9th September 2016. This week NCI Cape Cornwall commemorated its 20th Anniversary in style this week with a celebration lunch

To celebrate their 20th anniversary NCI Cape Cornwall hosted a celebration lunch at the St Just Golf Club, overlooking the cape. Sharing the festivities were Lesley Suddes, the Chairman of the National Coastwatch Institution, Cllr Stevens the Deputy Town Mayor of St Just, John Chappell from RNLI Sennen, Cllr Sue James and Mr Andrew George. There were also representatives from NCI Head Office and the stations at Gwennap Head, St Ives and Penzance, along with members of the local community who have supported Cape Cornwall over the years.

After a visit by NCI representatives to St Just, the station opened in 1996 in the old Coastguard lookout station, which had been empty since the late 1970’s. Station Manager Jonathan Rothwell paid tribute to the first members of the station  “The volunteers worked hard to restore the lookout, often working in gale force winds with no electricity, running water or telephone, and after much hard work, the damp and mildew was cleaned away, the utilities and equipment installed and the old Lookout station was restored to a working condition. These early watch-keepers managed to do a sterling job with just basic binoculars and very little else”. Jonathan praised the hard work and dedication of the current volunteers at Cape Cornwall and stated that the support of the local community and neighbouring stations was vital to the success of the station. “The thing that makes Cape Cornwall a success is the enthusiasm and dedication of the members. Everyone, from the seasoned watch keepers to the newest recruit, works as a team to ensure we keep people safe around our coast”.

Mr Andrew George recalled that, as the local MP, he opened the station in 1996 and reopened the station in 2013 after the refurbishment. He said how impressed he has been with the way the station has developed over the years and praised how Cape Cornwall has helped to keep the coast safe, adding that he was proud to be associated with the station. Lesley Suddes reminded everyone that Cape Cornwall was one of the first NCI stations to open and had been involved in many incidents over the years saving several lives, adding the the station had been awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary Service in 2010.

The photograph shows the guests and members at the celebration at St Juust Golf Club