I STARTED my working life as a surf instructor in Ceredigion, working on beaches along the coast between Poppit Sands and Borth, writes Vinny Vincent, Ceredigion RNLI lifeguard supervisor.

When the RNLI took over the lifeguard service in Ceredigion in 2009 I was struck by the charity’s professionalism and level of training, and wanted a piece of the action. I joined the following season and have worked for the RNLI for the last eight years.

In 2013 I made the step up from a senior lifeguard to lifeguard supervisor and have been working alongside two other supervisors since then, running the lifeguard service across the county and north Pembrokeshire.

As lifeguard supervisors in Ceredigion, we look after a team of 50 lifeguards, who work on 10 lifeguarded beaches, during the summer peak season and an area support centre which is our office and storage warehouse.

The RNLI’s purpose is to save lives at sea and this is what we aim to do day in, day out on our beaches during the summer months.

I have always lived by the sea and have spent most of my time surfing, windsurfing, fishing, sailing, and coasteering on many of the beaches I now work on. During my youth I always hoped that I would end up in a career that involved the outdoors and the sea, and this is one of the reasons why I love my job so much.

My favourite thing about the coast is that it has many different moods that change with the weather and conditions. This means that no two days are the same; you never know what you are going to get next.

My day to day work is very varied and changes with the seasons. The lifeguards are on the beaches in Ceredigion from May to September, so in the months of January and February my work mainly involves planning the season ahead and recruiting the 50-strong lifeguard team that look after our beaches throughout the summer. I am also an assessor trainer for the Surf Lifesaving Association of Wales and run and assess many lifeguard courses for surf lifesaving clubs across Wales.

Read the full feature in this week’s south editions, on sale now