Recruiting

All Roberts Bank Lifeboat crew are volunteers. The requirements for joining the ships crew are as follows:

a) Pleasure Craft Operators Card (PCOC)
b) Restricted Operators Certificate Maritime ROC(M) with DSC endorsement
c) Minimum 18 years of age
d) Canadian citizen
e) Able to pass a criminal records check
f) Possess a valid passport in case of crossing into USA
g) Live within a 30 minute radius of the boat, in case of callout you should be able to get to the vessel within 20-30 mins maximum.

The PCOC and ROC(M) courses are available through all Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons. The radio course is also available online through Power Squadron Distance Learning. The Squadrons closest to Delta are Fraser, Sur-Del, and Whiterock. Alternately the PCOC may be completed online at several sites.

You should be available on Tuesday evenings and Sunday mornings for training other than callout. We meet as follows:

• Society meeting - first Tuesday of every month at Delta Cops station Tsawwassen, 7-9 pm
• Training - Tuesdays at BC Rail switching yard near Delta port, 7-9 pm
• Sundays - vessel training, 10am - 1pm

If you would like to join our team, please contact us

Required Qualification

Within six months of joining the crew, the member must meet the following unit and Transport Canada requirements:

a) Transport Canada Marine Medical
b) Marine Emergency Duties (A2) (MED A2) certification
c) Marine First Aid with CPR and AED certification
d) Marine Advanced First Aid

Other qualifications such as SEN(L), ROC(MC), SVOP, etc may be required over time. Crew will also be required to obtain a uniform at their own expense.

New Member Introduction

This section has been designed to help new members get their sea legs. As always please don't hesitate to ask any experienced crew member if you are unsure of what you need or what you should be doing. The vessel's master is also your primary resource for information and on-the-water training.

Orientation

Before you will be able to participate in active SAR or Patrol duties you must complete a new crew orientation course. This is conducted within our organization and will help you get a grasp on the basics. It includes some time on our vessel and some self-study.

Contact the training officer to arrange a time.

Equipment

The society will issue you most of the equipment that will be required, however there are a few things you should have for yourself. Most of this is covered in detail in the crew manual but we have summarized it here as well:

Society Issue

The society will issue you the following items in 1 & 2:

(1) Crew Vest - not currently used by RBLS

Suitability for current operations under review

(2)Training Materials & Documentation

Log book
Crew Manual
Study guides (where applicable)
 
(3)Personal Items - Member provided

You should pick-up the following items to complete your kit:

Dry bag

Snack bars
Spare cloths
Extra gear (gloves, hat etc...)
Spare glasses / sunglasses or contacts cases (where applicable)
Spare change
Bottle of water
Other small personal items
Rubber boots  

Optional Items

You may wish to have some of the following, but these are not required:
  
Head light (water resistant mountaineering type or equiv.)  
Handheld VHF radio - some crew members have their own radio and monitor transmissions