Killer Fog

We had some unusual weather in town on Sunday. Anyone out towards Herston, Langton and away from the coast enjoyed beautiful sunshine, whilst those on the beach or taking part in the Armed Forces Day events in town were subjected to the Killer Fog. Well, to be fair it was a bit misty and as far as I know it didn't kill anyone, but for the benefit of the story I think killer fog is better. This photo was taken in the Godlingston area (near the cemetry) looking back into town. Scores of holidaymakers are enjoying the beach somewhere under that lot.....

Strike.

Whilst some members of the MCA are on strike today, Swanage Coastguard Team will be on call.

Dive Report

The MCA have just issued the dive report for 2010. It makes an interesting read and sadly Swanage is mentioned more than once !

Again the number of dive incidents increased and sadly it included 12 fatalities.

If you are a diver, take a few minutes to have a read it could make a difference to you and maybe save your life.

All buoy'd up

We became aware of a rumour in the town this week that we were behind plans to limit the speed of craft in the bay by placing 5 knot buoy's from Peveril Point to Ballard Point.

Lets put the record straight.......

The speed limit in the bay is changing, it will when Purbeck District Council finishes its consolation period change to 8 knots. This recommendation comes from the MCA to bring it in line with other areas around the country.

We are NOT aware of any changes to the current buoys and their positions and have supported the area stay as it is to allow all users to enjoy the bay.

The MCA provide the guidelines to be adopted by the relevant Councils however at Swanage Coastguard we go by these simple rules.

We welcome all users to the bay in what ever craft you choose to use.
We ask that you use that craft in a responsible manner and respect others.
We ask you take care and respect the current 5 knots when in that area.
You keep a sharp look out for swimmers and other users.
You carry the correct safety equipment and know how to use it.
You are aware of other users in the bay and assist them if they need help.
We all work together to ensure Swanage stays the nice and safe place it is.

Coastguard Fridge Update

Questions are being asked regarding the number of KitKats the team has consumed in the last ten days. Preliminary investigations suggest that 23 bars have been ‘seen off the premises’ ; the only saving grace is they were the two finger variety rather than four - a total of 46 fingers

A sole KitKat remains in the fridge along with an out of date apple pie. I don't want to point the KitKat finger but it was Brian who ate them. (Brian is off sick at the moment...... so as he can't defend himself we are pinning the blame on him)

Note: Other wafer covered chocolate finger biscuits are available.

Clean Sweep

The other day, Eric asked if he could bring a few Soldiers from the Signals Regiment to the Station and give them a talk on the Coastguard.

This request then developed to "could I do the talk? " then "there will only be about 20 of them"

To try to get on my good side, Eric thought he would do a bit of sweeping in the garage....only to be caught trying to hide the mess under a kayak!

So the coach pulled up and then a mini bus load of Soldiers turned up - about 60 of them!

A proud weekend

Armed Forces day saw soldiers from the Signals Regiment had the freedom of the town on Saturday.

Well done Swanage for making the event special.

Rid's Turn

At the last training session, after we managed to get Austen out of the dry suit (no easy task!) up stepped Rid for a go and equally his enthusiasm got the better of him!

A little job

Last nights incident shows how a small enquiry by a family member turned out to have 1 helicopter, 2 lifeboats and 2 Coastguard teams get called out.

A member of the public had called Portland Coastguard concerned about a family member who hadn't turned up after a day on the water. It was believed they had left Swanage and were heading to Portland.

The Swanage IRT were tasked to make enquiries and 1st stop was the NCI lookout at Peveril (thanks to the Station Manager who kindly turned up so we could check the log book). We found the kayak had left Swanage around 10.00 but just as we were relaying this information Rescue 106 who had just finished searching for the diver spotted the craft off Anvil Point.

St Albans IRT had also been tasked to search around St Albans head so both mobiles got in a position to monitor the situation. As we arrived the kayaker was in the water and the winchman was being lowered down to airlift the casualty.

This of course left the kayak in the water and to avoid any further enquiries from the public Swanage Lifeboat and ILB who were being tasked to search for the casualty collected it and brought it ashore.

It always a good idea to tell someone where you are going and what time you will be back. Ensure you carry the proper equipment, like a VHF radio or flares.

Lucky Chap

Portland MRCC had a very busy afternoon yesterday. Just after 3pm a report of a missing diver off Lulworth had 2 lifeboats, a helicopter and Lulworth Coastguard out searching.

After 4 hours the diver had made it ashore and was spotted by a vessel assisting in the search.

The diver had seen the search units but was unable to attract their attention.

As you will read in the MCA news report on the link above, Coastguard recommend bright coloured suits and a device to attract attention when in difficulty.