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The National Coastwatch Institution is a voluntary organisation and registered charity, [1] [2] providing a visual watch along the UK's coasts, and is not to be confused with HM Coastguard.
The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) was founded in Cornwall in 1994 following the deaths of two local fishermen whose boat sank within sight of a then recently closed coastguard station at Bass Point. Most of HM Coastguard's visual watch stations were closed following a period of rationalisation and modernisation.[ citation needed ]. Although never fully admitted or responsibility accepted by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency or HM Government, it was speculated within the local community that were the watch keepers' station still staffed then the fishermen in distress would have been spotted and assistance sent[ citation needed ]. Therefore the institution became established from a campaign to re-establish a visual coastal watch in Cornwall. The first NCI Coastwatch station was thus established at Bass Point, on The Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall, by November 1994.[ citation needed ]
Following the successful launch of NCI Bass Point, other stations quickly followed in Devon, Cornwall, East Anglia, Somerset, Sussex, Essex, Dorset, and South Wales. As of December 2023, there are 60 NCI stations operational around the coast of England and Wales, from Fleetwood in the Northwest, through Wales, along the south coast, and up the east coast to Filey, North Yorkshire with over 2,740 trained volunteer watchkeepers.
The Institution has a joint Memorandum of Understanding with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), and more recently UK's Border Force, and this outlines the NCI's role and provides the basis for the working relationship between the Institution and these departments. Most NCI stations have acquired, or are working towards acquiring, "declared facility status", [3] giving those NCI stations potential to participate in active operations of the UK's search and rescue organisations. Many have also achieved the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS) and, in 2023, NCI Newhaven was awarded the King's Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS).
As of December 2023, the NCI's 2,740-plus uniformed trained volunteer watchkeepers maintain a visual watch along part of the UK coastline with 60 established NCI watch stations. These stations provide a daily visual watch in all weathers, monitoring marine radio channels, sea conditions and weather, using radar and providing a listening watch in poor visibility. All emergencies are reported to the appropriate authorities for action, the majority of NCI work being working mainly with HM Coastguard and other statutory authorities. Most NCI stations are staffed on a daily basis providing a regular daily watch from 8:00 am to dusk. In 2022 a total of 274,543-person-hours watch was performed by NCI watchkeepers, recording over 222,458 commercial, military and leisure vessel movements, and reporting a total of 826 incidents to HM Coastguard, fire, police and ambulance services, of which 336 were NCI-initiated lifeboat rescues. All this work was carried out at no cost to the public purse.[ citation needed ]
All volunteers are provided with training in visual observation techniques, marine chart-work, Ordnance Survey mapping, critical reporting, marine radio procedures, and radar, ensuring all volunteers reach the standards expected by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
The NCI works with HM Coastguard, the MCA, the RNLI and the other emergency services. In 2023, some of the 852 incidents reported by NCI to the MCA ended with the call-out of the RNLI lifeboats, RAF air-sea rescue, MoD ordnance units, fire, ambulance and other rescue agencies. These incidents included vessels sinking, vessels on fire, vessels in danger and distress, swimmers, surf boarders and kite boarders in difficulties, inflatable toys with children on board being blown out to sea, persons fallen over cliffs, persons washed off jetty, land fires, dangerous munitions washed up, personal injuries, and so on.
In addition, many hundreds of minor incidents were dealt with including informing the coastguard and police of lost, found and missing children, distressed marine wildlife, ordnance on beaches, chemical drums, large carcasses and dangerous debris washed up.
2019 saw the twenty fifth anniversary of the foundation of the National Coastwatch Institution. A national office is now open in Liskeard, Cornwall. [4]
NCI contributes to SAR by maintaining a visual lookout (‘Spot, Plot, Report and Respond’) around the coastline.
All NCI stations have, or are working towards achieving, Declared Facility Status from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency. DFS outlines what MCA expect from NCI stations, this includes the training and skills watchkeepers are expected to have and what equipment lookouts are expected to have. For watchkeepers this includes but is not limited to, understanding VHF Mayday, Pan Pan & Securite and the associated procedures, communication protocols for working with SAR assets, observation techniques, plotting and chart work, understanding of emergency beacons and operation of AIS / radar terminals. For stations this includes but is not limited to high power binoculars, VHF Radios, nautical charts, AIS / radar and usually a weather station and CCTV system.
