成人论坛

Every lifeboat volunteer undergoes hundreds of hours of training to get them up to the level of expertise needed to join a crew. But even with the best instruction available, a crew member鈥檚 first shout can still be a leap into the unknown.

For sheep farmer Emma, based in St Davids on the Pembrokeshire coast, her first rescue is a real test of character - a rock climber who鈥檚 fallen into the water and is within seconds of falling unconscious. In Minehead, three kayakers are swept out to sea as darkness falls, and when only one makes it back to raise the alarm, young crew member Matt faces his first ever shout at night - an increasingly desperate search in complete darkness.

It鈥檚 not just rookie crew members who face a baptism of fire - in Peterhead, after years on the crew, Patrick鈥檚 first shout as coxswain is to try to rescue a 170-ton fishing boat that鈥檚 lost all power and is perilously close to the rocks in gale force winds and heavy seas.