Tuesday 31 May 2016

Purbeck Handprints

The team have been nominated for " Best in Purbeck Award 2016" for the best blogger in Purbeck.

Competition is tight and at the weekend one of our competitors declared the battle lines so we have had a rethink about our blog.

You may have noticed, business is a little quiet for us at the moment which is of course is good news but not when writing blogs !

Our accident prevention strategies seem to be working well so clearly with a competition to win we are widening our blog

Now our competitor runs a wildlife blog ( others are available of course ) so we have decided to enter the market of wildlife photography  under the name of "Purbeck Handprints"




Some sort of snail not in need of rescuing in the area of South Swanage.

Well we all start somewhere ...... Let's see how our competitor responds

Monday 30 May 2016

Frank's Tank

The DSO took a bike ride out to Frank's Tank, near Studland,  this morning.  Accompanied by his son, one of the objectives of the exercise was to check the state of the track and the access of this popular mountain bike route.

The trail features a long, fast downhill stretch and a fallen cyclist here could well mean serious injury, hence it's good for the team to be familiar with the area in case we are called in for first aid and/or to assist with a helicopter evacuation or carry out by stretcher to a road ambulance. Local knowledge can save precious seconds in an emergency.

Sadly we learned today of a local cyclist who came off his bike over the weekend and suffered a broken leg. The hillside location to the north of Swanage wasn't accessible to road ambulances and with the air ambulance unavailable the team would have been ideally placed to assist with first aid and carry out. 

Sadly the team weren't tasked and the cyclist's mates, some of whom had already cycled 100 miles that day had to assist the paramedic with the 45 minute stretcher carry.  
Only a few weeks ago one of our training sessions was devoted to locating and stabilising a casualty on the coast path and stretchering him out to safety.

By the way, the other objective for the morning's bike ride was to get an ice cream at the viewpoint on the Corfe / Studland road, and I  am pleased to report mission accomplished.

Sunday 29 May 2016

An incident photo




This photo was set from a friend of a climber who the Swanage and St Albans teams recovered after they dislocated their shoulder last year.

Kerry and Chris undertaking an assisted decent , Nick and Steve on cliff edge safety.

Saturday 28 May 2016

Please respect our Speed Limit




If you are visiting Swanage , by boat or jet ski please observe our speed limit in the bay. Sadly this evening a few jet skis clearly didn't watch their speed.

It's 5 knots simple as that.





Friday 27 May 2016

Thursday 26 May 2016

Training with the Lifeboat Crew

The main point of last nights training was to share equipment and see how we could transfer casualties from the shore to the lifeboat.




Nick on the radio


Seeing if the Coastguard stretcher fits in the lifeboat - that worked


Lifting the stretcher from the Inshore lifeboat to the all weather lifeboat.


Tom sat watching Eastenders - well that's what we told him




Nick discovers what happens when you break something on Dave's new boat. Hopefully he will let out next week.

Wednesday 25 May 2016

Show and tell with the Swanage Lifeboat Crew

For tonight's training we linked up with the crew of the Swanage Lifeboats and got a chance to see their new Shannon Lifeboat.




Kerry , Brian and Eric get a brief on the Inshore Lifeboat .


The Shannon arrives.


Kerry takes command.


Dave the new Coxswain explains the workings of the new boat to Brian , Eric and Roger.

Our thanks to the crew tonight a very useful training session , more photos tomorrow.

Tuesday 24 May 2016

Who's at Peveril

We are quite often asked if we can see people from our ' tower' at Peveril.

The look out at Peveril Point isn't a Coastguard lookout and hasn't been since about 1994 !

The National Coastwatch Institution operate the lookout manned by volunteers and in an emergency will contact the Coastguard.


Coastwatch and Coastguard are often confused, Coastwatch are a charity whereas the Coastguard is a Government Agency.

Monday 23 May 2016

Swanage gets a Blue flag





Swanage has again achieved both a blue flag and a sea side award for 2016.

These are awarded for things like water quality and safety to name a few.

Well done to all those involved in making our beach clean, tidy and safe.

Sunday 22 May 2016

The meaning behind ordnance

We had some feed back this week on us using the term 'ordnance' for items found on the beach.

There are several terms we could use but in general ordnance is a widely used term in the military. Other words could be , bombs, shells, ammo and UXB to name a few.

A quick search on the internet on the definition of ordnance ,

mounted guns; artillery.
"the gun was a brand new piece of ordnance"
synonyms: guns, cannon, artillery, weapons, arms, munitions, military supplies, materiel

a branch of government service dealing especially with military stores and materials.
"the ordnance corps"

If the term ' bomb' was used then as can be seen this doesn't cover everything we deal with

A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy.

The term bomb is not usually applied to explosive devices used for civilian purposes such as construction or mining, although the people using the devices may sometimes refer to them as a "bomb". The military use of the term "bomb", or more specifically aerial bomb action, typically refers to airdropped, unpowered explosive weapons most commonly used by air forces and naval aviation. Other military explosive weapons not classified as "bombs" include grenades, shells, depth charges (used in water), warheads when in missiles.

