A new female helm for Falmouth RNLI has been appointed.

Tamara Brookes is one of three new faces in charge, including Mark Rickard and Jack Williams, to take command of the Atlantic class 85 inshore lifeboat, Robina Nixon Chard.

This follows an intensive six-month period of training which began in August 2023.

Ms Brookes, Mr Rickard and Mr Williams, all veteran volunteers of the Falmouth RNLI, completed rigorous weekly training involving various aspects of boat handling, seamanship and search and rescue.

Their final assessment on December 6 saw them pass with flying colours.

Falmouth Packet: Tamara Brookes is one of three new faces, including Mark Rickard and Jack Williams

Tamara Brookes, who joined the crew in 2017, commented after her qualification that there was "a lot of hard work and learning to trust your skills and crew".

Now she is the sole female helm at Falmouth, following in the notable footsteps of Diane Bush and Claire Angove.

Falmouth native, Mark Rickard, expressed his readiness to face any challenges as a helmsman, stating: "You never know what you’re going to face, but after putting the practice in it will be good to use these real life skills".

Mr Rickard had served on the crew previously before relocating for work.

However, upon returning to Falmouth, he re-joined the RNLI and soon discovered an aspiration to return to active duty.

Jack Williams, who enjoyed using the harbour, said that "whilst the training was intense, it was to a gold standard in search and rescue".

He joined the RNLI to "give a little back" to the community he loved.

The news comes after a record-breaking year for the station, with their all-weather and inshore lifeboats launching an unprecedented 116 services.