SUPERMARKET SUPPORTS MARITIME SAFETY AT GOSPORT

27th February 2017. Waitrose Supermarkets have shown excellent support for the volunteer sector of the UK Maritime Search & Rescue Service when the Stoke Road store selected the Gosport National Coastwatch Station at Fort Blockhouse to be one of its official monthly charities.  Waitrose provides support for the community by nominating three deserving causes each month and then encouraging their customers to make the final choice by placing tokens received at the checkout into the collection box for the charity of their choice near the exit.  The proceeds of the Waitrose Community Support Fund for the month in question are then divided in proportion to the number of tokens in each charity’s box.  The National Coastwatch portion of this latest funding pot came to a generous £316 and this money will be put towards the day to day running costs of the Gosport Watch Station which is funded entirely by public donations. 

The National Coastwatch Institution is a maritime charity that was founded in 1994 to restore visual safety surveillance along the UK coastline after this facility was withdrawn by HM Coastguard on cost grounds. It was sadly ironic that very shortly after the local lookout station at Bass Point in Cornwall was closed down and abandoned by the Coastguard, the two-man crew of a local fishing vessel were lost when their boat capsized and sank almost within sight of it. Local volunteers eventually managed to re-open the lookout station and it became the first National Coastwatch Station in December 1994.  In a little over 20 years the organization has grown into a truly nationwide operation with more than 2,000 volunteers manning 50 watch stations around the shores of England and Wales seven days a week. All around the country highly trained unpaid NCI Watchkeepers maintain a daytime safety watch over those using our inshore waters, beaches and coastal paths, reporting directly to the Coastguard National Maritime Operations Centre whenever vessels or people are seen to be in difficulties. The Coastguard then launch and manage the appropriate rescue response to preserve life in the inshore coastal environment. The volunteers at Gosport NCI are always most grateful for the generous support they get from the local community for their role within the UK Search & Rescue Service and, upon this occasion, special thanks go to the Customers and Partners at Waitrose.

The photograph shows  Gosport National Coastwatch Station Treasurer Erica Dawtrey receiving the cheque for £316 from Waitrose Partner Julie Shepherd.  (Article and photograph courtesy of the Gosport Globe).

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About

Currently almost 60 National Coastwatch stations are operational and manned by over 2600 volunteer watchkeepers around the British Isles from Fleetwood in the North West, through Wales, to the South and East of England to Filey in North Yorkshire. 

National Coastwatch watchkeepers provide the eyes and ears along the coast, monitoring radio channels and providing a listening watch in poor visibility. They are trained to deal with emergencies offering a variety of skills and experience, and full training by the National Coastwatch ensures that high standards are met.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The words National Coastwatch Institution and Eyes Along the Coast and the NCI logos are Registered Trademarks of NCI.

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