Surf Coach Safety and Rescue Course in Pembrokeshire

Classroom blocks at the farm mix with running, swimming and rescues on a Pembrokeshire beach across three days, usually from about 10am. A fourth day can be added at no extra course fee if a trainee needs more time on a skill.

Day one starts 15 minutes before the first classroom block. The beach is confirmed the evening before if that day starts on the sand rather than at the farm.

Sixteen at the time of assessment. A 400 metre swim in under eight minutes and medical fitness for running, swimming and board rescues sit alongside that.

You should already surf well enough to sit in a line-up, understand priority and turn left and right. The three days are how you rescue someone, not a first pop-up for you.

The farm building at Gupton Farm, Castlemartin, SA71 5HW is the usual day-one pin. Turn right off the main road, follow the drive, then park by the wood-clad containers and the farmhouse-style building on the left. Toilets are in the building.

Water sessions use Freshwater West or another working beach when those stretches suit the day. The pin comes the evening before if you are not starting at the farm.

Training across the three days, SLSGB membership, use of rescue boards and a wetsuit if you need one, plus tea, coffee and a kettle at the farm.

Accommodation, meals and travel to Pembrokeshire sit outside the package. Pack a lunch each day. Send your wetsuit size before you arrive.

Yes. Show you can negotiate a line-up, understand priority and turn left and right. Rescue, first aid and how a coach manages a casualty fill the three days, not a learn-to-surf week.

Rusty surfing is worth saying before you arrive. Extra time in the water first is better than struggling through a rescue you are not ready to paddle into.

Coach rescue techniques, aquatic first aid with a focus on spinal care, casualty rescue, how a beach is working that day, and the fitness pieces that sit with the award.

You run, swim and paddle rescue boards. Theory on basic life support sits next to practical scenarios on the sand and in the sea. Trainers stay with the group for each rescue.

Ordinary rain does not cancel the three days. The beach moves, or a classroom block swaps in, when swell or wind makes the planned water session unsafe.

Messages each evening carry the next day's pin. The course stays on this coast, just not always on the same stretch if a beach is closed or flat.

Swimwear, a towel, a warm dry layer, sunscreen, a packed lunch, a refillable bottle and a pen. A towel robe helps because most beaches have no changing rooms. Your own wetsuit and board are fine.

Send your size before you arrive so a suit is ready. Leave valuables at the farm or in the car rather than on the sand.

Twenty-four months from the assessment date. After that you sit the lifesaving course again if you want to stay current.

Keep membership details and the certificate somewhere you can find them. Trainers can outline the renewal at the end of the three days.

Pack a lunch each day. A kettle and a microwave are in the farm building, with tea, coffee and water. The nearest small shop is about a 15 minute drive.

Stay on site for lunch if the afternoon starts on the beach. Eating quickly and staying with the group beats losing an hour driving to town.