A National Coastwatch Station could be set up in Filey early next year.
Currently there are 57 Coast watch stations around the UK operated by over 2600 volunteers
They keep watch around the British Isles for maritime emergencies and provide reports to the coastguard.
Currently the northernmost station on the east coast is at Hornsea.
Mike Johnson from NCI says they are now developing plans for a base in Filey.
The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) is a 100% voluntary organisation set up in 1994to restore a visual watch along UK shores following the closure of a number of small Coastguard stations.
When two fishermen lost their lives off the Cornish coast near a recently closed lookout, local people, decided to restore the visual watch and the first station opened at Bass Point on the Lizard. Others quickly followed and today 57 operational stations are keeping watch around the coastline.
NCI say :
"High technology and sophisticated systems have vastly improved safety at sea but there is no substitute for a watchful pair of eyes. Accidents do happen, but a computer cannot spot a distress flare, an overturned boat, a yacht with engine failure or a swimmer in distress.
A trained Watchkeeper can and each NCI station is manned by a team of fully trained andVHF licensed volunteers who keep a daylight watch up to 365 days a year. All stations aspire to and most have already achieved DFS (Declared Facility Status) which means that they have been designated as available for maritime search and rescue (SAR) under the direction of HM Coastguard, according to a specific standard or set criteria. "
Mike says plans for a new base in Filey are progressing and that a temporary mobile unit could arrive in the early part of 2022.
NCI is controlled by a Board of Trustees with a constitution agreed by the Charities Commission. It receives no Government funding.
Each station is managed by an elected Station Manager who is responsible to the Board for the provision of trained personnel and the for the station’s maintenance. Local fund raising relies heavily upon the good will of local people and the efforts of Watchkeepers and their friends and families.
Sources including charitable trusts and other benevolent organisations who identify with the aims of NCI and wish to keep the charity open also provide support for capital projects such as equipment and new stations. Watchkeepers also pay for their own uniform.
More information about NCI is available here https://www.nci.org.uk/
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