Water Rescue Training put to the test

Our Senior Coastguard Operations Officer (SCOO) formally known as a Sector Manager aka Allan (wearing the white helmet) puts Tom and Nick to the test at Peveril Point.

Face from the past.

Taken from the MCA's Facebook page. Pip was the East Dorset Sector Manager for a number of years before heading west to Brixham.

It's also an acknowledge to all Coastguards who took part in the winter storm incidents.

Hogwarts Training

We know things are changing in the Coastguard World, but Allan's approach to training now involves "How to fly on a broom stick" - I believe this comes under Miscellaneous duties on our competencies.

We think we are being entered into a Quidditch competition (see Harry Potter if you are unsure what this is) but 1st we have to learn to fly.

The New Sector Manager

We finally caught the new Sector Manager on camera today.......


One of those real action shots he will be proud of......


A true leader


Setting example and leadership



With brown sauce too!

Welcome Allan to the traditional Swanage Coastguard early morning training session.

Sad News

There is a lot of things happening in Coastguard World and this will come out in the next few weeks, however one bit of news we need to tell you about is that our boss "Pip Hall" is leaving us next week to move to Devon.

Pip (pictured above showing us how to walk like a robot" has been the East Dorset Sector Manager for 6 years, during which he has been a driving force moving the Coastguard into the modern world!
His support in getting our new station was super and he has always been at the end of the phone for us when we needed support. Life can not be easy for a lonely Sector Manager, having to tow the party line and present the details to 48 Coastguard Rescue Officer who all know better could never be easy, yet Pip carried this out to full (usually food helped soften the blow).

So I hope everyone will join us in thanking Pip for his time in our area, East Dorset is losing a very skilled manager, East Devon is gaining one.

A little tale

I heard a little story yesterday........

It was about 4 people who took a boat to the Isle of Wight,
It was going well, a little rough then bang.

Checking the boat over they found the fan belt had come off,
O dear........its rough and the boats drifting,

Make a call to Sea Start (the water equivalent to the AA or RAC)
Call the Coastguard and advise them, but give the boats name not his own.
Lucky that no one heard his voice.
It wasn't me before anyone asks!

Just being a member of the Coastguard, doesn't stop you having problems.
Sea Start arrived, fixed the belt and a good weekend was had by all.

In fairness it wasn't his boat and it was done all very safely, it just made me smile that even the experts get it wrong sometimes .......I won't say who it was but check the labels!

Coastguard - a family business

On Monday and being the school holidays we had to go to Poole, so popped into the Sector Office on the quay for coffee and doughnuts.

As stated before the office has been refurbished and is looking smart (well not as good as our building but nearly!)

The room is much bigger and provides the Sector Manager with much more room, it even has a creche facility!

Above the children are sat at the table, two are counting key rings and the other one is trying to build something he saw on Blue Peter the other day out of card and sticky back plastic!

Meanwhile in the down stairs office, builders got carried away with a drill and discovered this old window. The building dates back to the 18th Century and the thought is this may have been part of the a cell for the drunken sailors! Being of historic importance, this feature has had to be opened up and the relevant authorities are deciding how best to display it.

Birthday

Its the Sector Managers Birthday.....well sort of

See the problem is that his official birthday is the 29th February so despite his looks he's only about 14.

Happy Birthday Boss.

People behind the scenes

Whilst the team is the "Front line", there are many people at HQ supporting the Coastguard Rescue Service in many ways.

Today I was lucky to meet one of those people whilst on a trip to Poole. Danielle is a member of the Human Resources team based in Southampton, part of her remit is to look after the 3500 (or so) CRO's (Coastguard Rescue Officers) and that's no easy task!

News reports

Following Sunday's incident, as usual the phone was read hot with the press asking lots of questions and getting that special angle to beat its competitors.

As the incident was not on the Swanage patch I referred all the calls to our operations room and in turn to our Sector Manager.

Reading the papers today its interesting the slight differences in the reports.....see if you can spot the difference.

Picture A

Picture B

In Picture A, the item in the circle is in fact a fisherman hut!, had that been the location the whole incident would have been slightly easier to get too.

Picture B is slightly better!

Team working

10 years ago you could visit stations all around the coast and the cliff work would be done slightly differently....

Today that does'nt happen, it shouldnt matter where you are in the country the rope work will now be the same.

The Coastguard has really changed in the last year and this is a credit not only to the teams but also the management in supplying the equipment and training us.

We are very fortunate to have a very forward thinking Sector Manager who has supported us very well, help drive through plans for a new station, get us extra equipment and basically been there for us in some "dark" moments.

Being a Sector Manager is a thankless task, locally he has four teams, normally about 48 team members all who have their opinions, however somehow he manages to channel most of opinions into the way the Coastguard want things done today.

Well thanks boss, we are grateful !

Caption Competition

Over to the readers tonight, what is the Sector Manager doing? Gareth is clearly thinking about something and Austen seems to have something growing out the back of his helmet which has pushed his head down.

Getting ready

For the vehicle and team to roll out of the station a of lot of time is spent ensuring the equipment is clean, safe and ready for use.

When new equipment arrives 1st the Sector Manager does his bit....

Ensuring each piece of equipment has its unique serial number on it, which is then recorded on to a form which is signed everytime that piece of equipment is checked.


The item is then handed over to the team for use, every month the team gets together to check everything from the ropes to the blue lights on the vehicle.

This is hard work, so after its all done its time to sit down and put the world's problems right...well at least discuss them!.