Mayor of Portsmouth

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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'.

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Station Manager Interview For 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
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