James and Daniel Lewis-Bale joined Bude Lifeboat in August of 2012 and have been training up until Thursday, July 14, where they completed their last assessments.
Their training guided them to build a basic skill set with training in navigation, chart work, rope work, boat handling and more, all assessed in units and modules within the RNLI.
Their skills were then put to the test through the various shouts the brothers have attended during their training.
The training process has taken the brothers four years to complete, and has involved them ticking off certain criteria.
Bude Lifeboat is considered a ‘special station’ due to the high surf conditions, meaning the training process has taken longer than it might have somewhere else. It costs approximately £1,559 to train each RNLI lifeboat crew member.
James and Daniel are the third generation in their family to be part of the Bude Lifeboat service; their father was a helmsman and their grandfather was a member of the shore crew, meaning they had a natural progression into becoming members of the RNLI.
James said: “After all the work we’ve done and the long process, I’d say we are both very, very pleased to have finished our training.”
This year, Bude Lifeboat has attended ten shouts, including a recent shout on Sunday, July 24, which James and Daniel both attended, to assist a fisherman cut off by the tide on Barrel Rock.
The RNLI’s Respect the Water campaign warns people of the unpredictability of the sea, and advises beach users to use life guarded beaches, and to swim between the red and yellow flags.