Mayor of Portsmouth

We were very pleased today to receive a visit from the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Portsmouth, Councillor Tom Coles and Mrs Nikki Coles.  Although our lookout station is in Gosport, and indeed the name of our station is NCI Gosport, we do also serve the City and people of Portsmouth.    We watch all ferry movements from the Camber Dock, all commercial vessels going to and from Portsmouth Port, and keep our eyes on all the beaches on the Western side of POrtsmoth.  Here the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress pose for pictures with station officers Joe and Richard before climbing the steps the go into the lookout to see for themselves 'The View From The Harbour Entrance'.

On the radio (and we dont mean channel 65 !)

The nice folks at Express FM in Portsmouth recently interviewed us for one of their programmes; if you missed either the live interview or a subsequent longer recorded one, you might want to listen in to the podcasts.

This first one was a live interview by phone

https://www.expressfm.com/podcasts/local-interviews/episode/richard-suggitt-of-gosport-coastwatch/?autoplay=1

Chris Pearce, the presenter was so interested in who we are and what we do that we invited him to visit out lookout tower.... and he brought his microphone with him to record a more extensive interview which was broadcast on 21st September. Listen in here...

https://www.expressfm.com/podcasts/local-interviews/episode/on-the-lookout-with-gosport-coastwatch/

Please excuse all the 'ums' and 'ahs'... and my forgetting (temporarily) the term 'Mayday Relay'......

Does anyone still use signal flags ?

Admiral Lord Nelson is well remembered for his flag signal "England Expects...." hoisted before the battle of Trafalgar, but you might think that by now signal flags have gone the way of the dodo.  While it's true that radio, radar, AIS and the mobile phone have caused the use of flags to be much reduced, they have not gone away completely.  And where they are still used, they are important.

Maybe you watched a TV programme recently about a company who were undertaking some underwater work in our locality, and who were unhappy that passing vessels were not keeping sufficiently clear of their diver.  They had displayed an appropriate warning flag, but evidently hardly anyone new what it meant.  

It's true that the use of flags is mostly confined these days to working and commercial vessels, and they are very seldom seen flying on recreational craft.  However, recreational craft are expected to comply with the instructions that they give.  So lets review the flags that you are most likely to see.

(To be honest, you wont go too far wrong if you assume that most flags and flag combinations are telling you to keep out of the way.  There are a couple of exceptions which we can cover towards the end.)

 

The first one is ALPHA, and it means 'I have a diver down' or 'I have a swimmer near me'.  The implication is that you should stay well clear or you will put the person in the water in some danger.

 

 

 

The next is BRAVO, meaning "I am taking in or discharging or carrying dangerous goods."  Again you should stay well clear... but this time it's for your safety. 

 

 

 

 This combination (occasionally seen in Portsmouth harbour) means 'Pass wide and slow'.

And finally this one means 'keep well away', usually because there is some underwater work going on.  

 

Lastly, there are a couple of flags that might be flown to ask for your help.  

 

This one, OSCAR, means 'I have a man overboard'.  You might see it on a floating danbuoy that has been put in the water to mark the last known position of the MOB.  [If you have such a danbuoy, please ensure the flag is furled while the buoy is stowed.  You dont really want to sail around accidentally telling everyone that you have a man overboard.  We've seen it happen and it causes unnecessary alarm].

 

 

 

And finally, this combination of NOVEMBER and CHARLIE (in either order) is a general distress signal.  This vessel needs your help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to learn more about signal flags, there are lots of books you can buy, or you can just get a list like the following by searching the internet.   

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_maritime_signal_flags

 

You can even get tea-towels with the flags and meanings displayed. Why not get one to keep on your boat ?

Paddleboarder learns lessons

In this blog we don’t talk much about paddleboarding (if at all)…  even though the sport is becoming ever more popular, we don’t see many in our ‘View From The Harbour Entrance’, and those that we do see do not usually come that close to us.  [Though of course when we do see them we like to make sure they are not in difficulty and are not getting too close to large craft].

However, a recent news item caught our eye; it concerns a paddleboarder who was carried a long way out to sea by the wind and currents, and who was thrown off his board.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-66727915

The bottom line here is that the sea is capricious and will catch out the unwary.  In the words of the victim "I've learned the biggest lesson of my life.  "I want to tell every paddleboarder: check the weather, check the tides, and wear a buoyancy aid. This is so important.".   

But we would like to add these important points… this advice applies to every person who goes out on the water, whatever type of craft they go out in, and not just paddleboarders.  And also, always carry a means of communication in a waterproof pouch so that you can call for help.

Gosport Lottery Super Draw

If you are one of the lovely people who support us by subscribing to the Gosport Community Lottery (who donate a proportion of their takings to local charities, including NCI Gosport), then you might like to know about the Lottery September Super Draw.

 

September’s big Super Draw prize is a whopping must-have  £1,500 IKEA gift card, to give your home a big autumn makeover!

The new Gosport Lottery Super Draw also gives you new ways to play – instead of committing to weekly tickets, new players can choose to just buy tickets for the Super Draw week, meaning more flexibility and less commitment, whilst still supporting Gosport Coastwatch.  Existing supporters can even choose to TOP-UP their tickets just for the week of the Super Draw! 

There's no need for existing supporters to buy a separate ticket - you will automatically be entered into the special draw, but of course you could buy extra tickets to give you more chances to WIN! Or why not invite friends and family using the new Refer a Friend process? For every person that signs up using their unique referral link, you’ll BOTH get an entry into the exclusive £200 prize draw!