Station Manager InterviewFor this Blog entry we interviewed Colin Church, Station Manger of NCI Gosport, to find out more about NCI and how the Gosport station operates.
Q. We know that the NCI Gosport station overlooks the harbour entrance at Fort Blockhouse, but when did it first open ?
Colin. The station opened in 2008 and has been in continuous operation since then, apart from a brief hiatus due to the covid lockdown.
Q. How many volunteers man the station ? How many are there at any one time ?
Colin. We have about 60 volunteers - more formally called ‘Watchkeepers’ - at Gosport. We open the station at 9am each day with two watchkeepers on duty; they hand over to another two at 12.30pm. In the summer months another two come on duty at 4pm; they close the station at 7.30pm. We have an online rostering system so that watchkeepers can choose what days and times they wish to be on duty. On average each watchkeeper will be on duty about three times per month.
Q. Can anyone be a watchkeeper ?
Colin. Yes; our current watchkeepers come from all walks of life. Some have a maritime background, many do not. We have our own training scheme for new volunteers so that everyone attains the same level of maritime knowledge.
Q. What other facilities do you have in the station ?
Colin. We have five separate radios, tuned to different marine VHF channels, two handheld radios, a landline phone and a backup mobile phone, and a PC. The PC is predominantly used for an active AIS display. We also have a weather station; the information from this is accessible from our web page.
Plus a range of maritime charts, plotters, binoculars, telescopes, and a pelorus. The lookout station is pretty compact, we probably cant fit much more in to it ! Here are a couple of pictures of the station interior.
Q. There are a lot of radios in those pictures. What radio channels do you monitor ?
Colin. The coastguard channels 16 and 67, QHM’s channel 11, our own channel 65, and the SAR channel 0.
Q. What takes place during a watch ?
Colin. Apart from some routine work, the main task is to monitor the radios and to look out of the window. If we see a vessel or person who is in distress or danger, we can issue a Mayday call on their behalf to the Coastguard. If we hear a Mayday on the radio we will try and locate it visually so that if need be we can pass information to the Coastguard.
Q. Do you just respond to mayday calls ?
Colin. No, we also try and locate vessels that have issued PanPan calls and keep an eye on it in case the situation worsens, and again in case we can pass information to the Coastguard. We also try to keep an eye on vessels and people that may be vulnerable for one reason or another.
Q. Do you only look out sea-wards ?
Colin. As well watching out to sea, we also monitor the activity in Portsmouth harbour, the sea walls, and the beaches and coastlines. This is a rought composite of some photos that show our view up-harbour and from the round tower towards Southsea Castle.
Q. Do you ever contact the harbourmaster (KHM) as well as the Coastguard ?
Colin. We will phone or radio both of these if there is an incident occurring that warrants it, though thankfully this is rare. More often our contact with QHM is to point out a small vessel that they may not have noticed or a swimmer off hot walls too close to the main channel with a strong tide running.
Q. What about other organisations ?
Colin. If we see something on land or the beaches that needs an emergency services response, we will make a normal 999 phone call, and if we see dangerous or unsocial behaviours such as tombstoning we will call the Portsmouth Community Wardens.
Q. You mentioned ‘vulnerable’ vessels. What do you mean by that ?
Colin. It’s a long list ! Basically, it is any vessel that causes us a safety concern for any reason. It might just be a very small vessel like a kayak or paddleboard, an overloaded vessel, crew who are not wearing flotation aids, vessels not conforming to harbour regulations, powered vessels that do not have a kill-cord attached.
Q. How many incidents did you get involved with last year ?
Colin. NCI Gosport participated in 19 incidents last year. Happily these did not include any mayday situations but there were things like vessels running out of fuel, having engine failure, groundings, capsize, man overboard, and a paddleboarder losing an oar.
Nationally, NCI participated in about 700 incidents last year. In about half of those, NCI watchkeepers raised the alarm. The number of incidents that NCI participates in has been growing year-on-year; back in 2008 the incident count was 147. This growth is cause in part by the way the number of NCI stations has been growing, but also reflects the way that the use of the water for leisure has been increasing.
We have also taken a proactive approach to water safety and education in conjunction with the QHM by capturing incidents of water borne anti-social behaviour. These are then followed up by the Port Safety Officer Becky. We have also recently appointed our own Water Safety Officer and the role is being developed.
Q. Is there anything else you provide for boat users ?
Colin. Yes, we offer a radio check service on VHF Channel 65. In fact, the Coastguard prefer boat users to call Gosport NCI on this channel rather than using Channel 16 or 67 as it reduces clutter on 16 and 67 and reduces their workload.
We can also offer an AIS check. And if users call us on Channel 65 or by phone on 023 9276 5194 we can also tell them about the weather and water conditions, including tide, at the harbour entrance. Readings from our weather station are also available on the internet at www.NCI.ORG.UK/Gosport
Q. Is there anything you would like to add in closing ?
Colin. Yes. It is to remind readers that our station is a manned entirely by volunteers who give their time freely, and that new and existing NCI stations can only operate with the support – moral and financial - of the public and local businesses.
