Coastguard Stations close No listening watch on 16

[Ydnacoop]

Just been talking to a couple of coatguard friend of mine and they tell me that the proposed closure of coatguard stations in the UK will result in
Just 80 radio operators for the whole of the UK and that the present listening watch on ch16 will be removed. In addition they hinted that the present weather forecasts will be downgraded as this info is available elsewhere

I suggest we sail 2000 yachts up the Thames to the Houses of Parliament and see how the Thames and Parliament deals with it.

In the meantime I suggest we need to contact our MP and ask the question about safety and service. No ch 16 means about 50% will not be able to make a Mayday without someone with DSC helping. Their intention is to use DSC only for distress alerts.

Why not write to the PM's office and if someone sets up a petition on the downing street website then we need to take action NOW.

No weather and No ch 16 watch affects all our safety. and only 80 radio ops for the whole of the UK centralised ? will result in longer explanations of where you are and how fast you are sinking.

People power reversed the forestry sell off don't let then put your life at risk.

 

[ghostlymoron]

I understood that the listening watch on channel 16 had officially finished sometime ago although I have had no problem contacting Milford Haven and Holyhead coastguards last year. I would like to say that these guys and gals have always been extremely helpful, polite and have never pulled me up for my poor radio operating skills.
I hope their skills will be re-deployed and these invaluable people not confined to the scrap heap.
On the subject of poor radio skills, I have done the RYA operators course but whilst the syllabus covered SOS and emergency procedures well, I didn't get much knowledge on routine communication.

 

[Talbot]

Anybody remember how to make a mayday relay call on DSC ??

 

[ghostlymoron]

Anybody remember how to make a mayday relay call on DSC ??

Nooooo
I'd advise all sailors to upgrade to DSC

 

[Twister_Ken]

Where has the OP been for the last 10 years?

(Sail? Up the Thames to Westminster?

Not since the invention of bridges.)

 

[Ubergeekian]

Just been talking to a couple of coatguard friend of mine and they tell me that the proposed closure of coatguard stations in the UK will result in
Just 80 radio operators for the whole of the UK ...

How many are there under the current system?

I suggest we sail 2000 yachts up the Thames to the Houses of Parliament and see how the Thames and Parliament deals with it.

Of course Parliament might quite reasonably ask how you would like to pay for the service.

 

[prv]

How many are there under the current system?

Usually seems to be two on air at any given time at Solent, one on 16 and one on 67.

18 stations, so 36 operators on if they're all two-up in the same way. Not sure how good an assumption that is in lesser-travelled areas.

If the figure of 80 was for active operators on air, it would be a big increase in coverage, so we have to assume it's the total number of personnel doing the job. So then we have to try to figure out what their "utilisation" (as my work would say) is - how many people do you need to fill each 24/7 position, allowing for shifts, holidays, sickness, training, etc? And hence how many positions are actually filled at any given time.

Pete

 

[Beadle]

I suspect this is scaremongering.

I have not heard of this in any proposals I have seen, first thought is why have 80 operators if they are not listening to the radio?

 

[prv]

Of course Parliament might quite reasonably ask how you would like to pay for the service.

Using some of the savings from scrapping the entire MCZ project

Pete

 

[pvb]

Just 80 radio operators for the whole of the UK and that the present listening watch on ch16 will be removed. .......No ch 16 means about 50% will not be able to make a Mayday without someone with DSC helping.

I too suspect this is scare-mongering. Can you provide any links which actually support these claims? I'm intrigued that you believe the UK coastguard will no longer listen to the international distress channel!

 

[savageseadog]

Epirbs

 

[Spyro]

Of course they'll still be listening on 16, what a load of rubbish. Where did you get your info.

p.s. Welcome to the forum

 

[pvb]

Of course they'll still be listening on 16, what a load of rubbish. Where did you get your info.

It seems to be the desperate ramblings of a few of the less able CG staff, who can see possible redundancy or transfer as an inevitable result of the reorganisation. There are similar threads on other forums, always started by people who "heard it from someone who knows".

I imagine, as the changes start to take shape, we'll be treated to many more ridiculous scare stories.

 

[ProDave]

I did my VHF SRC 2 weeks ago, and we were informed that constand monitoring of channel 16 is no longer guaranteed already.

