Mayday Relay!

 

A dramatic event made the headlines during the summer as can be seen from the newspaper extract above. Watchkeepers Janet and Mike were on duty that evening in the NCI Lookout tower at Fort Blockhouse; the following is Janet’s account of what happened……


"Back in the summer I was on watch with Mike for the evening. The tide had just turned and being ‘springs’ it was rushing out of the harbour.

Things were quietening down from a busy day with swimmers, jumpers and large groups of youths on the beach. When we saw a group that had been playing with an inflatable ball at the waters edge watching the ball floating out with the tide. One of the youths started to swim after it. We realised he was not going to be able to catch it up and decided it looked as though he was going to get into difficulties.

We initiated a mayday relay to the coastguard on Channel 16. After the initial call it was a case of following the instructions given by the coastguard and answering their questions. It was reassuring that local vessels were following a dual watch and also heard the initial call and offered to help. The ball was long gone out of sight and the lad was picked up at no 3 Bar Buoy (thus showing how far and how quickly he had been taken by the tide) by a fishing vessel and transferred to the police launch to be brought into safety at the camber.

The Isle of Wight car ferry had also stopped and sounded its horn drawing attention to the incident.

We were given an incident number from the coastguard and did the relevant paperwork before informing the management team. The following day I had a call from Colin and Chris asking how I was, which was kind of them.

Apparently this was the first time that we at Coastwatch had initiated a Mayday Relay. I was very glad I had Mike on duty with me as to deal with this incident by myself would have been quite traumatic. Hopefully the lad has learnt his lesson as had we not seen him and reacted as we did I shudder to think what the outcome would have been. "

Just to add a few editorial comments…..

…. Just for information… a Mayday Relay is the term and prowords used when issuing a Mayday call on behalf of some other person or vessel which cannot make the call themselves.

…. Janet and Mike have also mentioned that having made the Mayday Relay call, VHF Channel 16 then got very busy, with a lot of other vessels ….. some of which were well out of area…. calling in to offer help. This increased their workload and somewhat impeded necessary communication with the Coastguard. Offers of help are good (and in fact, vessels are legally required to assist others) but it’s also good to listen first to understand where the event is happening.

…. And finally…. Rare though these sorts of events are, they are the sorts of things we are trained to deal with and are there to see and react to. But we are all volunteers and receive no official funding. Please help us keep doing what we do by making a donation to keep our station open and operating. You can do this online by visiting our donation page here…. https://www.nci.org.uk/stations/donations

Mayor of Gosport 100 Award.

The Mayor of Gosport, Cllr Jamie Hutchison, presented special awards in November to help mark the 100th anniversary of Gosport becoming a borough.

Cllr Hutchison said: "As part of the borough's 100th anniversary, I wanted to celebrate the achievements of people who make a difference in our community. They could be people who organise community events, or who do valuable work like caring for others or litter-picking. The list of possibilities is endless - I'm just looking for people who have made a positive contribution to their neighbourhood or the borough as a whole."

NCI Gosport was nominated for an award, which was presented to Station Manger Colin Church at a recent ceremony. This is his account….












"Following his recent visit to the Signal Tower, home of NCI Gosport, we were fortunate enough to be nominated for the Mayor of Gosport’s Volunteer Team award. The Ceremony, held at the GBC offices, was attended by myself (Colin Church, Station Manager) and Caroline Hildrew (Deputy Station Manager).

After a warm welcome the Mayor opened the proceedings with a lovely anecdote of a little old lady who was always seen out and about picking litter. Many people thought she was a little crazy and she would smile as you passed her by. She became part of the scenery picking litter every day, the crazy lady, and then one day she died. On the day of her funeral the hearse drove around the town and all of the shop keepers and people on the route clapped. The moral being that volunteers are probably thought of as being a bit crazy but are very much appreciated, and that much of the country would come to a standstill without the invaluable support of volunteers.

The Mayor also outlined the purpose of the Mayor’s 100 awards as 'to pass on our admiration and appreciation for your much valued work and commitment in our community. Thank you for making Gosport a great place to live’.





Before the presentation started I had chance to read some of the citations of those collecting awards and I was humbled to be included on behalf of NCI Gosport. As you can see from the table of mugs there were a lot of people to be thanked from the ‘Gosport Wombles’ who do great work in keeping Gosport free from litter by litter picking regularly in all weathers, to a supporter of GAFIRS (for 46 years and still going), Gosport Cats Protection and a lovely lady who has been fostering for over 40 years and has provided a safe home environment for over 100 children.





NCI Gosport station manager Colin Church receiving the Award Certificate from the Mayor of Gosport, Cllr Jamie Hutchison.

 

At the end of the ceremony the Mayor invited everyone to see the Mayor’s Parlour and we spotted something from the Signal Tower which we had presented to him during his recent visit [Not before trying our the Mayors chair, evidently.... Ed].

 

 

Gosport National Coastwatch Station Honours The “Eternal Watchkeeper”

Several of the National Coastwatch personnel based at National Coastwatch Institution Gosport are veterans of the Royal Navy’s Submarine Service which was based here at HMS Dolphin for many years before the Submariners’ Training School was finally moved to HMS Raleigh at Torpoint in Cornwall in 1998.

HMS Dolphin had been the headquarters of Flag Officer Submarines since 1901 and it is only fitting that all those who served in the “Silent Service” should be commemorated by this fine memorial sculpture of Leading Seaman Reginald Read who had served as a Torpedo Gunner in submarines between 1939 and 1947.


 

He is depicted as the “Eternal Watchkeeper” on lookout duty at sea with his binoculars at the ready, a scene still replicated today by highly trained National Coastwatch Volunteers as they watch over the safety of people and vessels in the congested waters of the Eastern Solent.

The original full-size statue is part of a Combined Services Memorial in Westminster Abbey but there is also a smaller version displayed in the Submariners’ Memorial Church inside Fort Blockhouse in memory of the 174 British Submarines and their crews that have been lost in accidents or on active service during the Navy’s long association with these vessels.

The National Coastwatch Institution has also come a long way since its original inception in 1994; it is now a highly valued asset of HM Coastguard’s Search & Rescue Service and has helped to save many lives around the coasts of England and Wales in recent years.

Donation 'Thank You'

Following receipt of a generous donation from Wightlink, Watchkeepers at NCI Gosport wanted to present a 'Thank You' certificate to them.

Having turned up at the car ferry terminal in Portsmouth, the team was surprised and delighted to be invited aboard the Wightlink flagship, Victoria of Wight to do the presentation on the bridge to the ships master while en-route to Fishbourne and back . Escorted by Karen Woods, head of Communications and PR, the team met and spoke with Capt A Grocott.

The pictures here show Station Manager Colin Church presenting the framed certificate to Capt Grocott, and also other members of the team - Bev Livermore and DSMs Caroline Hildrew and Richard Suggitt - who were mostly wondering what all the buttons do.









Finally, a friendly wave as we went past the Signal Tower from on-duty Watchkeeper Neil Richardson (who only got slightly damp in the rain). A magnifying glass may be helpful here....