Incident Summary 2022

Watchkeepers at NCI Gosport logged more than 30 incidents in 2022. An incident is any event that NCI participated in and for which the Coastguard or other authorities issued an incident number. The following notes are from our logs….

Pan Pan from sail training ship with steering loss, 16 POB. Casualty proceeded to anchorage under power, emergency steering working. When wind abated, casualty proceeded to home port, Pan Pan cancelled.

Pan Pan from broken down yacht at harbour entrance. 4 POB. Motor vessel standing by. NCI informed HMCG they had visual. 2 Police RIBs and harbour patrol attending. Assets stood down as anchor holding, and Sea Start on its way. Casualty towed to safety, CG informed, Pan Pan cancelled.

Yacht issued Mayday /steering failure. NCI informed HMCG had visual. HM dispatched assistance and police launch provided assistance. Mayday cancelled.

HMCG requested visual search from NCI of upturned vessel, with one person on hull. Unable to establish visual. Hovercraft investigated and reported no assistance required. NFA

NCI observed a swimmer in difficulty, clinging to pile in strong flood tide. HMCG and QHM informed. Police launch tasked, but casualty made way to beach unassisted. CG and QHM informed.

Pan Pan from yacht with engine failure. Tow requested. NCI contacted HMCG as position did not correspond, not identifiable by NCI. Second yacht undertook tow. Pan Pan cancelled. All safe.

NCI observed MOP being swept out to sea on ebb tide, trying to retrieve ball. W/K broadcast Mayday relay, HMCG informed. Casualty picked up by small craft, transferred to Police boat., Casualty taken ashore and assessed by ILB medic. No injuries.

NCI observed MOP in water, in difficulty. Harbour Patrol in area, who threw a life ring, and towed casualty to beach. Casualty walked up beach, meanwhile ILB arrived as a result of 999 call. , Casualty checked over, all okay but intoxicated.

MOP observed by NCI in harbour in distress, clinging to pile. Casualty tried to swim away but unsuccessful. Harbour patrol advised that ILB was on scene. Casualty recovered by ILB, all safe.

Pan Pan from yacht lost power and drifting. HMCG responded, NCI confirmed visual. During conversation, casualty got under way again, Pan Pan cancelled.

Vessel called on CH 16 'Emergency Aground'. No response from HMCG so NCI passed on information and position. QHM informed. ILB tasked, laid kedge anchor for vessel to refloat on rising tide. Casualty refloated on tide and proceeded on its way.

Yacht ran aground while unsure of position. NCI suggested position but did not have visual. ILB tasked. Vessel well aground and unable to refloat until next tide.

Pan Pan from yacht with engine failure. NCI had visual, HMCG informed. ILB tasked, and took casualty in tow. No apparent water ingress found, so casualty towed to harbour and safety.

Pan Pan from vessel with engine failure. NCI had visual, HMCG informed. ILB tasked, took casualty under tow to safety of harbour.

NCI received AIS SART alert, position showing as in marina. HMCG informed. Marina informed, police and marina staff searched but nothing found. Inadvertent activation assumed.

Yacht issued Pan Pan as it was aground. NCI had visual, HMCG informed. ILB tasked but Pan Pan cancelled as vessel refloated on rising tide. Returned safely to harbour.

Pan Pan from motor cruiser aground and taking on water. NCI relayed to HMCG as they had not responded. Vessel’s engine had failed. AWLB tasked, then ILB tasked. LB crewman aboard casualty. Other vessel took casualty under tow to port.

Mayday from motor vessel on fire. NCI had visual, HMCG informed. ILB attended, took crew on board. Smoke seen from vessel, which was burnt out and sank. Debris and fuel contained.

Yacht called for assistance, rope around prop. NCI called HMCG as they had casualty on AIS. AWLB tasked and was assisting vessel when station closed down.

Yacht issued Mayday due to smoke from engine compartment. NCI had visual, HMCG informed. Other vessel took casualty under tow, CG informed. Casualty towed to safety.