It aparantly used to be there was one CG operator constantly monitoring ch16 just for distress calls, but that is no longer the case.

We were advised channel 16 would almost always be monitored, but a DSC distress call first would ensure you had their attention.

 

[pvb]

I did my VHF SRC 2 weeks ago, and we were informed that constand monitoring of channel 16 is no longer guaranteed already.

It aparantly used to be there was one CG operator constantly monitoring ch16 just for distress calls, but that is no longer the case.

We were advised channel 16 would almost always be monitored, but a DSC distress call first would ensure you had their attention.

Yes, in days gone by they had what was called "headphone watch" on Ch 16, then they went to "loudspeaker watch", which sounds much more sensible than having a dedicated person glued to headphones. But, regardless, Ch 16 will be monitored.

 

[gjgm]

Just been talking to a couple of coatguard friend of mine and they tell me that the proposed closure of coatguard stations in the UK will result in
Just 80 radio operators for the whole of the UK and that the present listening watch on ch16 will be removed. In addition they hinted that the present weather forecasts will be downgraded as this info is available elsewhere

I suggest we sail 2000 yachts up the Thames to the Houses of Parliament and see how the Thames and Parliament deals with it.

In the meantime I suggest we need to contact our MP and ask the question about safety and service. No ch 16 means about 50% will not be able to make a Mayday without someone with DSC helping. Their intention is to use DSC only for distress alerts.

Why not write to the PM's office and if someone sets up a petition on the downing street website then we need to take action NOW.

No weather and No ch 16 watch affects all our safety. and only 80 radio ops for the whole of the UK centralised ? will result in longer explanations of where you are and how fast you are sinking.

People power reversed the forestry sell off don't let then put your life at risk.

Well, I am sure many of them do a fine job, but its pretty pointless spending all day in the Solent answering calls for a radio test. So, then we are down to emergencies; fair enough, buy a dsc if you want some help.
I cant see the location of the operator makes any difference to your rescue. I dont think he is peering out the hut window with a telescope, so he could just as well be in another country. Long and Lat is the same however far the radio link is.
Of course if you want to tell him you are near that black rock by the headland, maybe you deserve what is about to hit you

 

[Thistle]

I cant see the location of the operator makes any difference to your rescue. I dont think he is peering out the hut window with a telescope, so he could just as well be in another country. Long and Lat is the same however far the radio link is.
Of course if you want to tell him you are near that black rock by the headland, maybe you deserve what is about to hit you

There are many possible scenarios where providing lat & long by voice might be a tad inconvenient, to say the least. In those cases it is perfectly acceptable to give a bearing and distance from an easily recognised landmark. An operator with local knowledge, dealing with a restricted patch, would probably know where you were if you said you were 1 mile, 270 degrees from Tarbert. A more remote, less knowledgeable operator would almost inevitably have to ask "Which Tarbert? There are several of them." This introduces delay and the possibility of confusion at a time when these should be strenuously avoided.

I agree that DSC may be one way round it (though many here would argue that it isn't a particularly good way) but DSC is not yet mandatory and there are still many non-DSC sets (including almost all handhelds) in use.

 

[prv]

Of course if you want to tell him you are near that black rock by the headland, maybe you deserve what is about to hit you

What if you're a kid on a bike, who can see a bunch of grockles in an inflatable beach toy being blown out past that black rock by the headland? Not much good when you dial 999 on your mobile and the person in the callcentre won't do anything without a lat and long.

Pete

 

[Robin]

What if you're a kid on a bike, who can see a bunch of grockles in an inflatable beach toy being blown out past that black rock by the headland? Not much good when you dial 999 on your mobile and the person in the callcentre won't do anything without a lat and long.

Pete

You mean the person in the call centre is too stupid to ask where the kid on a bike is? Most kids on bikes know where they are and the bunch of grockles in a beach toy can't be far away unless the kid on his bike is using 12 x 50 binoculars.

 

[Martin_J]

It seems like the dedicated listening watch via headphones was ceased over seven years ago.. 22 Sept 2003 according to the news at the time. Oh, doesn't time fly!

http://www.yachtingmonthly.com/news/406779/many-maydays

Reason given - Other methods of calling the coastguard coming into existence such as DSC, Satcomms and mobile phone calls possibly increased their workload rather than decreasesd it...