Olden Days

In the olden days the Coastguard Service used Horse and Cart.

Right place right time

Whilst out on our local knowledge check, we were made aware of lots of 999 calls going into our rescue centre in Weymouth (Portland Coastguard).

The 999 calls related to some flares being fired around the Hamworthy area by the Royal Marines out training, however the public didn't know this and were doing their bit and dialling 999.

Due to the number of 999 calls being taken the "overflow" got directed to Solent Coastguard, and it just so happened that we were travelling up the ferry road and confirmed the sightings.
Now that's what team work and local knowledge is all about and makes the Coastguard service so unique .

Local Knowledge

We had a visitor at the Station today from Portland MRCC.....

There mission was to have a look around the patch and build on their local knowledge, it also allowed the truck to have a good run as it suffering from the damp conditions and not having a run.

We started down at Wytch Farm and drove along the shore of Poole Harbour, around Studland to Middle Beach (well every Coastguard has to stop and refuel). Then out to Old Harry over Ballard and back to the Station.

Today's trip out shows how important local knowledge is not only for our Operations Room Staff but also the team, whilst on Ballard we discovered a log blocking a gate. This route is really important to us for incident working so we will have to contact the landowner and ask why this route has been blocked off. Thankfully we found it today not when out on an emergency.

Helmets!

We've had a new style 'Petzl' helmet arrive on station to replace one that was declared U/S at a recent Kit Night. 
Now I know we're all trying to save money, but will supplying it without the 'D' in Coastguard really make enough of a difference?

Talk

Tonight we are opening the doors of the station to the Young Farmers Club and giving them a talk on the Coastguard.

The farming community is important to us as some of our incidents involve having to cross their land and also its always handy to have a farmer with a tractor just in case I get the truck stuck.

We are always happy to give talks to groups, it promotes the Service and builds relations with people we may call on to support us.

If in doubt "Shout"

On Sunday two "cavers" were reported overdue after going exploring in the caves of the Purbecks.

Portland MRCC tasked both Swanage Lifeboats, the helicopter and St Albans Coastguard to search the area but as they began another call came in from the families of the two saying they had phoned and were safe. All units were cancelled.

The Watch manager at Portland said "they are safe and the parents got it right in reporting this as soon as there was concern, if in doubt you shout"

Our area has many caves, some natural others left over from quarrying. Over the last few year we have been mapping many of the old quarry workings in the Swanage area to assist in future searches, this project is known as "project pitfall". We use this project to assess the risk during incidents graded on the condition of these caves and quarry shafts. These areas can be very dangerous and our advice is to take extreme care, check with the land owner before entering any cave or shaft.

Mobile Phones on Holiday

While on the subject of mobile phones, remember to look after your phone especially if you’re a team member going on holiday soon. Last thing you want to do is jump in the pool only to find....



"Hey Terry, great tan...... but what's that in your pocket?"

I bet iPhone don't do an 'App' for that! Alternatively buy an iBag .



Mobile Phones

Did you get a mobile phone for Christmas or perhaps you brought one for a family member?

Have you registered it with the provider?

May be you think its not worth it ? May be you think its "big brother" and refuse to provide your details?

Well perhaps you will consider this to change your mind.............

Every day thousands of 999 calls are made to the emergency services, most are genuine, some are hoax's, some are by accident when the phone is in a pocket, however a small amount are known as "dropped 999 calls" .

Dropped 999 calls are when the caller has connected to the operator, sometimes requesting a service but for what ever reason get cut off. Where no service has been requested the operator will pass the phone number to the Police who will then start to make enquiries.

1st of all several attempts will be made to call the number back, a text message may be sent but if there is no answer then a check will be made to the service provider to see if they have details of the owner of the phone. There are strict rules for the emergency services to apply for this information. So having applied for the details imagine the frustration when the answer is that its an unregistered phone, the trace goes cold.

So look at it another way, you are out walking in Durlston Country Park , slip and break your leg. You shout for help and no one comes, you reach for phone and due to the location the signal keeps being lost. You manage to dial 999 but as you get through the signal goes, the operator passes the details to the Police who despite trying can not reconnect. A trace is put on the phone and details come back thankfully to a local address. Police are sent to make enquires and your family confirm you had gone for a walk in the Durlston area, details are past to the Coastguard and a joint search is mounted and you are found quickly.

If your phone was unregistered then the trace goes cold and the emergency services have to wait until someone is reported missing, this could be several hours or days!

Mobile phones can be life savers.....make sure you register yours

Web Sites

As well as this blog, the team have their own web site

http://www.swanagecoastguard.org.uk.

The original website was set up to promote the work the team does in the community, which quite often does not get mentioned on the MCA's main web site.

Since being set up about 4 year ago the site has had about 130.000 hits , which for a small team is not bad.

We are currently reviewing the site and updating it, thanks to the efforts of our secret webmaster our yearly casualty figures have been added. Some of the videos are no longer available so we have taken them off the site and finally at last we are getting round to finishing the history page.

Both sites are here to provide our community with information, promote the Coastguard Service and the town of Swanage.

Executive Summary

Sorry we seem to be banging on about the HM Coastguard Modernisation Proposals but it's the only opportunity to comment on how the service will be shaped for the next 20 years.


