Stephen Husband
Visitors to Filey may wonder about the Blue mobile station located at the south end of Princes Parade used by the Filey NCI or National Coastwatch Institute. Filey Residents already know that we are here as part of the Search And Rescue team providing additional safety and support to our Filey Bay coastline.
In 2023 there are 60 NCI stations, with Filey as station 58 and currently the most northerly on the East Coast. It is hard to believe Filey NCI Station is now over 1 year old having opened on July 15th 2022, with 8 local volunteers under training from 4 volunteer watchkeepers travelling weekly from Hornsea our nearest station. Initially the station opened one day a week but soon moved to 2 days per week as training advanced.
By September the 8 trainees were undertaking assessment and becoming qualified watchkeepers themselves allowing the Hornsea team to stand down in Filey and return to their own station duties. Now the new Filey watchkeepers became the trainers as new trainees were coming forward to start their journey. Additional training commenced to cover VHF radio licences and ensures the station also has competent radio operators as the station grows in strength and ability.
Presently the station is operational 5 days a week, Tuesday to Saturday with 15 fully assessed watchkeepers 1 Veteran Watchkeeper plus 7 more in training and 4 outstanding persons interested in a taster session. As more volunteers join and undergo training, we can increase and move to 7 day opening throughout the year increasing the level of public protection to Filey Bay and coastline.
We have done well from a standing start in a short time and the commitment of the team is strong, but we will always be grateful to our colleagues from Hornsea who supported us in the beginning. We are also grateful to The Humber Coastguard, Coastal Rescue Teams, Filey RNLI, Lifeguards and Filey Police who are helping us to build strong links in this valuable SAR team. Further support has come from Filey Town Council, North Yorkshire Council, Filey Bay Today and many local businesses. “To stand tall you need to stand on the shoulders of giants”.
If you are passing our station stop and say hello and if you think you could join our team then have a chat and check us out. As a volunteer charity with no paid watchkeepers, we welcome every donation you drop in our collection box.
Please give to help us help you!
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