Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeguards in Pembrokeshire recently bid adieu to French lifeguard Mathieu Charpentier, who has been doing his bit to keep the public safe on Pembrokeshire’s beaches this summer.
Mathieu, aged 24, left his home in Rennes in Brittany to come to the UK in mid-May to work with RNLI lifeguards in Wales over the summer season as part of an exchange programme.
Mathieu’s summer stint followed on from an exchange visit to France by RNLI West Division Deputy Divisional Lifeguard Manager Phil Davies in November 2009, where Phil spent nine days with the French equivalent of the RNLI to help run an advanced lifeguard course in Brittany.
Mathieu also spent a few weeks in Devon as part of the exchange. Although Matthieu hails from Rennes, which is about 60 to 70 miles from the coast, he has spent his last three summers lifeguarding on beaches near Lorient in southern Brittany, while also doing a finance and accountancy degree at Rennes University.
Mathieu plans to complete his final year as a student this year and look at his future career options but still aims to continue lifeguarding in the future.
He says he has enjoyed his stay in Wales and feels he has learned a lot. He hopes he has been able to pass on useful aspects from his French lifeguarding experience during his time in Wales and says he will take back useful lessons from his stay.
Mathieu recounted what he thought were the key lessons of his four months in Pembrokeshire: ‘There are differences between the way the service is run in France and here in Wales.
‘A big difference is that in Wales most lifeguards are from the local area and go home at night. But in France they come from every part of France and stay on site at their location for two months over the summer.
‘I have really enjoyed being part of the team here in Pembrokeshire. The lifeguards here are very level-headed and professional. The quality of the service provided is excellent.
‘One of the hardest things for me to adjust to was learning the first aid. Of course many of the techniques are similar but there are some important differences as well.
‘The biggest lesson I would take back to France, or what has impressed me most, is quality of the equipment provided by the RNLI for lifeguards on the beach. I think it is amazing that the RNLI is a charity and that the public donate money to help keep it going.
‘I have stayed with a number of lifeguards during my visit and everyone has made me very welcome. I hope that many of the lifeguards will come and visit me in France and I am pretty sure there will be further exchange visits between us in future.’ Pembrokeshire area lifeguard supervisor Chris Rigby said: ‘Learning from each other, Mathieu and I spent many evenings discussing how we do things and sharing rescue stories. He certainly will be remembered by all the team and the many people in Pembrokeshire that he helped throughout the summer.”
