Meet Your Coastguard: TV series special

We listened to Trevor Cutler as he talked us through an incident in the final episode of behind-the-scenes documentary Coastguard (available to watch again on My5), as his team coordinated the evacuation of a crew member from a hard-to-access part of a commercial vessel docked at harbour.

It is not the typical sort of incident the team, who are specially trained in cliff rescues, respond to but it does show the expertise on offer from a Coastguard Rescue Team.

“It has been one of our rarer incidents, casualty vessel evacuations are not something we often do as it’s quite rare for our expert help to be needed onboard,” Trev said. “Ships often have difficult to reach areas but on this occasion the guy had fallen in a really inaccessible part of the ship, and he was in a lot of pain, it was a really bad break.

“The only way off the ship was via a big ladder, right at the edge of waterway – so there were a lot of factors to consider and a detailed plan needed, to ensure we could safely get him off the vessel and into the back of an ambulance.”

Trevor, who is into his fourth decade as a search and rescue expert, explained that it was his role, as Officer In Charge (OIC) that day, to plan the evacuation.

“It turned into one of the more difficult rescues for the team actually,” he said. “The crew member was going into shock and then the tank started leaking and the water was freezing, so suddenly time was against us and the evacuation became more urgent.

“But the only way to do it was to lift him up on the stretcher and pass him across a body of water, strapped to a board, so I really had to carry out a full risk assessment and plan ahead to make sure we could do it safely.

“I even considered requesting a helicopter but, due to the downwash, I knew this wouldn’t work. It does show how quickly things change in an incident and how you need to adapt as the circumstances shift.”

Despite the time and commitment it takes to volunteer, the 52-year-old has no plans to hang up his helmet.

“I’ve pretty much seen it all,” he said. “It’s my life now. I can’t imagine not having that to do.

“My missus is really supportive, and that’s been so important – despite having left her all over the place over the years, out shopping, at dinner, bedtime, breakfast, so many times I’ve just looked at her and she’s nodded and just told me to be safe.”

In fact, as the Station Officer, Trev said that he treats each Coastguard Rescue Officer as a part of his personal friends and family.

“We’re really close,” he said. “We spend time together outside of our Coastguard roles and get on well. We’re a good team, I genuinely love them all.

“Being a coastguard is a big commitment, but it’s worth it.”

He added that he had had some amazing experiences as a result of his role in the Coastguard, with a big highlight being meeting the Queen (which he described as 'just amazing, very special').