ABOUT US
HM Coastguard stations around the UK were closed by the government as a means of cost saving in 1994. Following the death of two young fishermen immediately in front of the ex-Coastguard lookout at Bass Point in Cornwall just after the closure, a group of mariners, lead by Captain Starling Lark, decided to form a group of like minded people who then set about re-opening the closed lookouts. To date 56 stations around the UK coastline have been re-opened, each being run completely independently, financially, all having their own management responsible for their own lookout.
The lookout at Wooltack Point was in dire need of repair. A fund raising campaign was started in order to restore her, and in 2010 we completed the restoration.
The lookout is run entirely on public donations, together with all the local fund raising we carry out. We receive no help from local councils or the government whatsoever. It costs ~£2,000 p.a. just to keep the doors open.
The lookout is manned every weekend throughout the year with Winter watches being from 10.00 to 16.00 and Summer watches being from 10.00 to18.00 but we remain on standby to HM Coastguard throughout the hours of closure, including Christmas Day.
Our vision is to open more often, ideally 7 days a week. To achieve this, we would need upwards of 18 Watchkeepers available to be able to cover opening hours 1000 to 1600hrs daily, 7 days a week. We can only do this if more watchkeepers are trained to the high standards expected by HM Coastguard.
pROFESSIONAL - IN ALL BUT PAY
We currently have just 5 very highly trained volunteer Watchkeepers and 8 Trainee Watchkeepers of all ages & from all walks of life, all of whom give their time for free, buy their own uniforms & claim no expenses whatsoever. The team give 3,000+ man hours to the community each year (excluding time ‘on call’ & given to administration work & training).
We are officially part of the Search & Rescue and work closely with Milford Haven Coastguard Maritime Operations Centre (CGOC), the RNLI Lifeboat Stations at Angle and St Davids, Rescue 187 CG Helicopter, UK Border Agencies, the Drug Alliance, Milford Haven Port Authority and with Dyfed Powys Police and the Maritime Police
Our station is equipped with advanced technology including marine VHF radios, AIS(Automatic Identification System) for identifying shipping and other craft, up to the minute weather monitoring systems and very high powered scopes and binoculars.
We not only monitor all shipping, leisure & commercial craft using the waters around Wooltack Point and Jack Sound, we also watch out for walkers, climbers, horse riders, in fact anyone using the land & sea areas around Wooltack Point. Last year alone we logged over 7,000 vessels & were involved with 12 incidents, all of which could have ended very differently had Coastwatch not been there.
Contact details (to make a donation or if you are interested in joining the team):
Station Manager Tel: 07927 321164.
Lookout (for current weather conditions): Tel 07817 871549 (10.00-16.00, weekends only).
