The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) is a voluntary organisation set up in 1994 to restore a visual watch along UK shores after many small Coastguard stations closed due to Government cutbacks. NCI is a registered charity and controlled by a board of Trustees with a Constitution agreed by the Charities Commission.NCI stations have been set up along the coast from Lands End in the South West to Hartlepool in the North East. Each station keeps a watch over its own particular area whether it is a popular seaside town, busy port or shipping area. Accidents will always happen at sea and along the coastline, wherever there is an NCI station a watchkeeper will be looking out for danger and ensuring your safety on the water.
Each Station is manned by a team of fully trained and dedicated volunteers who keep a daylight watch up to 365 days per year. Stations are equipped with telescopes, radar, telephone and weather instrumentation as well as up to date charts. Close contact with the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) aims to promote stations to Declared Facility Status in order to become an integral part of the National Search and Rescue Structure.
Watchkeepers come from all walks of life and offer a wide range of skills and experience. Full training ensures that all volunteers reach the high standard expected by the NCI and MCA. Regular assessments take place at all stations and retraining programmes are held to maintain standards, and to keep watchkeepers up to date with latest legislation or improved operational procedures.
Watchkeepers are the eyes and ears along the coast, keeping a visual watch, monitoring radio channels, using radar and providing a listening watch in poor visibility. Watchkeepers remain vigilant at all times. Surveillance work is mainly routine but watchkeepers are trained to act in an emergency, report to the MCA and if required co-ordinate with the search and rescue services.
A log of all water-based activities is kept during each watch, and if required weather conditions can be passed to yachtsmen and fishermen before they set to sea. Also with the new generation of web cams we can identify sea conditions for those who wish to check on the weather or sea state prior to doing any watersport activity, hopefully reducing the need for MCA response and RNLI call-outs. Also during each watch other activities such as canoeing. diving etc are closely observed, as are bathers, walkers and climbers who walk our shoreline.
When on watch watchkeepers provide a vital link with all the emergency services and can provide an emergency contact point on land for both sea and shore users.
Watchkeepers come from all walks of life and offer a wide range of skills and experience. Full training ensures that all volunteers reach the high standard expected by the NCI and MCA. Regular assessments take place at all stations and retraining programmes are held to maintain standards, and to keep watchkeepers up to date with latest legislation or improved operational procedures.
Watchkeepers are the eyes and ears along the coast, keeping a visual watch, monitoring radio channels, using radar and providing a listening watch in poor visibility. Watchkeepers remain vigilant at all times. Surveillance work is mainly routine but watchkeepers are trained to act in an emergency, report to the MCA and if required co-ordinate with the search and rescue services.
A log of all water-based activities is kept during each watch, and if required weather conditions can be passed to yachtsmen and fishermen before they set to sea. Also with the new generation of web cams we can identify sea conditions for those who wish to check on the weather or sea state prior to doing any watersport activity, hopefully reducing the need for MCA response and RNLI call-outs. Also during each watch other activities such as canoeing. diving etc are closely observed, as are bathers, walkers and climbers who walk our shoreline.
When on watch watchkeepers provide a vital link with all the emergency services and can provide an emergency contact point on land for both sea and shore users.
We recently had the privilege of being invited into the station during a visit to Swanage. This station is open from 8.00 - 17.00, 364 days of the year. We were shown some of the equipment they use and the daily log book
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