sector Managers from Wick, Orkney and Shetland.

The training involved the putting on of the harness; attaching the kit to your harness correctly so you can safely descend; being able to AScend as well as DEscend; and some rescue sling and stretcher stuff too. There's still lots to learn before we can actually use the new equipment in a rescue situation, but it includes some really good kit.

The weekend was successful, with a 100% pass rate in the assessments (PHEW), and it was great to meet some of the volunteers from other teams.

Here's a few pics to give you an idea of what we do.

Demonstrations




Harness going on





Nearly ready for climbing





Rescuing a 'casualty'




Using the Stretcher (we used a dummy!)




Waiting for the Assessments (a bit too similar to a visit to the Dentist!)




Group pic




Fair Isles guys gettin a lift from Oscar Charlie.





Bye guys!!