The Severn Area Rescue Association (affectionately known as SARA) will be holding a “Public Open Day” on Sunday 24th May 2015 at their Chepstow based Lifeboat Station & Rescue Training Centre.
On display will be “Swiftandbold” the Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) serving the Newport, Avonmouth, Chepstow & Gloucester areas of the Severn Estuary. There will also be demonstrations by SARA’s other life-boats including Beachley’s largest vessel the “Joe Harris” which is due for replacement later this year at a cost of approximately £220,000.
Mr Mervyn Fleming, SARA’s Western Region Commander and Chairman of the Beachley Lifeboat & Rescue Centre said, “SARA has been the lifeboat service on the Severn Estuary for over forty years; from small beginnings at Tutshill near Chepstow SARA has grown into one of the largest multi-disciplined rescue agencies in the UK with rescue stations at Chepstow, Sharpness, Kidderminster, Tewkesbury and Newport (South Wales). Not only serving the estuary and it’s tributary rivers as the designated Lifeboat Service, SARA is also the Mountain & Land-search centre for the area with highly trained flood-rescue teams capable of responding to national disaster.”
During the Open Day there will be displays of SAFRA’s specific Casualty, Rescue, Mountain, Mud, Ice and Lowland-search equipment and skills and supporting displays from police, fire and rescue emergency services.
On display for the first time will be the newest addition to the SARA fleet of ambulances will be a cutting edge “Incident Support Vehicle” simply bristling with aerials and technical equipment to assist the teams when involved in emergency incidents (it makes good tea too!).
Also on show will be “Mobile 20” a 2015 Land Rover – Disco Sport on loan from Jaguar Land Rover through The Prince’s Countryside Fund and recently presented to Beachley Lifeboat & Rescue Station by TV presenter and well known farmer Adam Henson.
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Address: THE LIFEBOAT & RESCUE STATION, BEACHLEY, CHEPSTOW NP16 7HH
Parking for over 200 cars courtesy of the 1st Battalion the Rifles. From Chepstow take the A48 for Gloucester and follow signs for Sedbury and “Old Ferry Slipway”.
