Poss abandoned Yacht in Cove Dawlish

[mil1194]

I once came across a car in a local ditch, down an unfrequented country road. It took quite a bit of gritting my teeth to go and investigate, not knowing what I might find, but knowing that if I did find anything, then it might not be pleasant! Fortunately, there was no one in the vehicle, and on closer inspection, there was a police-aware notice that wasn't visible from the road.

Been there and done that a few times - thankfully they’ve been empty everytime but you never know until you check….

 

[Capt Popeye]

Sorry about the No Photos , my chip was inadvertantly take at max res so them will not load up on here

Anyways now done the 999 call and Coastguard are aware of it

I stressed the urgency as if the 'Tide n Wind' are in the right (or wrong) direction this Yacht could leave the sanctuary of the Cove and sail the Seas on its own ! maybe causing a real alert to Coast Guards

 

[Capt Popeye]

Well having posted on our Local FB pages ; it appears that a Homeless Man was sleeping on it , but he has now disapeared ; so best its taken care of before it does go out to the open sea , i guess

 

[ylop]

You called 999 for a boat that’s been there for days and was no immediate risk - only if the tide/wind turn? You’ll have been popular. Presumably google was down that you couldn’t find a non emergency number for the ops room?

 

[KevinV]

You called 999 for a boat that’s been there for days and was no immediate risk - only if the tide/wind turn? You’ll have been popular. Presumably google was down that you couldn’t find a non emergency number for the ops room?

All the effort Popeye put in, when he could easily have ignored it, and you pick him up on that? I'm sure that if the CG were upset with him they'd have said.

 

[Fimacca]

There is a lot of boat dross up and down the exe, I travel past a lot on the train. Not surprised there are free floating boats around there. I see many Half sunken and water filled abandoned tubs, but with little way to recycle them - what can the council do?
I keep looking for my old 26ft yacht there, it looked green and abandoned the last time I passed near starcross.....she was soooo tidy when I sold her to an old chap I knew would not be able to keep her nice.

 

[Capt Popeye]

You called 999 for a boat that’s been there for days and was no immediate risk - only if the tide/wind turn? You’ll have been popular. Presumably google was down that you couldn’t find a non emergency number for the ops room?

All the effort Popeye put in, when he could easily have ignored it, and you pick him up on that? I'm sure that if the CG were upset with him they'd have said.

Thank you both : well I tried very hard to NOT use the 999 number , sent emails etc , but all the emails returned as - these emails are not monitored regularly - so try 999 ; so after half a day i dialled the 999 , fella asked lots of questions etc , took my mobile number , then stated that he (they) will investigate it , poss sending someone along to look at it

It might appear , from local FB pages that there are now 2 craft , this Yacht plus a cabin motor boat which are tied up together ; so wiil go thbere this morning with my camera set to a much lower res setting then take some photos

 

[Capt Popeye]

There is a lot of boat dross up and down the exe, I travel past a lot on the train. Not surprised there are free floating boats around there. I see many Half sunken and water filled abandoned tubs, but with little way to recycle them - what can the council do?
I keep looking for my old 26ft yacht there, it looked green and abandoned the last time I passed near starcross.....she was soooo tidy when I sold her to an old chap I knew would not be able to keep her nice.

Humm well I also agree and at same time feel disapointed : I sold a nice clean n tidy 18ft OB Cabin boat ast year to a fella ; who had retired and was intending to go angling ; Last time I called in to the yard to check it out , t'was filling up with rainwater , looking well neglected ; I am both puzzled and dissapointed by apparent no actions or care ; maybe he is unwell ?

 

[KeithMD]

I'm very glad that @Capt Popeye cared enough to make the effort. As the RNLI often says in its TV programmes, better a "false shout" than "no shout".

Actually, after looking at the Coastguard website, I've just realised they don't make it easy. Obviously there's the 999 route when it's clearly immediate danger. But what when it's not?

Office access and opening times

Office address and general enquiries
Southampton
Main switchboard
0203 817 2000

What if we're trying to help and contact the "local branch"?

Brixham coastguard station closed in 2014
Last day for Brixham coastguard station

Teignmouth (Ivy Lane) closed in 2021
Safety fears as town loses its 200-year-old Coastguard station

"A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: "The Teignmouth Coastguard Rescue Team will be moving to a new station, at Dawlish, in January 2021. "The site at Dawlish was selected following a comprehensive search for a new site in Teignmouth, however, a new and suitable site to support the work of our Coastguard Rescue Team was not found in the town. A decision was subsequently made – with funding secured – to select Dawlish as a new base for the team."

