John Gifford OBE, the Honorary President of the National Coastwatch Institute, paid an informal visit to the station on the 30^th October. John had previously visited Fleetwood when we were in the old Coastguard station, and said that he was amazed at the improvement in our facilities and equipment. John, who was accompanied on the visit by his wife, spent almost 2 hours observing a busy watch and talking with the watchkeepers and visitors to the tower. Following his visit, Bob Loynes (Station Manager) confirmed that The Honorary President had declared himself to be most impressed by the way in which we conduct our role here on the Fleetwood Coast, which he described as a testament to the work, time and effort which those involved in setting up the tower gave so freely.

There was a full house at Fleetwood Nautical College on the 27th July when members of Fleetwood Coastwatch bid farewell to Steve Martin, who is standing down as Station Manager after 8 years at the helm. During his time in charge Steve played a pivotal role in ensuring the successful move from the old, draughty lookout station to the new state-of-the-art premises at Fleetwood tower.
On being presented with a framed selection of photos by Bob Loynes, the new Station Manager, Steve expressed his appreciation for all of the effort and loyalty shown by the membership over the years. He said that it was impossible to thank everyone enough and that none of our success could have been achieved without a huge amount of help and enthusiasm from all of the members.
He wished all of the watchkeepers the very best for the future, and offered his congratulations and good wishes to Bob as he takes up the position of Manager.

Due to our station manager Mr Steve Martin retiring from the post after eight Years of service during which took us from the old cold draughty tower into the new much more comfortable well equipped one,
Steve was instrumental in securing us a position whereby we could achieve fundraising something that is vital to the running of the station.
After a vote by the members Mr Bob Loynes will now be our new station manager effective from the end of July.
We wish Bob well in his new role.

National Coastwatch Institution (NCI), based at Fleetwood, recently received an important donation from Fleetwood and Cleveleys Lions.
Following a presentation to the Fleetwood based charity organisation, NCI were donated an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). The Lion’s local President, Mary Ann Woodman and Paul Keirby, the Lion’s Welfare Chairman, visited the NCI station at Fleetwood, to hand over the gift.
The UPS ensures that vital electrical equipment doesn’t ‘crash’, in the event of a power outage or surge. This would become especially important, if the break in electricity supply came in the middle of an incident. Vital equipment, like VHF radios, weather station and radar, would continue to function.
Steve Martin, the NCI Station Manager at Fleetwood said ‘’ Receiving this type of support from the local community means a lot to the members of the team. This piece of equipment, ensures we’ll be able to give continued coverage when required. We can’t thank the Fleetwood and Cleveleys Lions enough for their very generous donation’’.

Mike Byrne, one of Fleetwood’s watchkeepers, has been elected to the Board of Trustees of the National Coastwatch Institution at their AGM in London in April. This is a great honour for Mike personally, and all of the volunteers at Fleetwood take pleasure in knowing that his appointment will serve to raise awareness nationally of our position as the only station in the north west of England. Mike, a regular sea-farer and day-fisher, said “I am always conscious of the power of the seas, and it is very comforting to know that the Search and Rescue teams have your back in case you run into difficulties.” Of his appointment to the Board of Trustees, Mike said ” I am very honoured to be part of a team that looks out for people and shipping in our area, and I am also looking forward to helping develop and grow NCI nationally.”