On 7 July we had a very interesting talk from Andy Potter about the work of the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI). In the voluntary sector there are various organisations keeping an eye on Britain’s coasts; Andy is based at the Mundesley NCI lookout station while other Norfolk NCI stations include Wells and Cromer. There are also non-NCI lookouts at Sheringham and Cart Gap. From the Mundesley lookout there is a visual horizon over 11 miles, and a visible area of sea of 180 square miles and it is manned from 9am to 6 pm in the summer and from 10am to 4pm in the winter. Andy pointed out the severe danger to boats and people in rough weather, and also the fact that even small inflatables designed for use in garden swimming pools are very dangerous on the sea! Watchkeepers are trained to respond in an emergency and report to the HM Coastguard who then co-ordinate the Search and Rescue services. In 2009 the Mundesley Coastwatch Station received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. We thanked Andy for this eye-opener to a very valuable service.
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