Anyone know where it is?

I wonder what percentage of the general public are aware of the National Coastwatch Institution - which has tried to fill the gap.

"The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) was founded in Cornwall in 1994 following the deaths of two local fishermen who’s fishing boat sunk within Visual distance of a recently closed coastguard station at Bass Point. Most of HM Coastguard's visual watch stations were closed following a period of rationalisation and modernisation "

National Coastwatch Institution - Wikipedia

NCI station map
Stations | National Coastwatch Institution

Looks like the nearest is Teignmouth
Teignmouth | National Coastwatch Institution

 

[srm]

Reputedly, a senior CG official commented, quite a few years ago, that it would be most cost effective to have a single watch centre managing the whole UK via remote radio stations. (Sorry no reference). My last contact with UK CG was from the Western Isles, IIRC it was handled by Glasgow CG.

I also tried to find a CG none 999 contact for the OP near the start of this thread, all I could find was a Facebook page for Dawlish Rescue Team but did not see a local contact number.

As the CG is operating via remote controlled radio sites the easiest way to contact them is probably by marine VHF with a routine traffic call. Not much help for a concerned member of the public.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Thank you both : well I tried very hard to NOT use the 999 number , sent emails etc , but all the emails returned as - these emails are not monitored regularly - so try 999 ; so after half a day i dialled the 999 , fella asked lots of questions etc , took my mobile number , then stated that he (they) will investigate it , poss sending someone along to look at it

It might appear , from local FB pages that there are now 2 craft , this Yacht plus a cabin motor boat which are tied up together ; so wiil go thbere this morning with my camera set to a much lower res setting then take some photos

Wouldn't 101 (the non emergency police number) have worked? The police must have channels through which to contact the coastguard, and given the possibility of there being a missing person, I'd have thought they'd investigate. I've rung that number a couple of times, and they've been efficient and helpful, as well as thanking me for taking the trouble to report something "odd".

 

[laika]

Wouldn't 101 (the non emergency police number) have worked? The police must have channels through which to contact the coastguard

Based on my experiences with 101 I’m going to go with “no”. I have never had any success with the police attending to police matters via this route never mind the coast guard. My last experience was when I tried to report a (presumably stolen as it looked fairly new) moped dumped in a canal with the number plate visible. The person at the other end of the phone said she couldn’t log it without a post code, even though I had the gps coordinates .

I sincerely doubt you’d get traction on asking for something to be referred to the coast guard, although I’m willing to be told otherwise.

I concur that the coast guard don’t make it easy to report somethingthat looks dubious but isn’t an emergency. The first few hits on Google only mention 999. As sailors we might navigate to the right web page. I think I’d call fareham for a problem in dawlish but I could understand anyone wondering whether Falmouth might be more appropriate.

101 could be far better used. In my experience it’s a shambolic waste of time

 

[Dellquay13]

The CG station numbers are in the Reeds almanacs
I’ve got the Milford Haven one saved in my phone and MMSI on my vhf, just in case

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Based on my experiences with 101 I’m going to go with “no”. I have never had any success with the police attending to police matters via this route never mind the coast guard. My last experience was when I tried to report a (presumably stolen as it looked fairly new) moped dumped in a canal with the number plate visible. The person at the other end of the phone said she couldn’t log it without a post code, even though I had the gps coordinates .

I sincerely doubt you’d get traction on asking for something to be referred to the coast guard, although I’m willing to be told otherwise.

I concur that the coast guard don’t make it easy to report somethingthat looks dubious but isn’t an emergency. The first few hits on Google only mention 999. As sailors we might navigate to the right web page. I think I’d call fareham for a problem in dawlish but I could understand anyone wondering whether Falmouth might be more appropriate.

101 could be far better used. In my experience it’s a shambolic waste of time

Of course, when you ring 101 you're routed to the police force that covers your area - and doubtless they vary in efficiency! My experience is with Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

 

[laika]

Of course, when you ring 101 you're routed to the police force that covers your area - and doubtless they vary in efficiency! My experience is with Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

mine has in all cases been with the met. Glad to hear that elsewhere it's not simply a ruse to classify "stuff we're not going to waste your time for and not do anything about". I do agree that the concept of 101 as a number for reporting all non-emergency issues including the coast guard would be ideal.

