Littlehampton, Bracklesham Bay, Channel Mayday.

Mark-1

Mark-1

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Have three questions.

Saw a largeish Ship leave Littlehampton at around 16:30 yesterday. What was it? What was it carrying, how far up the Arun do they go?

The two drying wrecks in Bracklesham Bay labelled on the chart as 'target'. Both have their own cardinal post. What's the story behind them? All that's left is concrete.

Anyone know the story & outcome of the MOB Mayday off St Cats just before lunchtime today? It sounded serious.

TIA.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Anyone know the story & outcome of the MOB Mayday off St Cats just before lunchtime today? It sounded serious.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sounded like a MOB, guy appeared OK at first but then decided to airlift off, quite amazing at the number of times CG had to request "Mayday Silence" and the guy who responded that he was only calling his mate!!
 
Littlehampton is restricted to very small coasters and gravel boats. They have to dry out over low water on berths the other side of the retracting footbridge. Size is all about width and draught and swinging length, c5,000t. Last few years have mainly seen steady gravel trade with very occasional visits from general cargo vessels such as HOO TRADER

The two targets were put out in the bay during WW11 I believe they were orginally old barges of description.

B
 
Don't have my charts with me & it's a while since I've dived in the area but there is a sunken Mulberry Harbour about 1.5nm east of the entrance to Pagham. This used to be bouyed but may have a post now. Depth of water is around 12m but the wreck is only just under the surface at the high point. Each unit was constructed of concrete, towed across after D-Day & sunk to make a harbour. Close to the mulberry, there are a couple of sunken barges. Under-water there used to be a rope-way you could follow to go between the wrecks.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Anyone know the story & outcome of the MOB Mayday off St Cats just before lunchtime today? It sounded serious.

[/ QUOTE ] Glad you got to Littlehampton eventually. We heard the Mayday too and they helicoptered the casulaty to hospital. They flew over us as we were sailing up Portsmouth Harbour and landed at Horsea Island, which I suppose is the nearest landing site to QA Hospital.
 
Having followed the Mayday it reinforced an important lesson, The CG asked the boat why he had delayed by 60 minutes after the MOB recovery and before calling CG, the boat replied that casualty at first appeared OK.

I hope it worked out OK but emphasises the need to seek immediate medical assistance for MOB
 
I think the lesson is to always consider the MOB a mayday firstly why did they fall overboard - feeling unwell ? and secondly what are the consequences (shock) of a sudden cold bath especially to an older person!
 
[ QUOTE ]
I think the lesson is to always consider the MOB a mayday firstly why did they fall overboard - feeling unwell ? and secondly what are the consequences (shock) of a sudden cold bath especially to an older person!

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...and possible secondary drowning, if any risk of inhaled sea water.

W.
 
We heard the mayday too but to be fair to other users, the mayday related traffic was sporadic with long silences and it would have been quite easy to have just switched on, listened for a minute or two, not heard anything and inadvertantly broken the "selonce mayday"
 
mulberry was not marked last time I was mucking about in that area. On Big springs i have seen it awash, the Park is not an area to going bumbling around in unless you have local knowledge quite correctly being marked foul ground.
I believe the cassions were cast in Pagham ( launched from the beach) and Littlehampton and then sunk in the Park to hide them from the Germans. A few did not refloat I guess.

Another local story is that the bar was blown up at Littlehampton but this then let the water right out of the harbour and just left a ditch, - have no idea if this is right or just a pub tale.


B
 
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it would have been quite easy to have just switched on, listened for a minute or two, not heard anything and inadvertantly broken the "selonce mayday"

[/ QUOTE ]
I thought that - as this was some of the very little traffic we heard ... perhaps CG should broadcast a blip every minute following a mayday broadcast during a mayday situation - ie Mayday called and CG acknowledged - wait a minute, blip, wait a minute, blip, more CG/casualty traffic, wait - 30 seconds, more traffic, wait a minute blip ...
would only need to be a microsecond.... but would indicate to anyone listening that there was ongoing casualty working on 16 so SHUT UP!
 
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