Mayday from vessel aground on sands. NCI confirmed visual to HMCG. Vessel unable to help, and casualty happy to wait for tide. Mayday cancelled. ILB checked - all OK. CG checked every 60 mins.

Pan Pan issued for catamaran dismasted al harbour entrance, 3 POB. NCI informed CG they had visual. NCI monitored situation as casualty taken under tow by other vessel, Police boat attended.

Yacht requested help as had engine failure. NCI informed HMCG they had visual. ILB tasked and took casualty under tow to safety of marina.

Pan Pan from unknown station - vessel taking on water. HMCG asked NCI if they had visual - negative. Pan Pan upgraded to May Day, full search with ILBx2 and HELO. Nothing further heard., After 1.5 hours, nothing found, assets stood down and search suspended.

Yacht under tow by day boat ran aground. 1 POB. Occupant called QHM, harbour patrol attended, HMCG informed. Tow attempts failed. Casualty later reboarded and towed off by RIB to safety.

Two fishermen observed by NCI potentially cut off by tide. HMCG informed. Police involved, and QHM. Station closed while fishermen still there, all authorities aware of situation. NFA

Yacht informed NCI on Ch65 it had lost power as it was entering harbour. HMCG and QHM informed. casualty made way under reefed sail. Casualty then lost wind and requested tow from CG. Two unidentified RIBs then established tow, and casualty safely towed to harbour and safety.

May Day from yacht with engine failure and fire. 4 POB. HMCG acknowledged May Day, NCI informed CG they had visual. NCI gave position, LB tasked and was conned to casualty by NCI. 2 Police launches, attended, fire reported out. Casualty towed to safety by Police launch, attended by fire engines.

NCI picked up SART alarm, and informed HMCG. Came from yacht in marina, CG to investigate. Alarm cancelled

Yacht called HMCG with loss of steerage. NCI advised CG they had visual. All vessels asked to help, NCI advised CG of yacht nearby. LB tasked, took casualty under tow to harbour.

Red inflatable package seen entering harbour. Police involved, HMCG aware. Securite notice issued. Police RIB recovered object, and towed it to shore. incident closed.

Pan Pan from vessel aground, 9 POB. NCI informed HMCG they had visual. Casualty attempted to sail/motor off sands. Ryde rescue in attendance., Vessel still hard aground when lookout closed.

Pan Pan from yacht with sail problem. NCI had visual and advised HMCG. No AIS signal seen. Vessel under engine power and still trying to clear problem. Police launch offered assistance but conditions too rough. Casualty got under way, then Pan Pan reopened as further problem developed and LB tasked to tow casualty back to harbour.

Pan an issued by vessel in harbour entrance. Crew member with back injury. NCI informed HMCG they had visual. Vessel proceeded to marina and met by CRT and ambulance.

Yacht aground on Ryde sands. AWLB and HELO tasked. NCI informed HMCG they had visual, 4 POB. Casualty refloated on tide, and escorted back to harbour by LB.

You can see that for some of these incidents we called a mayday ourselves, for others we passed on important information to the Coastguard, and for yet others we kept the incident under observation in case the situation deteriorated. 

We want to be there to help you out when you have a problem; you can help us by making a donation to keep our station open and operating. Please visit our web page here… 

https://www.nci.org.uk/stations/donations

Or text NCIGOSPORT to 70450 to donate £5

Man Overboard !

NCI Watchkeepers looking out at the ‘View From The Harbour Entrance’ often see things that are, to put it carefully, less than ideal. Vessels which are not using the Small Boat Channel, are going too fast, appear to be overloaded, etc. Some of these things have been written up in this blog in the hope that eventually we will see them less often.

However, there is one thing that we see very seldom, and would actually like to see - or hear - much more often. And that’s vessels practicing man overboard drills.

