HELICOPTER Search and Rescue services were handed over at 9am on New Years Day, marking an end to over 40 years of partnership with the Royal Navy.

At 9am on Friday, January 1, 2016, Bristow Helicopters Ltd, based out of Newquay, officially took over the contract for the UK on behalf of HM Coastguard.

The Sea King helicopters of Rescue 193 from the 771 Squadron based at Culdrose in Cornwall have provided the Search and Rescue services for the South West since 1974.

The Royal Navy performed their last training session with Salcombe RNLI in June, in front of cheering spectators lining the estuary.

Hundreds gathered to watch the Sea King helicopters work with the RNLI lifeboats, lifting and dropping crewmembers from the helicopter to the lifeboat and back again, with every manoeuvre and banking of the chopper met with cheers and the waving of RNLI and Royal Navy flags.

The event had a real sense of occasion, with the Navy helicopter’s arrival heralded by the sounds of their rotors and children excitedly screaming ‘they’re coming!’

The noise of those Navy rotors must have been the most welcome of sounds to the vast numbers of people awaiting airlifting from stricken boats or cliffs over the last forty years or more.

Videos of that last training session can be found on our Facebook page: South Hams Newspapers, and on the Salcombe RNLI page.

One rescue, where the helicopter and the volunteer RNLI crew out of Salcombe were called out on Monday, September 15, to a stricken converted fishing vessel with four on-board; was said by the Royal Navy crew to be the worst weather they have flown in, ending in the four people being airlifted off the boat.

The RNLI lifeboat battled four to five metres swells to reach the vessel and found it to be too dangerous to establish a tow and the boat was abandoned.

Matt Davies, spokesman for Salcombe RNLI, said: ‘The Sea King helicopters from Rescue 193 from the 771 Squadron based at Culdrose have been a fantastic sight in the skies over the South West for many years.

‘Over the years we have worked closely with them on numerous occasions during operations and have regularly trained with them.

‘Everyone at the station would like to say a huge thank you to all of the crews at 771 Naval Air Squadron based at RNAS Culdrose, it has been fantastic to work alongside you. Looking ahead, we look forward to working with the crews from Newquay and taking search and rescue operations forward.’

Reggie Gough, Search and Rescue Winchman Paramedic and Search and Rescue Technical Crew Instructor who will be running operations from Newquay, said: ‘The excellent service provided by Royal Navy 771 Search and Rescue Squadron at RNAS Culdrose over the past 40 years does, indeed, mean we have big boots to fill.

‘However, we are hugely confident that, with the introduction in the South West of the Sikorsky S92A Search and Rescue Helicopter - with its state of the art technology, and the very latest in search and rescue and medical equipment - we can perform on a 21st century platform and be a beacon in the advancement of search and rescue services.

‘We are all passionate about providing an excellent search and rescue service to the South West. Having gone "live" on January 1, we are already earnestly providing this service.

‘ALL Newquay pilots have served tours at Culdrose during their previous military service and all but one of the Technical Crew – Search and Rescue Winchmen Paramedics and Search and Rescue Winch Operators – have previously been based at 771 NAS Culdrose.

‘We are extremely fortunate to have a great wealth of SAR experience and all crews are excited at operating in this area with an aircraft and equipment with such ground breaking technology.’

The service launch was marked in a ceremony in Newquay in December, where Richard Parkes, Director of Maritime Operations at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency officially opened the base and said:

‘HM Coastguard has been providing search and rescue helicopter services in northern Scotland and southern England for over thirty years. Today I am immensely proud to welcome the Newquay civilian base to the service.

‘I would also like to pay tribute to the outstanding work that RNAS Culdrose has carried out over many decades, both inland and out to sea. We will ensure that their legacy is continued.’

Samantha Willenbacher, Director of UK Search and Rescue at Bristow Helicopters Ltd, said: ‘It is an incredibly proud day for us all as we officially mark the launch of the Newquay SAR base.

‘I would like to acknowledge the dedication of 771 SAR Squadron personnel who have delivered an exceptional SAR service, and to underline our commitment to working tirelessly to continuing their legacy.’