The date for the annual Bay Search and Rescue Sponsored Cross Bay Walk has now been confirmed as Saturday 13th July 2013, starting 9.00am from Arnside, and walking across to Kents Bank Station near Grange over Sands.

:: Click here to find out more about the walk ::

We have a simple online registration system which provides a link to a downloadable sponsor form and also creates your own online fundraising page where people can sponsor you and pay online, this also reclaims GiftAid for us at the same time and saves you handling money or chasing people. As you are registering for a sponsored walk and as this is our main fundraising event each year and is always very popular we will only accept a very limited number of non-sponsored registrations. If you do wish to walk without raising sponsorship could we suggest a separate donation to the charity instead. Thanks for your support.

In the next couple of months we will be opening the first Bay SAR Charity Shop, we are in the process of signing the lease and have a fantastic manager that'll be joining us.

We are on the look out for any keen volunteers who would like to help in the shop and also donations of items we can sell. The shop will be based in Grange-Over-Sands, if you'd like to volunteer or have items we might be able to sell please email shop@baysearchandrescue.org.uk

We will be posting our progress on both facebook and our twitter page as well as in the local press.

Bay Search and Rescue is very pleased to announce a further step forward working with Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service as BSAR Hagglund 3 and its 28ft covered transporter truck are now based at Penrith Fire Station over the winter months.

This will allow a much faster response time in the event of snow and extreme weather callouts where the 18 seater Hagglund which was originally designed as as snow mobile provides fast safe evacuation of stranded drivers, as well as being capable of vehicle recovery operations. The Hagglund and BSAR team also provide a support role to frontline firefighters during wild fires and floods.

From January 2013 we are proud to introduce a new Youth section, this will be run by Helen and Dave from our operational team. We are working with Cumbria Youth Alliance to get everything in place. This includes safe guarding policy’s and CRB's. It's open to anyone between the ages of 12-17. We are hoping to run a fun and exciting program leading to some nationally recognised qualifications. For more information please contact either Helen or Mike.

We welecomed Ian, Darron and some of the team from the AA Special Operations Response Team, we first met them during the 2009 Cockermouth Floods. It was good to find out the developments within there team and to share the changes in our team. We are hoping to do some joint training over the next few months.

Today 5 team members have completed thier Rescue 3 Swiftwater Rescue Technicians Course/DEFRA Module 3. The course was run by Paul Renwick from Rescue North East. Some photos from the last day of the course are on Flickr. This course was kindly funded by the 2011 Keswick 2 Barrow walk, a number of team members took part and the rest marshalled at Lowick

We are very pleased to announce that we have now located one of our Hagglund Rescue Vehicles in Bolton Le Sands Fire Station, building on our working relationship with Lancs Fire & Rescue assisting with Moorland Fire support and shaving over an hour and a half of our response times inland.  Further details from LFRS website here ::

Group Manager Tony Crook of Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service adds,

“BSAR is an outstanding resource staffed by a dedicated team of volunteers. This development is the culmination of a close look at incidents involving BSAR, Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service and ourselves with a view to enhancing a service that has already proved highly effective. As key partners in Lancashire’s multi-agency response to the threat of wildfires, a logical development was to establish a more strategically appropriate location for a BSAR team to combat that threat. Our fire station at Bolton-le-Sands is ideally placed. We are delighted to make the BSAR team welcome and look forward to our continued success as partners in the project.”

On Friday the 29th of June 3 team members where presented with their Queens Diamond Jubilee Medals by Davy Thompson from HM Coastguard. These have been presented to volunteers in rescue teams across the country who have served a minimum of 5 years in an operational role. Thanks to Ulverston Inshore rescue for hosting the presentation.

Photo shows Davy Thompson (HM Coastguard) presenting the medals to Mike Davis and Louis Parsons (Louis received the medal on behalf of his Dad and our Chairman Gary)

Register now for a unique walk and raise funds for Bay Search and Rescue. Our simple online system allows you to register for the walk, and will automatically provide a link to a downloadable sponsor form and your own online fundraising page (where people can sponsor you and pay online), this also reclaims GiftAid for us at the same time and saves you handling money or chasing people.

This is our main fundraising event each year so thanks for your support.

BSAR attended a joint exercise to establish operational capability in the event of moorland fires on the fells of Lancashire. Massive turnout from a range of emergency services: Lancs and Cumbria Fire and Rescue with various ATVs and 4x4s, Various Mountain Rescue Teams with 4x4s, United Utiliites and Council Countryside rangers with ATVs, Helicopter with specialist aerial fire bucket and ourselves. We deployed both Hagglunds in their new DAF 28ft box trucks, our 18tonne Volvo multi-rescue crane equipped truck (with our Kawasaki mule and fire fogging unit, and multiple 1000 litre IBC water containers) plus one Landrover and our Minibus!. Our role was to transport multiple fire crew and water to the tops of the fells. The crew could then deploy fire fogging and hoses from portable water dams which we refilled. The helicopter also deployed and refilled water drops from these dams. Lot of great lessons learned, and an appearance on Granada News, what a day! :: more pictures here ::