The Navy , Army and RAF have their own teams to deal with ordnance and are referred as EOD teams - Explosive Ordnance Disposal

Anyway , the important message is, if you find something and not sure what it might be , then call the Coastguard / Police.




This was found some years ago in "little sea" Studland by some children.

A type of mine in this case , Studland was a test area for the D Day landings and although 80'000 items were cleared after the war, ordnance is still turning up despite the area being regularly checked.

999 Coastguard

Saturday 21 May 2016

Kayakers hit the water in Swanage.







89 ( at the last official count) kayaker anglers have just entered the water near the pier for their annual visit to Swanage.

Sadly the weather isn't on their side this year and with the wind increasing the organisers have reduced the area the competitors can use.

They have their own safety boat which will be checking no one drifts outside the area.

Lets hope they catch a few fish ...... Up date later m

Patrol finished and all 91 competitors safely returned

Thursday 19 May 2016

Team tasked to Anvil Point

The team were tasked this morning to Anvil Point after a member of public reported concern for a climber.

On arrival the solo climber was found safe and well , being surprised the Coastguard had turned up. The climbers dog was at the top and that may have sparked the concern from the passing member of the public.

Having checked further climbs to ensure no one else was in trouble the volunteer team members returned to the station.

Wednesday 18 May 2016

Monday 16 May 2016

Don't go picking these up.

If you are out walking and find some ordnance on the beach or coast, leave it where it is.

Dial 999 Coastguard , this weekend a member of the public picked up a piece of ordnance at Studland and handed it in to rangers.

Leave it where it is and report it.



Sunday 15 May 2016

Patrol flagged down

Yesterday patrol were flagged down by a member of the public , concerned that smoke was coming out of a van in Durlston Road.

Ensuring the fire service were on the way, the road was blocked off to protect the scene.

With the Fire Service on scene , a left on mini stove appeared to have been the cause.







Friday 13 May 2016

Do you know where you are?

Your on the beach and there is an maritime emergency.

Do you know where you are ?

There are sign like this on many beaches , in the left hand corner is a code which will let the Coastguard know where you are.



999 Coastguard

Thursday 12 May 2016

Exercise OXO

Tonight the team headed out for a search exercise in the Durlston area.

First a briefing from the officer in charge.




There were several objects to find in the wooded area at Durlston.




The woods were searched in detail with areas searched in sections.


Keeping the team in a line in a wood is quite a difficult for the officer in charge.

Out of six items , five were found and we have a feeling that one has perhaps been moved or removed between being placed out and the team arriving.

Tuesday 10 May 2016

You don't see that everyday

The Coastguard train spotting club caught this special Diesel leaving the railway after a busy weekend


The class 42 'warship' heading home by road

Monday 9 May 2016

North Beach taking shape

Under the Pines is really taking shape now with construction bank removed.





Sunday 8 May 2016

Patrol Investigates Yacht

This afternoons patrol noticed a yacht in a strange position on the South side of Poole Harbour.

The team went to investigate and found a yacht aground and with the spring tides the vessel could be aground for a little while.

The owner is on board and safe and will monitored over the next few days along with a partner agency.


Saturday 7 May 2016

Train Spotting

With no incidents today some of the team popped to the railway station to soak up the atmosphere of diesel and beer.







Some were also last seen heading to Corfe

Friday 6 May 2016

Bikes and Train spotting

A busy weekend on the roads and tracks in Swanage and Purbeck.

With a good forecast we ask for a little patience on the roads especially on Sunday when the Jurassic Beast will ride through the area bringing several thousand cyclists to the roads.





Meanwhile on the Swanage Railway it's diesel weekend, which will see hundreds of trainspotters ( and a couple of Coastguards) ride up and down the track and visit the stations at Norden , Corfe , Harman's Cross , Herston and Swanage.

So please just give yourselves a few extra minutes whilst travelling.

Wednesday 4 May 2016

Tuesday 3 May 2016

Defibrillator at Knoll Beach

The National Trust have moved their defibrillator to enable the public to use in an emergency.







This is attached to the toilet block opposite the visitors centre.

Always call 999 - in a medical emergency.

Monday 2 May 2016

Missing Swanage Male found safe





The missing male from Swanage has been located safe and well

Just as the team were about to deploy a mobile patrol to assist in locating him, the excellent news came through he had been located.

Dorset Police issued this statement

#breakingnews We are pleased to say that missing 91-year-old Swanage man James MacDonald has been found safe and well in Bournemouth. Thank you for all your support and shares this morning - it really does help.

Sunday 1 May 2016

Team Work in the Purbeck area

Our colleagues in the Police have put together a short film of what a summer is all about.




Its not just the rescues, meetings and training are just as important to prepare for the months ahead.

The 1st of May is the count down to our busy summer.

Enjoy


#Purbeck 999