NEWS IN DETAIL...
Splashing about with the Gadget Show
A Cornwall College Sports & Public Services lecturer joined the Gadget Show and their presenters on Fistral Beach in Newquay this month when they visited Cornwall for their new World Tour series.
Darren Keal, who has worked for Cornwall College since 2004 and has been involved with a water and event safety team for ten years now, was approached to provide the water safety for the Gadget Show team. With also being a lifeguard assessor and part of Newquay Coastguard cliff rescue teams, along with Powerboat P1 and Zapcat rescue teams, Darren was the obvious choice.
The programme is to air on Monday 28th May on Channel 5 at 8pm as part of their World Tour series. The fifth in the series which has already visited The Alps and Monaco, California, and New York, visits Newquay, Cornwall to test mobile phones in an extreme environment to see how waterproof they are.
Darren took to the water on a jet ski to oversee the water safety and also helped brief the presenters Pollyanna Woodward and Jason Bradbury. He commented: “I spent the day looking after the pair and ensuring that they were kept safe from the dangers of power boating in waves in Cornwall. They took to the water in two Royal Marine Zapcats and they can get to speeds of up to 50mph!”
“Their aim was to attempt as co-pilots a mobile phone call despite the elements; it was interesting to see how the technology coped with what was thrown at them! Pollyanna and Jason were friendly people and we chatted about the Gadget Show tour and how nice it was for them to be back in the UK.”
This is not the first time Darren has been asked to provide water safety at an event; Powerboat Superstock Championships in Plymouth this weekend have also asked him to provide water safety.
Dave Linnell, Principal of Cornwall College commented: “It’s great to see Darren involved in so many amazing teams that are providing an essential service to water sport enthusiasts. His skills are recognised at a national level and this is such an achievement. We are proud to have him on our team and to be able to utilise his skills for the next generation.”
