Keeping watch , staying safe

It's hard to believe that it's the end of August , summer is drawing to a close.

As September arrives , so the weather will begin to change.

Make sure you check the weather and the tides before taking to the water.

Know what you are doing, ensure someone knows where you are going and what time you are due home. Ensure you are dressed for the activity and have the correct safety equipment.

Our patrols will be out and about to answer questions on local conditions

In an coastal emergency - 999 Coastguard

A thank you means the world

During kit night tonight we were suddenly joined by Rob and Celyn.

The last time we saw Rob, he was quite badly injured on the Ferry Road after falling off his bike.

The team provided first aid until a paramedic arrived.

Rob was in hospital for a couple of days, treated for a possible broken neck, eye and facial injuries.

We don't often see the people we help so to see Rob was great.




Having then checked the post box, we had received a lovely card in connection with a recent search - a thank you means a great deal to the team of volunteers

Good bye and thank you PC Hickman

Today is the official last shift for PC Kyle Hickman in Swanage.

Kyle has lead the the neighbourhood policing team and been the face of policing in Swanage.

We have already mentioned his departure to Australia in previous blogs but today is his final shift as PC 2718.

There has been tears of laughter and tears of sadness in the 10 years we have worked together

We salute you.

Purbeck Running

The team rearranged its patrol today to coincide with the Purbeck Runners 5km race in Studland.

The race is very well organised with good safety provision, but there's no harm in having the local Coastguard team on hand just in case, with its 4 wheel drive capability and good knowledge of the Studland Heath area. 

Well done to all who took part, including a familiar face from our CG colleagues at St Albans!

Well done Ian!

Le Kayak

Earlier in the week, we told you about some snacks that one of the team was promoting. 

Well now it seems he has gone one stage further and set up his own canoe hire business, as discovered by our roving reporter on holiday in France.

 

You don't have to go to France to get out on the water this Bank Holiday weekend, with kayaks, row boats and paddle boards available for hire locally in Swanage, Studland and Wareham.  Take care out on the water, check the tides before you go, wear your lifejackets and make sure you have got some working communication - VHF radios are far better at sea than mobile phones!

#999Coastguard

Betty and the Snakelocks

No, not a new sci-fi TV series, nor the name of rock band playing in one of Swanage's pubs this Bank Holiday.

Instead, this is about Betty from Andover, and her legs.  Betty is three and was paddling in Studland last week when she suddenly felt a stinging pain on her legs and saw a large rash developing. 

Betty's legs - taken and published with permission from Betty's family

It seems that Betty had been stung by a snakelocks anemone, a sea anemone often found in shallow waters of the South West.  This is the second incident like this we have seen this year.  Whilst pictures will show long flowing tentacles with purple tips (see Wikipedia), it can just as easily resemble and be mistaken for seaweed, and you wont know you've been stung until it is too late.

Snakelocks anemone on a South Coast beach

The team advised the family to wash the leg thoroughly with cold water and then introduced them to NT staff who offered some sting relieving spray.  The trick is not to rub the area as the sting can be transferred to other parts of the body on the hand.

Finally, Betty had a chance to look around our truck (MRU), to see some of the kit we've got and to press a couple of buttons to make the lights work - NO!, please not the red one!! - all of which hopefully cheered her up a little.

Safety at the Beach

On another sad day yesterday, with more lives lost around our coast, the BBC have issued some guidelines on how to stay safe - see below.

How to Stay Safe at the Beach and in the Sea

Remember: Coastal Emergency = 999 Coastguard

Missing Child had walked 2 Miles

The full team was called yesterday evening to assist Dorset Police in a search for a 5 year old child who had gone missing from Knoll Beach in Studland.

The young lad was found an hour after he was first noticed missing by a concerned member of public some two miles away at Shell Bay.

With a Bank Holiday weekend approaching and some scorching temperatures, the beaches are currently packed with families and it's more important than ever for parents to keep a close eye on their children, as they so easily vanish into a crowd. And as we saw yesterday, even at a steady pace, children can soon find themselves a fair distance away.

Think about agreeing a place to rendezvous and/or a child's wristband with your name and mobile number on it

Emergency at the Coast -  #999Coastguard

Helicopter Operations

One of our Blog readers has sent us some video clips of the Coastguard Rescue helicopter busy at a medical incident on Swanage beach last week.

Andy Worboys, who took the videos from outside the Spa Beach Huts says "We holiday in Swanage every year all the way from North Yorkshire, have done so for our anniversary every year since 1985, and it's worth every one of the 340 miles to get here, not least because of it's local people who live and work and obviously love this wonderful town. Thank you all."

Thank you Andy, for coming to see us, for your kind words and for the clips.

In Video 1, the winchman is dropped from the helicopter into the Swanage RNLI Inshore lifeboat, and brought into the beach from there.  This avoids blowing sand everywhere by hovering above the beach itself.

In Video 2, the helicopter lowers a stretcher in preparation for a casualty lift. Again the ILB stands by to recover it, but the helo crew drop it precisely and accurately at the waters edge.  Although it's difficult to see, the CG team had cleared a large area of beach by this time to facilitate this operation. Our own stretcher is capable of being winched, but where possible the helicopter crew prefer to use their own.

In Video 3, the helicopter has landed, and the casualty has been secured and moved a few hundred yards by road for helicopter transfer to hospital. It's much easier to load a stretcher when the helo is stationary and on the ground, rather than winching it in whilst hovering. We see the helicopter take off and head for Dorchester.

We must remind onlookers that helicopter operations can be dangerous, and the down draught from being too close can knock people off their feet as well as sending sand, grit, dirt and other shot media into faces and eyes.  When we ask you to keep back, it is for your safety as well as the safety of those conducting the operation.

Six Deaths at the Coast

A sad weekend, including one death in Dorset, as reported by the BBC News Website.

Take care at or near the coast and keep an eye on changing weather conditions.

In an emergency, Dial 999 and ask for Coastguard.   #999Coastguard