For all those busy people I've copied below the executive summary to the proposals. In the interests of fairness I shall not provide my personal view or the consensus view of the team.

Please spend a moment to read the summary and if you have comments please fill in the online the Questionnaire  to make your comments known. It's your Coastguard service really... so have your say.



Executive Summary



For two centuries, the Coastguard has been helping to manage the use of our seas and protect those who use them. The sea is vital to our economy, while millions use it for recreational purposes. However, we are changing the way we use our waters and our shores. This is making our coastline far busier than ever before. We are building much larger ships that are less manoeuvrable and drilling rigs and increasing numbers of wind farms pepper the seas around the UK. As a result our seas are becoming much more congested. Weather conditions are also becoming more extreme, with significant weather events becoming more frequent and severe, making work at sea more perilous and increasing the risk of coastal flooding. However, updated technologies and systems, including automated systems to track ships wherever they might be, offer real opportunities to manage better what is going on around our coasts and to deal with incidents when they arise. At the same time, current economic conditions mean there is an imperative to deliver efficiencies and reduce costs.



The current arrangement of the Coastguard dates back forty years and is not well placed to respond to these challenges. Eighteen Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres are spread across the UK, together with a small centre in London. Each centre's systems are 'paired' with a neighbour allowing them to work together when necessary, but beyond these pairings the stations are not interoperable. This means that the system suffers from a fundamental lack of resilience. In the event of a problem affecting both centres in a pair, it is not possible for an incident to be managed from another centre. It is also impossible to spread workloads across the system; so staff in one centre may be struggling to cope with call volumes while workloads in another may be low. In addition both emergency and non-emergency demand varies widely by geographical location, the time of day, and the time of year. Analysis shows that the busiest centres handle over five times as many incidents as the quietest with 30% of all incidents happening in July and August and 70% of all incidents occurring between 9am and 7pm. These uneven workloads lessen resilience, hamper staff development and lead to higher than necessary staff costs.






The latest technology means the Coastguard can be completely reconfigured to deliver a more integrated and improved level of service, at lower cost, with better-rewarded staff taking on increased responsibilities and with enhanced career opportunities.


This consultation document sets out proposals which would enable fewer Coastguard centres to monitor and communicate with ships anywhere around the UK coastline, as well as delivering complete integration between stations. This will allow greater flexibility and improved resilience when responding to calls, particularly at peak times. In turn, these proposals would mean enhanced roles and responsibilities for a smaller number of officers, matched by improvements in remuneration. Coastguard Modernisation Consultation 8


These proposals include:

• Establishing two nationally networked Maritime Operations Centres, capable of managing maritime incidents wherever they occur and with improved systems to monitor ships and manage incidents. One would be located in Aberdeen, the other in the Portsmouth/Southampton area.
  
• Establish six sub-centres, fully integrated into the national network around the coast operating during daylight hours only with exception of Dover that would continue to operate around the clock. On the basis of an evaluation of the existing sites and the facilities available at them, it is proposed four of these should be located at Dover, Falmouth, Humber and Swansea. We also require sub-centres at either Belfast or Liverpool and either Stornoway or Shetland. The case for selection between these locations is more marginal. We are therefore inviting comments and information about factors that should influence the choice of sites for these two sub-centres. The 24/7 small centre at London would remain unchanged.
  
• Providing high quality and demanding jobs for our Coastguards, with the job weight and pay reflecting the increased demands placed upon them in line with Civil Service pay guidelines.
  
• Strengthening the leadership and support provided to our volunteer Coastguards in the Coastguard Rescue Service who serve their local communities by providing an effective, knowledgeable and responsive local rescue service.

These proposals would reduce staff numbers. Coastguards stationed in the centres would fall from 491 today to 248, while the number of regular Coastguards supporting the volunteers in the Coastguard Rescue Service would increase from 80 to 105 to improve its operational leadership. Headquarters staff would fall from 25 to 17. Overall staffing numbers would fall from 596 today to 370 over a four-year period with higher quality and better paid jobs for those remaining. All existing staff would be given opportunities to apply for posts within the new structure. Staff leaving the service would be eligible for compensation for early exits in line with the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.






The consultation proposes that the transition to the new service would begin in 2011/12 and take place over a four-year period. This would allow time for the new Maritime Operations Centres to be set up and a phased programme changing existing Maritime Rescue Centres into sub-centres.






Subject to the outcome of the consultation it is likely that this could lead to redundancies. Should this be the case, we would follow the Cabinet Office protocols for handling surplus staff situations and engage with the Trade Coastguard Modernisation Consultation Union Side as early as possible to ensure that best efforts are made to avoid compulsory redundancies.






Overall, we believe that implementing these proposals will result in a Coastguard service fit to meet the challenges of the 21st century and capable of delivering an improved service to mariners and the general public.






However, before any changes are made, we are conducting a 14-week consultation. This document sets out the background to the proposed changes, the main effects, and provides some questions to assist you when submitting your response. In developing these proposals, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency would welcome comments and information about factors that should influence the choice of sites for both Maritime Operations Centres and for sub-centres. Responses will be accepted, either on the electronic form provided, or in writing, up until 5pm on March 24, 2011.