Many thanks to Keith Jelks for inviting Keith Stinson and myself to a meeting of the sailing section of the Capenhurst Sports and Social Club. We saw films of the duties and responsibilities of coastguards. They were introduced by a coastguard officer who later answered questions.

Who are coastguards? Her Majesty’s Coastguards are uniformed civil servants working for the Department of Trade. They must have “considerable experience of the sea”, not necessarily as ship’s officers, but that obviously is a useful qualification. The minimum age of a coastguard is 24. There are about 600 regular coastguard officers in the U.K.

What do coastguards do’? Coastguards are responsible for the coordination of search and rescue operations around the 2500 miles of coast. They are also available for people seeking information and advice on the local conditions, sailing hazards, state of the tide, etc.

At strategically sited headquarters around our coast, coastguards are on watch day and night aided by modern communications systems. They are also on duty at many other stations, but the number and duration of watch depends on local activities and the state of the weather.

Calls for help range from such major disasters as collision at sea, possibly with oil spillage, to a local incident of a swimmer in difficulties; from small boat owners inadequately equipped and in distress, to searching cliffs and foreshores for persons reported missing. Coastguards are available at the end of a 999 call.

The Coastguard Service was founded in 1822 to guard our coast against smuggling, but, as can be seen, their role has changed now.

Auxiliary Coastguards There are about 7000 auxiliaries who help the professional coastguards. They are people from all walks of life who are on call “round the clock” for any emergency.

Incidents Coastguards deal with about 5,500 incidents every years broken down as follows:

Pleasure craft 32% Shore search and distress reports 24.5% Dinghies - inflatables 10% Cliff-tide rescues 9% Commercial fishing 7.5% Medical assistance to ships 6% Merchant vessels 2.8% Aircraft 0.2%

Service to Dinghies The record of small boats is certainly very bad, amounting to 42% of the total number of coastguard call-outs. The coastguards recommend that small-boat owners take note of the recommendations in the SEAWAY CODE which is a booklet issued by the Department of Trade.

They also provide a weather forecast service which is available at all times, and should be made use of.

There is also a CG66 Safety Report Scheme which is tailor-made for the boat owner. It offers safety coverage to those who regularly use local waters and to those who make longer passages. Its aim is to give the coastguard a record of the movements of craft, and in times of distress provide immediate information vital to the saving of lives. The scheme consists of 2 cards — CG 66 A and CG 66 B. Card A is filled in by the regular user of local waters and card B by those making longer journeys. In search and rescue action much time can be lost in the initial stages trying to establish what type of craft is involved and where it is likely to be. With this information to hand the coastguard can act at once. It is a free service and cards are available, with full details, from all coastguard stations. The cards ask for details of type and name of craft, colours, sail markings, speed and endurance under power (if applicable) distress signals carried, usual base and other similar details.

It could be worth considering by Dinghy Cruising Association members.