Does the closure of local coastguard stations save lives ?

[clyst]

Yesterday day having spotted a canoeist capsize and become separated from his canoe I phoned the CG .......what a pantomime followed . Don't know where the station i was speaking to was located but it took about 10minutes to satisfy the operator of the casualty's location . Questions such as ...if I stand with my back to the land is the casualty to my right or left , where exactly am I stood etc . Obviously the poor operator didn't have any knowledge of the area . In the old days mod plod or inshore life boat would have been there in an instant .
As it happened a jet ski attended and canoe and casualty were brought ashore and no harm was done . I got the impression that the casualty was unperturbed by the whole incident .

 

[Sandy]

Did your phone not have a GPS? You could have told the operator that and they could have put it into their computer and zoomed in to exactly where you were standing then moved a Google Spy Satellite so they could see you. Confirming our position by saying look up and wave

 

[Topcat47]

I tried to alert the police and ambulance services to an accident in rural Hampshire a few years ago. The 999 call was routed to a centre in Manchester. The operator was completely unable to locate us on her mapping system as neither I nor the casualty had a GPS or a road atlas. The operator wasn't able to find Petersfield on her system, never mind the local village. While I was on the Phone, a country bus stopped to help and even the bus driver couldn't provide enough information to allow the operator to locate us. He remained with the casualty while I found a house with someone in. She rang 999 as well and as she could give the new and different operator a postcode, we eventual got an ambulance. The police attending came from West Sussex. There was approximately 20 minutes delay in getting the paramedics on their way. CGC Fareham is going to be just as bad.

 

[clyst]

Did your phone not have a GPS? You could have told the operator that and they could have put it into their computer and zoomed in to exactly where you were standing then moved a Google Spy Satellite so they could see you. Confirming our position by saying look up and wave

Being on land strangely not . If I did don't you think I would have ?.

 

[Hipchick]

These incidents can be very confusing. We were at anchor in Rodney Bay, St Lucia when we heard a bang. Though something had broken somewhere but a few minutes later a very distraught lady went to the boat next to us and shouted, help me help me, my husband's shot himself, I think he's dead. We were without our dinghy as were waiting for it to be returned after a repair, so got on the radio to call for help. The mayday should have been heard by the local marina who should have been listening, but was answered by the Martinique coastguard who wanted co ordinates. We quickly explained where we were and that and ambulance and land services were needed but they insisted on co ordinates. Someone else then butted in and it was a bit of a circus. Eventually after about 45 minutes, the marina helped and called an ambulance. The poor guy didn't make it The time delay made no difference in the end.

 

[ShinyShoe]

answered by the Martinique coastguard who wanted co ordinates. We quickly explained where we were and that and ambulance and land services were needed but they insisted on co ordinates. Someone else then butted in and it was a bit of a circus. Eventually after about 45 minutes, the marina helped and called an ambulance.

Why did it take you 45 minutes to get some co-ordinates? Either switch on your GPS and read the numbers after 1 minute when the sat's are ready or if you are on paper and pencil then you presumably know where you are anchored etc. So mark a cross on the chart and read the numbers off.

Snag is there could be more than one "Rodney Bay" and they send the resources to the wrong one. Even if there is only one Rodney Bay you tell them you are 1 mile South of Rodney Bay... ...it would be very common for the incident to actually be 1 mile North and you meant Rodney Bay is 1 mile South.

 

[ShinyShoe]

Yesterday day having spotted a canoeist capsize and become separated from his canoe I phoned the CG .......what a pantomime followed . Don't know where the station i was speaking to was located but it took about 10minutes to satisfy the operator of the casualty's location . Questions such as ...if I stand with my back to the land is the casualty to my right or left , where exactly am I stood etc . Obviously the poor operator didn't have any knowledge of the area . In the old days mod plod or inshore life boat would have been there in an instant .
As it happened a jet ski attended and canoe and casualty were brought ashore and no harm was done . I got the impression that the casualty was unperturbed by the whole incident .

