The Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew and Newcastle lifeguards brushed up on their skills near Bar Beach on Monday, conducting coordinated training exercises ahead of the busy summer holiday period.
The team practiced sending a critical care paramedic down a wire and winching up a patient - a dummy - while the on-board medical crew went through their paces with a live volunteer.
Chopper service spokesman Graham Nickisson said the simulation was a normal part of training and the crew was preparing for a busy few months ahead.
"When people go on holidays, we go to work," he said.
Meanwhile, four people were recognised for their efforts in rescuing a 50-year-old man and his teenage daughter after a yacht capsized off the coast of Stockton last year in an incident that claimed the lives of three elderly people.
Graeme Anderson, Sean Flanagan, Sean Valance and Tim Starkey were on Monday given commendation awards by the Australian National Search and Rescue Council.
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