Is coast watch the answer

[Seastoke]

just thinking they are a good idea but relying on volunteers ,cant be as good as coast guard . What do you think

 

[Oscar24]

Potentially, for local knowledge their in a better place then the coast guard working out of a call centre imo.
Only issue is the volunteer nature of the service and the patchy nature of their lookouts. It may have improved thou.
Im not sure how they interact with the coast guard but i have used them for a radio check on ch65 and they helpfully obliged. :encouragement:

 

[BruceK]

The RNLI rely on volunteers and that works. Id rather have an eager "amateur" than none at all.

 

[Andrew M]

The Coastwatch gentlemen have been brilliant, helpful and really useful each time we've rounded Portland. They've given me good info on the state of the inshore passage each time we've used it , I think they're great.

 

[Poignard]

A friend of mine is a Coast Watch volunteer and I know he takes his duties very seriously.

 

[IDAMAY]

The Coastwatch gentlemen have been brilliant, helpful and really useful each time we've rounded Portland. They've given me good info on the state of the inshore passage each time we've used it , I think they're great.

+1

 

[Plum]

just thinking they are a good idea but relying on volunteers ,cant be as good as coast guard . What do you think

You ask, "is coast watch the answer". The answer to what? Coastwatch do a good job, but I was not aware they were trying to be as good at the Coastguard.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[prv]

Coastwatch do a good job, but I was not aware they were trying to be as good at the Coastguard.

They're a lot better at keeping a visual lookout (Coastguard's view out the window is the A27 and an Estée Lauder makeup factory), and a lot worse at tasking helicopters. What would they even be trying to be "as good" at?

And unless they're having difficulty filling their watch rotas (which I haven't heard of) then why should it make any difference whether the staff are employees or volunteers? Once they're in the chair, they're all just people.

Pete

 

[ari]

...cant be as good as coast guard .

Having heard (third hand fortunately) a coastguard operator floundering in the face of a reported possible fire on a boat in the Solent (lots of referring to someone further up the food chain at the call centre it sounded like. After about 10 minutes they decided calling out the lifeboat was probably the answer), I'm not convinced that our modern inshore call centre coastguard is at quite the pinnacle we like to believe.

They're good at replying to radio checks though, they always sound super professional doing that.

 

[maby]

They're a lot better at keeping a visual lookout (Coastguard's view out the window is the A27 and an Estée Lauder makeup factory)...

Pete

Realistically speaking, nobody has ever kept a comprehesive visual lookout on our coastline - you would need many thousands of lookouts stationed at intervals of ten miles, give or take, sitting in little huts with binoculars all day long. Whatever you think of the Coastguard reorganisation, I don't think you can criticise it for the loss of visual lookout - that never really existed to any meaningful extent.

 

[longjohnsilver]

A friend of mine is a Coast Watch volunteer and I know he takes his duties very seriously.

+1

We have good coverage, Exmouth, mouth of the Dart (Froward Point, with a very useful webcam) and Start Point.

 

[Firefly625]

I think its bloody brilliant. They are certainly not wanting to replace the coastguard, but be an eye on coastal station to assist mariners.

I know one of the chaps that assists with the volunteers training at the Needles and I had the opportunity to spend an hour sitting with 2 volunteers in the Needles NCI on a very windy day mid week last year. Firstly I would say what an incredible view you get from up in their tower... I could sit there all day! But I was interested to know what they did as there appeared to be nobody about! I was amazed that they had been monitoring the progress of 3 boats, one a small coaster headed into the Needles channel and two sailing boats headed out to Poole or beyond. The two sailing boats could only be seen with their powerful binoculars, the coaster was in eyeshot. They were noting down position and progress at regularly intervals of all three and looking out for any other boats approaching. They were particularly concerned about one of the sailing boats as it was small and having a rough time of it and they regularly following its progress. They said when conditions are rough this is what they do, but they said they keep a watch on every boat heading in and out the needles regardless how busy it is, when its windier obviously it becomes quieter for traffic which gives them time to monitor individuals far closer. So when you next go through the Needles and think nobody is watching you, that's most likely not the case.

https://needlesnci.org.uk/

 

[sprocker]

The Coastwatch gentlemen have been brilliant, helpful and really useful each time we've rounded Portland. They've given me good info on the state of the inshore passage each time we've used it , I think they're great.

+2

 

[Montemar]

I know NCI people well and they take their jobs very seriously. Their motto is "eyes along the coast".
They are a very useful source of local information and a lookout for local problems. They would be alerting the RNLI or coastguard and helping them get to a dangerous situation.
We were in Lymington in fog some time ago and hesitated about going to Weymouth in case it got worse. We called the NCI at Swanage who said full visibility where they were so we set off.
Once we got into Christchurch bay we could see a fog bank sitting over the Lymington area. The NCI really helped us.
There is also a lookout ar St. Albans Head who are right on top of some tricky sea and are better sited for a sitrep than anyone else.
I feel they augment the coastguard.

 

[Seastoke]

I wasn’t being critical about them , it must be difficult to get volunteers as it’s a long day there appears to a shortage around wales, I don’t have numbers as it was told by a volunteer. I just would not want the coast guard to be replaced .

 

[BruceK]

I wasn’t being critical about them , it must be difficult to get volunteers as it’s a long day there appears to a shortage around wales, I don’t have numbers as it was told by a volunteer. I just would not want the coast guard to be replaced .

To the best of my knowledge ours are located at Point Lynas giving them reach between Menai and Cemaes, then Holyhead Coastguard. For the South Side of the island there is Porth Dinllaen and Rhoscolyn which covers all of Cardigan Bay.
For Conwy Bay we have the watch on The Great Orme. Pretty extensive imo.

 

[Seastoke]

To the best of my knowledge ours are located at Point Lynas giving them reach between Menai and Cemaes, then Holyhead Coastguard. For the South Side of the island there is Porth Dinllaen and Rhoscolyn which covers all of Cardigan Bay.
For Conwy Bay we have the watch on The Great Orme. Pretty extensive imo.

Well did come in handy ,when you were crossing a RN shelling zone

 

[Hot Property]

I went from Hamble to Brixham in a 7 metre sports boat in May. Called up NCI Calshot for radio check then used all their stations down to Portland for first hand weather and sea state updates. I think they are brilliant and much underestimated.

When it comes to donations they score above the well funded RNLI in my view!

 

[maby]

I went from Hamble to Brixham in a 7 metre sports boat in May. Called up NCI Calshot for radio check then used all their stations down to Portland for first hand weather and sea state updates. I think they are brilliant and much underestimated.

When it comes to donations they score above the well funded RNLI in my view!

Fully agree - I have a lot of respect for them. We used to be berthed close to NCI Gosport and I would usually call them for a radio check and to get a recent weather forecast. I've never known the Coast Guard to actually object to a request for a radio check, but you often get the impression that the person holding the microphone is rolling their eyes and mouthing "yet another RC" to their colleagues. The NCI guys actually seem to like being called!

 

[dunedin]

Realistically speaking, nobody has ever kept a comprehesive visual lookout on our coastline - you would need many thousands of lookouts stationed at intervals of ten miles, give or take, sitting in little huts with binoculars all day long. Whatever you think of the Coastguard reorganisation, I don't think you can criticise it for the loss of visual lookout - that never really existed to any meaningful extent.

I am sure they do a great job on the long relatively straight coastlines of the South coast of England. But they don’t cover the majority of the U.K. coastline - which due to the geography of inlets and islands is primarily in the North & West of the U.K. No NCI there, and as many says would be totally impractical to do so. Folks have to be more self sufficient, particularly as lifeboats are also very sparse by comparison, over an hour away often.