Do you know that resources hadn't been allocated already? While the cavalierly are turning out they may as well confirm you have given them the right locus. They don't know you have a YM certificate and a million years experience on a boat, you dialled 999 like other members of the public do. They were keeping you on the phone, so that when the LB gets to where you said to go and says there is no canoeist there they can ask you if its still there and you can see a LB. If you say yes and no they can check the location again (better still while keeping you on the phone lets check that location to avoid wasting time).

You say 10minutes - was that a measured 10minutes (i.e. from your phone call log) or what felt like 10 minutes. Time in situations like that can seem to take an age. Last 112 call I made was to the police about obstructions on the carriageway. Call placed while I was still driving at 60-70mph. Wasn't a stressy call as I wasn't looking at cars coming hurtling towards objects on the road having swerved round it myself and then carried on. When I came off the phone I thought "god - she had me on the phone for ages. She had the incident location, number of objects, direction of travel, more detail on incident location, my name, my address, my phone number" I then passed the next exit on the motorway. There are only 3 miles between the exits, so in reality I had dialled 112, been connected to Cable & Wireless, Transferred to Police call centre, answered all those questions and travelled less than 3 miles while doing 60 MPH so less than 3 minutes.

 

[Hipchick]

We gave the coordinates very quickly, there was no confusion as to where we were, just no coordinated response, people butting in and general chaos. The poor man's wife went on the radio and called for help too which confused things even more as she was very distraught iand incoherent. I know how to find coordinates thank you.

 

[Sandy]

Being on land strangely not . If I did don't you think I would have ?.

Strange the GPS on my phone works on land and sea.

 

[fisherman]

Just before they closed the CG lookout at Bass point the watchkeeper saw that a small yacht he was watching had not reappeared when a large ship passed between: took a close look and saw it had capsized and a life was saved. They closed the lookout anyway. About the same time I heard the Gwennap head CG calling a diveboat for about twenty minutes. Finally the diveboat called the CG to report a diver overdue, and the Cg was able to tell them he had been watching him for twenty minutes and conned the boat to him. Who needs a visual watch?

Two or three years ago the Penzance NCI was witness to a murder in a small rowing boat between Penzance harbour and St Michaels Mount. I believe there has been a significant number of rescues initiated by the NCI.

 

[alant]

Strange the GPS on my phone works on land and sea.

I've read a Peter Tomkin novel, where they had GPS in a submersible @ 3000+ metres.

 

[Sandy]

I've read a Peter Tomkin novel, where they had GPS in a submersible @ 3000+ metres.

Wow, either they had a very, very long antenna or some very interesting technology on-board. I wonder what the bit rate was?

 

[clyst]

Strange the GPS on my phone works on land and sea.

I have no doubts that your phone does however mine ,being of an age before gps was installed in phones,has no such facility ,
However, I do note that your stupidity and sarcasm appears to have no bounds.

 

[alan_d]

However, I do note that your stupidity and sarcasm appears to have no bounds.

Projection perhaps?

You told Camelia, rather crossly in my opinion, when he asked if you had GPS on your phone "Being on land strangely not." Camelia was understandably puzzled by what being on land had to do with it, and the answer seems to be "nothing". You then explained that it was because your phone was not "smart" (fair enough, neither is mine) but went on to comment disparagingly on Camelia's intelligence and style of interacting.

 

[Sandy]

I have no doubts that your phone does however mine ,being of an age before gps was installed in phones,has no such facility ,
However, I do note that your stupidity and sarcasm appears to have no bounds.

Then I apologise if I misunderstood you explanation.

Projection perhaps?

You told Camelia, rather crossly in my opinion, when he asked if you had GPS on your phone "Being on land strangely not." Camelia was understandably puzzled by what being on land had to do with it, and the answer seems to be "nothing". You then explained that it was because your phone was not "smart" (fair enough, neither is mine) but went on to comment disparagingly on Camelia's intelligence and style of interacting.

It is understandable, I read things as they are written and reply accordingly, that added with a cynical and very, very dry West Highland sense of humour can lead to misunderstandings.