Hagglund Driver Training Nov 2011

Hagglund Driver Training Nov 2011, a set on Flickr.

training 10 nov 11

Bay Search and Rescue Cross Morecambe Bay Walk - Sunday 24th July 2011

Arnside to Kents Bank, South Lakeland / North Lancs.

Why not join us with your family and friends for a unique day out in the fresh air on Morecambe Bay. Your participation by gaining sponsors to do this will help raise vital funds for the Bay Search and Rescue Team which as an independent charity relies on annual events like this to survive. The team which is made up of volunteers do not get any Government funding and this is our major fundraising event of the year. The walk as always will be led by Cedric Robinson, the Official Queens Guide to the Sands and supported by team members from Bay Search and Rescue in their distinctive orange hi-visibility jackets. Some of the team will be walking with you and will be happy to discuss our role on the Bay, and some will follow in our amphibious and all-terrain Hagglund rescue vehicles which you will have an opportunity to look around - and maybe a ride in if all that fresh air proves too much!

We depart from Arnside promenade at 11am prompt and will walk across to Kents Bank Train Station near Grange-over-Sands, arriving a few hours or so later. The length of the walk varies depending on the route Cedric takes on the day through the channels (and around any quicksand obviously - which is why he is the Queens guide!). Children and anyone comfortable walking for approximately 3 plus hours are welcome. There are usually some channels to wade through so be prepared to get wet to your knees or so. Anyone not happy to wade or who gets tired can always take a ride in the Hagglund. Dogs are more than welcome if kept under control, especially as other dogs will be there too!

This is an ideal day out - some gentle exercise all the family can join in with, lots of fresh air and a chance to say you have done something unique.

Already Signed Up?
If you have already signed up for the walk we can now offer you an easy way to gain sponsors and collect sponsor money as we now have a Virgin Money Giving Charity page. To register and create your own personal fundraising page - click here

Then simply click on the "Start Fundraising' button at the top right. When you are asked for the event registration fee option click on the option "I've already paid my event fee'.

Once you have created your fundraising page you can email all your friends, link to your Facebook or Twitter pages and monitor how much you have raised as your sponsors can simply pay online. It also means that the charity will get GiftAid added to all sponsors straight away.

Not yet signed up but want to join us?
To find out more about the walk and see some photo galleries of previous walks - Click here

To register and create your own fundraising page - click here
Then simply click on the "Start Fundraising' button at the top right. This will allow you register for the walk (£10 for adults and £5 for children under 16) and to create your own sponsor page. You can email all your friends, link to your Facebook or Twitter pages and monitor how much you have raised as your sponsors can simply pay online. It also means that the charity will get GiftAid added to all sponsors straight away.

It is very easy to do, but if all this is a bit technical you can also either register simply online via our paypal registration page or post your registration and we will send you a sponsor form to print out.

If you know of anyone else who may be interested then please forward this email on. Bay Search and Rescue is an independent charity and receives no government grants so every penny counts.

Thankyou for your support.

www.baysearchandrescue.org.uk

Bay Search & Rescue and Dublin Civil Defence

Bay Search and Rescue trains Dublin Civil Defence in the use of Hagglund
ATERV's (All Terrain Emergency Rescue Vehicles)

Gary Parsons, Station Officer and Paul Calland, Deputy Station Officer of Bay Search and Rescue based at Flookburgh and Milnthorpe, have recently spent a a few days in Dublin, Ireland, at the invitation of Acting Chief Civil Defence Officer John Moriarty. The Cumbrian team was contacted by Dublin Civil Defence who have been operating a Hagglund for Flood and Snow Rescue operations, after they read about them on the internet and found out the Bay Search and Rescue now appears to be one of the most experienced teams around operating these vehicles. More specifically
Dublin Civil Defence were keen to find out first hand how Hagglunds can be used in live flood rescue operations, something Bay SAR has experience of after working in Cockermouth during the 2009 floods on behalf of Cumbria Fire and Rescue, who they work in partnership with.

Dublin Civil Defence was started in 1950 to provide civil resiliencesupport during the cold war, but unlike in England where the Civil Defence was disbanded in the 60's, in Ireland it continued to play an important role in any areas where it could support the statutory services such as an auxiliary fire brigade, ambulance service, welfare, public event support and specialist vehicles to handle extreme weather situations such as snow and flood. There are approximately 6000 volunteers across Ireland, with 300 based in Dublin, which is split into four city areas. They operate
numerous vehicles from ambulances, 4x4's fire appliances and welfare trucks, through to rescue boats, which in Dublin operate in and around the Harbour.

In the case of flood and extreme weather assistance it had become obvious to them in their investigations that Bay SAR offers a similar service in North Lancs and the Lakes, and with over 10 years experience with some very unique equipment they asked if Bay SAR would be prepared to train Dublin Civil Defence volunteers how to operate and maintain their Hagglunds - as their first one was about to be joined by a second one, with more potentially in the pipeline. Consequently Gary and Paul visited them at their Dublin City centre HQ and undertook an intensive initial presentation to approximately 20 members of their team, which included the history of Bay SAR and its experiences, plus how and why it evolved into using its current kit line up, followed by the specifications, operation, abilities, initial driver checks and maintenance of these unique ex-military go anywhere vehicles. The Dublin team were then given a detailed overview and inspection of their own vehicles, the second machine having only arrived the previous night. This one unsurprisingly was in
100% operational state having just been refurbished for them, their existing vehicle proved to be due for some important maintenance, as both Gary and Paul who had inspected it independently with a group each, both found the same issue which if left unattended would have the potential to cause a significant problem. As Bay SAR handles its own maintenance, and has even designed and made its own specialist tools for working on the 40 road wheels and tracks that a Hagglund drives on, this is all in a days work, and a second set of tools will be made by them for the Dublin team
as part of an ongoing 'experience sharing ' partnership.

The conclusion of the first training session is that Dublin Civil Defence will be sending a team over to Cumbria to be given advanced driving experience on and around the very unique terrain of Morecambe Bay and the Lakes, and Bay SAR will be sending a larger team back over to Dublin to provide driver and maintenance training, and share some the Dublin teams experiences in the very deep snows experienced in Ireland in December and January. Both teams are now also possibly looking to link up with another Rescue team that operates Hagglunds which has extensive experience in a
snow and ice environments, to share skills with.


Bay Search and Rescue Website
Civil Defence Website