Southend Station

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In October 1994, a public meeting was held at the Football Club House on Lizard by Capt Starling Lark and Peter Rayment during which they put their ideas to the meeting, they then asked if anyone would be prepared to volunteer as a watchkeeper. There was a very good response, with one local Fisherman standing up and saying, "I reckon we’ve seen history being made here tonight!"

The next meeting soon after saw the appointment of NCI’s first Station Manager, a truly remarkable lady called Lynn Briggs. Whether she realized what she had taken on we will never know, but a lot of what we do in NCI today owes much to Lynn’s pioneering work in the early days at Bass Point.

Bass Point started operational Watchkeeping in November 1994, a large number of volunteers being either fishermen or deep-sea sailors who helped with the on job training of those who needed it. On the 3rd February 1995, NCI Bass Point was officially opened, the ceremony was held at the Lookout on a cold, windy, damp day by Jenny Agguter, the well-known actress who has a home nearby. Three hundred balloons were released telling of the exciting new events taking place on the Lizard. Early in March 1996 the first radar set in NCI became operational at Bass Point, just in time for a group of volunteers to keep a twenty-four hour watch system going to monitor the Fastnet Race boats as they rounded the Lizard. Three boats at least were warned off by Falmouth CG following a report from Bass Point whose radar plot had shown that they were heading dangerously close in toward the Men Hyr rocks just south of the Point.

Following the successful launch of NCI Bass Point, other Stations quickly followed in East Anglia, and the Tyne / Tees area, and now, in January 2000, there are 23 Stations operational around the coast with some eight hundred volunteers giving their time and effort to try to make our shores that little bit safer for all who use them. The Institution is currently working on another six Stations which we hope will become operational in the near future.

The Institution has a joint Memorandum of Understanding with the Maritime Coastguard Agency, and with HM Customs & Excise, these two documents are the guides to NCI’s role and provide the basis for the excellent working relationship the Institution enjoys with both these Departments. Many NCI Stations have acquired, or are working towards acquiring, Declared Facility Status, giving NCI a very important role to play when needed within the UK’s Search & Rescue Organisation. Not bad for a young organisation in only just over five years, thanks in the main to the dedicated help from all the Volunteers who give freely of their time and effort.

Article kindly donated by Peter Waters, NCI Regional Manager for East Cornwall.

Copyright National Coastwatch Institution 1994 - 2004