Poole Unit assist Coastguard

Alan Jones of the Poole Unit recently assisted the Coasguard when he came to the aid of yacht. Below is a first hand account of the incident and an email from the Coastguard at Portland thanking Alan for his clear thinking and assistance.

The call from Portland Coastguard came through at around 12.25 as we were waiting to clear the basin and I called Harbour Control first in case Vigilant, which we had seen earlier in the Wareham Channel was already assisting. Harbour Control confirmed that they would like us to assist and we contacted Portland Coastguard and advised we were proceeding to the casualty which was apparently anchored in the Wareham Channel. The yacht had no VHF but we were able to communicate with them by mobile phone and from their description we were able to locate them in western end of the water ski area.

We took them in tow and because of the conditions I decided to take them to a mooring off Lake Yard. The conditions deteriorated as we made our way to the moorings and there was some minor damage to the yacht as we manouvered  them onto the mooring due to the swell. The Lake Yard launch came out to assist and took the three crew ashore where the Coastguard were waiting to speak to them. We then returned to the berth.

I contacted Stephen George by telephone, at their request, when we were back on the berth and he thanked us for our help and made the point that he would like us to contact the Coastguard whenever we are out on patrol or training. An email to all the cox’s to confirm this would be useful as there does seem to be some confusion as to whether or not we need to contact the Coastguard as well as Harbour Control.

Alan Jones, Poole Unit

Just a quick mail to ask you to pass our thanks to those who were onboard Avocet this afternoon during the Yt Sea Witch incident. Their assistance was very much appreciated. This was an excellent example of the way in which Poole MVS can take on a pro-active role during HMCG incident working.
 
I would very much like to emphasize the importance of MVS units responding direct to HMCG when a request for assistance has been made on VHF Ch16, this as we only became aware of the availability of Avocet during a telephone call to Poole Hbr Ctrl.
 
Also, as I have mentioned in the past, if MVS units could report to Portland Coastguard on VHF Ch16 whilst undertaking a patrol it would be extremely beneficial with regard to our operational working, whilst also offering MVS unit members an opportunity to practice VHF radio communications skills.
 
If this is a procedure the unit does not wish to utilise could you please let me know in order for me to update my files.
 
Best regards

Stephen George, A Watch, MRCC Portland