Cliff Nelson, Beach and Open Water Programme Manager at RLSS UK, tells of the latest NWSMP course he ran this week.

I had the pleasure of running a National Water Safety Management Programme (NWSMP) Instructor Course Whitmore Bay, Barry, Wales, this week (November 17-19). Six professionals who work on or near water, three from the prestigious Atlantic College, joined me at the recently refurbished lifeguard building, which used as a base, for three days of water safety training.

At 9am, day one, in blistering sunshine but with a chilly temperature of 3C, all candidates donned drysuits and trekked along the Ogmore River, looking at different river hazards including stoppers, eddies and strainers.

A land-based exercise was conducted to practise the use of throwlines, before all the candidates entered the water (5C temp) to practise simulated rescue in a real environment.

All candidates commented positively on the benefit of practising in cold water which was great to hear (I have included a comment below from Linn Kathenes, Expedition Manager at True Adventure, who was on the course).

After all of our hard work, as a bonus, we were all invited by the Atlantic College lecturers to have lunch at their college, http://www.atlanticcollege.org/, where we got to have food in the castle.

The training was part of the NWSMP, which includes in-water rescue. Exposure to very cold water is good for candidates to experience the effects of cold water on the body and to highlight the dangers posed when taking groups around the water margins.  The exercise provides the opportunity to practise rescues and highlight the difficulties encountered in river environments.

Increasing demand meant that three further Instructor courses were also run between the 27-29 October, 3-5 November and 17-10 October. A total of 23 Instructors were passed.

Well done all!

To find out more about the NWSMP click here.

“The NWSMP course was invaluable in learning the correct techniques in water rescue and cold water environments – essential for my role. The fact this took place in a real environment with simulated rescues made it all the more valuable and I would highly recommend this course for anyone who works on or near water. It is a must, in my opinion,” Linn Kathenes, Expedition