Portaferry RNLI Helm Scott Blackwood Has Passed Out To Manage Inshore Lifeboat At Sea
Scott Blackwood (29) originally from Newtownards, has been appointed as the new helm at Portaferry RNLI after undergoing rigorous training.
Scott moved to Portaferry in 2020 to be closer to his partner Nicole and joined the lifeboat crew shortly afterwards.
As a RNLI helm, Scott is now a senior member of the volunteer crew and will take charge of the inshore lifeboat at sea.
Also he will be responsible for the safety of the crew onboard, and for decisions made during a rescue.
Scott said: ‘I’m very proud to take up this new role. I’ve spent a lot of time around boats throughout my life and it’s something I always wanted to achieve.
‘Nicole is also a RNLI volunteer and she sparked my initial interest in joining. I’m really glad I did. We have a great crew at Portaferry lifeboat station and I’m grateful for all their support during my training.
‘I’d like to thank Lenny Fourie, a coastal lifeboat trainer for Ireland, who travelled up from Kinsale to carry out the assessment and pass out, and James Gillespie, lifeboat helm from Bangor who kindly came to helm the boat during my pass out.”
Lifeboat Operations Manager, Heather Kennedy said: ‘Scott has shown great maturity in stepping forward to train as lifeboat helm.
“He has worked incredibly hard, completed extensive training and passed rigorous assessments to qualify for this role. In stepping up to helm, he will continue to be a great asset to Portaferry lifeboat station.’
 originally from Newtownards, has been appointed as the new helm at Portaferry RNLI after undergoing rigorous training){kind=link}