Once a station has achieved DFS it is listed as an asset within the Search and Rescue community.
| Chief Officer | National Trustee | Regional Coordinator | Regional Staff Officer | Station Manager | Deputy Station Manager | Station Officer | Certified Watchkeeper | Watchkeeping Assistant | Member / Trainee |
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| Assessor | Assessment Team Member (No longer issued) | Cadet | |||||||
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The National Coastwatch Institution maintains 60 operational Coastwatch stations around the coastline of England and Wales, at the following locations:
Polruan is a coastal village in the parish of Lanteglos-by-Fowey in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is bounded on three sides by water: to the north by Pont Creek, to the west by the River Fowey and to the south by the English Channel and neighbours village Bodinnick to the north, connected by a 4-mile walk along the hill tops. Polruan is very steep and well protected from the prevailing winds and Polruan Pool is a haven for small boats.
Sutton may refer to:
His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is the section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible, through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament, for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within the UK Maritime Search and Rescue Region. This includes the mobilisation, organisation and tasking of adequate resources to respond to persons either in distress at sea, or to persons at risk of injury or death on the cliffs or shoreline of the United Kingdom. Since 2015 it has also been responsible for land-based search and rescue helicopter operations.
Beacon Hill may refer to:
Hartland Point is a 325 ft (99 m) high rocky outcrop of land on the north-western tip of the Devon coast in England. It is three miles (5 km) north-west of the village of Hartland. The point marks the western limit of the Bristol Channel with the Atlantic Ocean continuing to the west. This location was known to the Romans as the "promontory of Hercules".
Gwennap Head is a headland on the south coast of the Penwith peninsula, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is within the parish of St Levan and approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Land's End, and less than 1 mile (1.6 km) north-west of Porthgwarra, the nearest village. The area of Gwennap Head is designated as part of the Penwith Heritage Coast and also designated as part of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The South West Coast Path closely follows the coastline around the headland.
Stepper Point is a headland on the Atlantic coast in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at grid reference SW911781. Stepper Point and Pentire Point stand at either side of the mouth of the River Camel; Stepper to the south-west, Pentire to the north-east.
Gorleston South Pier Lighthouse and Coastwatch watch station is located in the town of Gorleston in the English county of Norfolk. The lighthouse and station is located at the end of the south pier of seaport on the south side of Great Yarmouth.
The New Year Honours 2000 for the United Kingdom and New Zealand were announced on 31 December 1999, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2000. The Honours list is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom. Honours are split into classes ("orders") and are graded to distinguish different degrees of achievement or service, most medals are not graded. The awards are presented to the recipient in one of several investiture ceremonies at Buckingham Palace throughout the year by the Sovereign or her designated representative. The Prince of Wales and The Princess Royal deputised for The Queen.
NCI Froward Point is a National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) lookout station at Inner Froward Point, at the easterly side of the mouth of the River Dart, two miles by coastal path from Kingswear in Devon, England. Its twin duties are to maintain a daylight watch over the local coastal area and the South West Coast Path on whose route it lies. With some significant blind spots because of the coastline, NCI Froward Point covers the coastline from Start Point in the West towards Brixham in the East.
St Alban's Head is a headland located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) southwest of Swanage, on the coast of Dorset, England. It is the most southerly part of the Purbeck peninsula, and comprises an outcrop of Portland Stone from the overlying Lower Purbeck Stone. It is part of the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site. It is designated a Special Area of Conservation under the European Union's Habitats Directive.
NCI Portland Bill is a National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) lookout station on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. The station is situated 50 metres above sea level on the cliff edge, half a mile north of the tip of Portland Bill. It is located close to the Old Higher Lighthouse.
{{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)All watch keepers are trained to a high standard and stations will be expected to achieve Declared Facility Status (DFS) within 18 months of opening.
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Media related to National Coastwatch Institution in Norfolk, England at Wikimedia Commons
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