RNLI Teignmouth volunteers are celebrating as James Crawford has passed out as helm for Teignmouth Lifeboat.

James has been volunteering for Teignmouth RNLI for the past seven years before challenging himself with the rigorous training and assessments to become the latest helm at Teignmouth Lifeboat Station.

Completing his final assessment, James said that ‘becoming a helm is a massive honour and is the next step up from being a crew member, being part of the crew is a huge privilege’ and something he has been ‘proud of’ since joining 7 years ago.

James expressed how he enjoys being surrounded by a ‘great group of people who all enjoy what they do and the impact they have when saving lives at sea’.

Training to become a helm is no easy task, the RNLI describes the duty of a helmsman, ‘to use utmost endeavours to safeguard and rescue the lives of those in danger, whilst having regard for the safety of their crew’. To pass out as a helm trainee’s undergo various tasks set out by RNLI assessors over a period of time covering a wide range of scenarios, including a written assessment. James also spent time at the RNLI headquarters in Poole where he undertook several assessments and situations to test his ability and knowledge.

Speaking about the training he undertook James explained how the ‘hardest part was the final assessment’ and the pressure of knowing that it would be the ‘final tick in the box to becoming a helm by putting all the training given into one day’.

James expressed how he is looking forward to being ‘the best he can be for the lifeboat and the crew he volunteers with’.

Senior Helm at RNLI Teignmouth, Will Burton said that along with the rest of the crew and volunteers at Teignmouth RNLI he ‘would like to congratulate James on becoming the latest helm at Teignmouth RNLI’ recognising the ‘hard work and commitment it takes to achieve the required standard as set by the RNLI’.

LEFT: New Helm James Crawford