Coastguard Medal Presentation

Photo courtesy of The New Milton Advertiser

This week I was invited to a medal presentation for one of the Southbourne Coastguard team.

In the Coastguard Service having completed 20 years service you are present with a medal for long service in line with the services.

As can be seen several important guests were invited (the gold braid is a clue) .

The Chief Coastguard Mr Peter Dymond OBE , Head of Coastal Resources Richard Martin OBE, Rescue Coordination Centre Manager Portland Mark Rodaway OBE along with 3 sector managers.......lots of important people.

A Horror Warning

Tonight is Halloween and there's nothing more scary than dressing up like Terry Nutkins or a Panda.

Combine the two and it's horrific!

...as our 'overseas coastgaurd' Austen Rockett demonstrates.

Terry Nutkins / Pandaman

ok ok i'll put a nice photo of him up too.

Just after rescuing a dog in full dress uniform!

Another Weather Warning

Another weather warning has been issued for tomorrow (Friday)

Heavy rain is expected during Friday going into Saturday along with strong wind along the coast.

Don't misuse flares.

A person has been fined for misusing flares when not in distress which resulted in a unnecessary search and rescue incident.

With Bonfire fire night fast approaching this serves as a reminder that it is illegal to fire maritime distress flares when not in trouble.

Bonfire night is not an excuse to get rid of out of date flares either, flares should be disposed of properly.
Here in Dorset the collection point for out of date flares is the Security gate house at the RNLI college at Poole.
However please DO NOT just turn up as an appointment has to be booked with the staff. They can be contacted on 01202 336336.

Please also note its an offence to leave flares at Coastguard stations and RNLI lifeboat houses. Previous incidents of flares being left at these premises have caused huge problems with safety and seen areas being evacuated.

Have a safe bonfire night.....be responsible

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Think of your safety

The sun may be out (here at Anvil Point) but conditions are still hazardous.

The sea conditions are still rough with large sea swells and waves.

Please stay safe and view the conditions from a safe location. We recommend you stay out of the water for at least another 24 hours till condition improve.

Trees will have been weakened in the strong winds and there is still a risk of fly debris in the gusts.

Don't put you or others at risk, if you see someone in trouble call 999 and ask for Coastguard.

Dorset Flood Alert

15:41 The Environment Agency have put out a Flood Alert for the east coast of Dorset.

'....a flood alert has been issued for the east coast of dorset due to weather conditions tonight. Very large waves plus strong winds between force 7 and force coinciding with heavy rain will have effects, especially between 5.00am and 6.15am Monday.'

Call Floodline on 0845 988 1188, select option 1 and enter Quickdial number 04532 to get more information

'St Jude Day Storm' Radar Plot

STORM WARNING ... STORM WARNING ...

15:45 BBC Weather Update

HM Coastguard will be monitoring the storm over the next 24 hours. Whilst it's exciting to watch mother nature at her most powerful please keep yourself safe, especially close to the shoreline and on the cliffs. As of yet we still don't know the precise storm, track but given Swanage's exposed coastal location we are taking all precautions. The team are currently out liaising with coastal users.

The Swanage Coastguard Team normally provide a 2 person 'Initial Response Team' 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Tonight at 19:00 we will be increasing this to 6 Rescue Officers with the rest of the team on immediate team call.

Met Office - Infra Red + Radar for Swanage

Dorset Storm Warning

BBC's Weatherman Matt Taylor provides an explanation of how the storm may develop.

 

Met Office and HM Coastguard are also putting out a High Seas Forecast and Storm Warnings

Met Office Storm Warning Swanage Dorset

STORM WARNING ... STORM WARNING ...
A weather warning has been issued for Monday.

An amber warning has been issued for storm force winds.

Partnership working

Tonight's training saw a visit by a couple of staff from the Environment Agency come and talk about the Swanage Flood plans.

Following last years heavy rain and landslips we have been drawing up a working agreement with the Environment Agency to be able to observe events on the ground during flooding.

The team have been briefed on the areas to check along with the different types of flooding which could occur in the town.

Our primary roles hasn't changed in this type of work its just about working with new partner agencies and feeding key observations back to confirm what the electronic sensors are showing.

Looking at tonight's weather, tonight's training could soon be in use.