VIEW FROM THE TOWER!

NCI Gosport and The Big Red Button We have to begin by admitting to a bit of artistic license here… there is no big red button (BRB) that we press to raise the alarm when we see people or vessels in distress; mostly we use VHF channel 16 instead. But for every occasion when we do raise the alarm (and there has been some recently which were very well publicised), there must be a dozen or more occasions where we see something that has our hands metaphorically hovering over that big red button, only for the situation to resolve itself. For example…. There were these youngsters jumping into the water from the top of the round tower. Anyone in their right mind will agree that this is not a clever thing to do. Apart from all the other dangers, the jumper has to run fast enough to ensure that he (and it’s almost always a he) clears the 2-metre wide concrete apron that encircles the base of the tower. A few of the group did this with no evident trouble, exiting the water by climbing over the ...

  Sound Signals This is an informal summary of the signals which are defined in The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, Part D, Rule 32, with our comments in itialics. These signals are delivered by means of a ‘short blast’ (one seconds duration) on the ships whistle or hooter. Here they are… 1 blast “Vessel altering course to starboard” 2 blasts “Vessel altering course to port.” These could mean that the vessel is making a 90 degree turn to the right or left, or just moving to the right or left, possibly to go past you. Most often we hear them used when ferries are turning from the main channel into the swashway (and vice-versa) to warn smaller vessels in the area. Just recently though we have started hearing vessels use one blast as a general ‘lookout’ warning. 3 blasts “I am operating astern propulsion” This does not mean that the vessel is going astern, only that the engines have been put astern. The vessel m...

No Words Needed  

Leisure Vessel Survey Over the last week of August NCI Gosport conducted a survey of leisure vessels using the harbour, counting the various types and they passed the lookout station coming in or going out. You might be surprised (or maybe not...) to learn that in that week there the total number of movements exceeded 4,000. This was just leisure vessels and did not include such things as ferries, fishing boats, pilot boats, or military vessels. Yachts topped the bill, with motor boats a fairly close second and ribs coming third. Jetskis were represented, but the number was small, and the number of kayaks was smaller still. Here's the full breakdown... Our fundraiser has pointed out that if we had placed a bucket at the harbour entrance and every vessel had thrown a £1 into it, we could be sure of keeping our lookout service running for many months to come. If you prefer to throw a small sum our way electronically, please visit the donation page on our website https://www.nc...

Your Generosity Needed To Support NCI. Following a weekend which on three occasions saw swimmers get into difficulties off the Hot Walls beach and need to be rescued, when all were observed and monitored by NCI Watchkeepers, who on one occasion called a Mayday, it’s time to talk about Watchkeepers. All NCI Watchkeepers – including those who man the Gosport station - are volunteers. They all give their time freely and without conditions, not only when standing watches, but also when training, doing their annual assessments, and attending monthly training meetings. They do it because they believe that the job is important and worthwhile, and they want to be able to keep on doing it. To do this they ask one thing of you, and one thing only. Your support Gosport NCI station receives no public or government funding. Overall it costs at least £3000 a year to keep the station open. At the moment we need to raise an extra £1000 to replace a vital PC. Your generosity, through your donati...

One of the best-kept secrets…. S ir Robin Knox-Johnston once called NCI “one of the best-kept secrets in Search and Rescue”, meaning that while we do what we hope is a good job, very few people have heard about us. The main reason is that our work involves communication with HM Coastguard (and to a lesser extent locally, the Portsmouth Harbour Master), but very seldom with other people. Often, a casualty will call the Coastguard, and be helped by the rescue vessels, without ever knowing that NCI was involved. For example:- Consider an evening in early July this year. Two watchkeepers came on duty to cover the 4pm to 7.30pm watch. Given that NCI is a maritime safety organisation, watchkeepers can perhaps be forgiven for anticipating and looking for potential problems. However, scanning the area with their binoculars revealed nothing of concern happening up-harbour, and although there were a few people fishing off the rocks near the harbour entrance none of them seemed in danger of...

  Distress Signals How do you call for help when you have an emergency situation, are in "grave and imminent“ danger and need immediate assistance? Conversely, and equally important, if someone else needs assistance, would you recognise the distress signals that they are making? The international SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) regulations list several ways in which distress can be signalled by day and/or by night. For simplicity, let’s put them into groups… It’s possible that only very large vessels will use these signals:- Signal flags ‘N’ and ‘C’ hoisted on a signal mast. A black square shape hoisted over a black round shape (or vice-versa) on a signal mast. Noise (eg gunfire) at regular intervals. Continuous sounding of fog horn. SOS by morse on radio. SOS by morse on signal lamp. A burning bucket of tar or oil on the rear deck. [Maybe a bit archaic, but then again, it’s still an official signal, and flame or smoke coming from any vessel for any reason is bad news]. Perhap...