Our NCI Fleetwood station resumed limited lookout operations in July of this year.

National policy for the NCI mandates that we conduct single-manned watches to respect the government restrictions currently in place.  In order to comply with this policy we have implemented a reduced watch period of 3 hours for the watchkeepers.  Accordingly our current manning is from 1100 to 1700 each day split into 2 x 3hour watch periods.

Since returning to duty we have been involved in 5 incidents all of which had the potential to become very serious for the individuals concerned.

For the boating community, please remember we are available on Marine Channel 65 for radio checks and actual weather reports from our station weather equipment.

The newly appointed High Sherrif of Lancashire, the Honourable Ralph Asheton, kindly agreed to present the long service awards to our eligible members this year.

Members receiving the 5 year award were:
Ann Davies, David Croall, Stuart MacGregor, Nicola Allatt and Charles Hill.  Well done to all.

Of note this year, John Lagette completes 10 years Service and has decided to hang up his binoculars.  In his 10 years John has always been keen to help in many areas not least of which was his tenure as the Training Officer.  We wish him well for the future and he is always welcome to visit at any time should he wish to do so.

A small motor launch with 2 persons on board sank suddenly on Sunday 11th Novemeber at approximately 1240.  The vessel position was 241degrees Fleetwood Tower Range 2.3 nm.

A nearby vessel the ‘Pisces’ spotted this and reported to HMCG Holyhead; Fleetwood confirmed this by telephone to HMCG. Pisces very quickly reached the 2 people and got them on board.  The 2 people were subsequently transferred to the Fleetwood Lifeboat for return to shore.

The Pisces crew and one of the rescued persons later visited the tower to thank all concerned.

The Annual General Meeting of 2018 was held in Fleetwood Nautical college on the 31st October.

I would like to commend everyone for their support in maintaining an enviable watch record by completing and manning all watches throughout the year.  In that respect this has been a good year for the station.

However, It was noted that this had been a difficult year for the members in terms of illness, particularly amongst those volunteers holding committee and management positions in the team.

A large majority of the executive team has had to be replaced or take up a reduced role. These people should be commended for the work they have done in some often quite difficult circumstances.

The station performance and reports from officers are laid out in more detail in the minutes on the National Website.  However, I would like to take the opportunity to ask members for support in deputy positions, particularly if you have a skill that can be useful to the station.   The station cannot run unless the posts are filled and the deputies are an essential part of the organisation in providing support in times of holiday, illness and in extremis a member passing away as happened this year.

And finally ……..the team for 2018 – 2019 annual photograph (courtesy of Ron Murray)