You might well ask why we mention this now, during the winter, when boating activity is very much reduced as a result of the poorer weather, poorer visibility, and shorter daylight hours. Actually, it’s worth considering because of the poorer weather, visibility, and shorter daylight hours.

Poor weather, choppier seas, and more spray make for difficult movement on slippery spray-wet decks. Poor vis and less daylight makes the person in the water harder to find. And finally, the cold sea makes it much more important to get the casualty out of the water quickly, before hypothermia sets in. [We hope to publish an article about hypothermia in the New Year.]

What we cannot do in a written article is tell you exactly what to do if a passenger or crew member goes over the side; too much depends on the type of boat you are in, how many other people there are in the crew, and what equipment you have on board. Talk it over or practice it with an instructor.

There are two absolute imperatives though. 1) Immediately throw in a float, lifebuoy, Danbuoy, fender. The person overboard may be able to swim to it and use it for flotation; the float might be easier to see than a small dark head in a choppy sea; and it should mark the position of the casualty fairly well. 2) Have a crew member or passenger continuously keep their eyes on the casualty and point to him/her. This crew member should never under any circumstances look away from the casualty. This will be easier if the person overboard (and all the rest of the passengers and crew) has high-vis clothing on. If you cannot see the casualty, then keep eyes on the float you just threw in.


Remember that you will be moving away from the casualty, possibly at speed, and will keep doing so until you can turn the vessel back towards him/her, so the above two actions are vitally important. It’s also important of course that all crew should be wearing a lifejacket.

[Just an aside to those of you who are equipped with Danbuoys – a) good ! b) but don’t let the flag unfurl until you really need it. We do see yachts apparently flying a ‘man overboard’ flag while just having a normal sail… it causes some confusion].

Man overboard exercises and demonstrations often end by finding the float you flung in as a target and using a boathook to pick it up out of the water. But this is only doing half the job; in reality getting someone out of the water is far from easy. Is the casualty injured ? Is he/she unconscious ? Can you lift a 10 to 15 stone deadweight out of the water onto your boat ? Even in an RNLI or GAFIRS Inshore Rescue rib, with its low freeboard, it takes two people to lift someone on board. There are no easy answers.

There is one simple golden rule though….. if you are not in a position to attempt a rescue, or if your rescue attempt fails, do call for help. This is definitely time for a ‘Mayday’ call.

Lastly…

…please do practice man overboard recovery. If you are able to use a man-size dummy, so much the better… but it would be a good idea to let the coastguard know what you are doing. You don’t want to have someone else see what they think is a real overboard and call mayday for you.  Oh, and please do find a good place to practice; the harbour itself, the Small Boat Channel and the Swashways are not the best choices for reasons that hopefully are obvious.  Find a safe spot away from other vessels – Stokes Bay or around Osborne Bay might be best.

… looking at the topic from another perspective…. Although signal flags are not much used these days on smaller vessels, if you saw the ‘O’ flag (illustrated at the top of this article) being flown or on a Danbuoy, would you recognise its meaning ?

Life of the Senior Management Committee

It takes a lot of people to keep an NCI station running; officers of the Senior Management Committee (SMC) meet monthly to deal with issues such as maintenance, training, roster, welfare, etc. These meetings always include a representative from the Watchkeeper community. These are some comments from the Watchkeeper representative who attended our most recent meeting…

I have now represented the members twice as the monthly rep at the management committee meeting. Both times I have found really interesting. We all attend in uniform and sit around the big table at the sailing club.

The agenda is full for each of the officers to give an update from previous meetings as well as any new agenda items.

As each item is reported on, everyone is given a chance to respond or make a comment/ suggestion. I feel that everyone is listened to and all comments are heard. It gives you an insight into what goes on behind the scene in running the group and how fairly decisions are made.

I have been made welcome by the officers each time I have attended and the questions I have asked on behalf of members have been taken forward to be actioned. I thoroughly enjoy being the rep and will be happy to stand again.