 

[Capt Popeye]

Well visited the Boat Cove this pm , the yacht is adorned with Tape , clearly showing Coast Guard on it : think that another well used rope has been attatched t'ween Yacht and railings ; that will not stop the yacht riding higher on to rocks given a Spring Tide : ah well , at least I now know that someone with Coast Guard tape has seen /visited the Yacht
photos below , hopefully

Thanks all

Sorry but files are all to large , so back again Friday am CP

 

[sarabande]

Popeye

do you know how to use e.g. Imgur to post pics on the forum ? I use it and you don't need to adjust your camera's resolution; Imgur does it for you .

 

[ylop]

All the effort Popeye put in, when he could easily have ignored it, and you pick him up on that? I'm sure that if the CG were upset with him they'd have said.

If they were quiet at the time they probably didn't care - but you have no idea if they are juggling a bunch of 999 calls and VHF traffic in relation to something actually urgent.

I'm not sure why other people find it difficult to find their local CG MRCC number - first hit on google with a sensible search term:
Office access and opening times

Have none of you ever had reason to call the CG before?

Reasons I've phoned them:
1. I had been having routine traffic with them in a dodgy location with worse than forecast weather and they asked me to call on VHF when I made it to a safe haven. The harbour was actually a VHF blackspot so I couldn't get them, so called.
2. I walked back on the causeway from Crammond island on a rising tide one evening and passed half a dozen underdressed teenagers who seemed to be expecting their slab of beer to keep them warm and didn't seem to care the tide was coming in. [I believe the local CGRT made it to them in time to more assertively explain the error of their ways avoiding the lifeboat getting paged at 3am when one of them learned the hard way!]
3. I've called to discuss a trip involving multiple small boats (I emailed plans over several weeks in advance but they asked me to call them to chat about it).
4. I've called to report lost equipment.

Wouldn't 101 (the non emergency police number) have worked? The police must have channels through which to contact the coastguard, and given the possibility of there being a missing person, I'd have thought they'd investigate. I've rung that number a couple of times, and they've been efficient and helpful, as well as thanking me for taking the trouble to report something "odd".

i suspect 101 might have given him the CG number, but if they weren't too busy they may have passed it on themselves. I think the danger with calling the police is they probably don't understand the significance and if it doesn't sound like an emergency or a crime they will be a bit lost.

QUOTE="srm, post: 8156142, member: 7705"]
Reputedly, a senior CG official commented, quite a few years ago, that it would be most cost effective to have a single watch centre managing the whole UK via remote radio stations. (Sorry no reference). My last contact with UK CG was from the Western Isles, IIRC it was handled by Glasgow CG.[/quote] must have been a veeery long time ago - I don't recall Glasgow ever having an MRCC - there was one at Greenock until 2012 - which was described as Clyde Coastguard, but I don't think the automated joint working arrangments were in place until that closed. The Clyde (along with the southern hebrides as far north as the corrywreckan are routinely serviced from Belfast Coastguard. Everything north of the there is dealt with by Stornoway, but if times of peak demand either, or indeed any station in the UK could be handling the calls both by VHF and phone. That's much more sensible than the phone ringing out if you are in the middle of a major incident.

I also tried to find a CG none 999 contact for the OP near the start of this thread, all I could find was a Facebook page for Dawlish Rescue Team but did not see a local contact number.

CG Rescue Teams are mostly volunteers and based from buildings which are not routinely manned (as part lifeboat stations). They are tasked by the MRCC. Perhaps I was naive to think that all fellow sailors would be aware of this and how to find their local office, who have always been extremely professional and welcoming.

 

[srm]

Perhaps I was naive to think that all fellow sailors would be aware of this and how to find their local office, who have always been extremely professional and welcoming.

Thank you for your words of wisdom.

Perhaps by looking at the sidebar to my post you would realise that I do not have a local UK CG. However, reading your detailed list of calls I have contacted local UK CG stations far more times than you have, but then I have probably been playing this game a fair bit longer than your esteemed self. Post #19 above being just one example.

I totally endorse your comments about CG being professional and welcoming - always. Before VHF was normal on small yachts we would often walk to the local station or lookout when on passage to check the forecast before deciding to head off on the next longish leg

Way back in the 80's there was a fairly low ranking volunteer role for Auxiliary Afloat, to extend eyeball coverage that I was happy to be part of, simply by reporting departure and arrival, even if only a few hours apart. That was with my third yacht and first with a VHF. When based in the UK I knew how to contact my local CG stations, but that was when they were in the places we could expect to find them such as Kirkwall, Lerwick and Stornoway.

Incidentally, Dawlish is on the one short stretch of the UK coast that I have not sailed along, though have passed it on survey vessels.

 

[srm]

Sorry, keystroke error.