On Monday July 8 Prawle Point NCI will receive a special ceremonial flag from its sister station at Rame Head (Plymouth) and with the help of Britannia Royal Naval College will transport it on one of their Vahanna class vessels to the NCI station at Froward Point (Dartmouth).
At Prawle Point (Devon’s southernmost point), highly trained volunteer watchkeepers are on duty every day of the year during daylight hours surveying this hazardous stretch of water.
They form a key part of the chain of stations around the English and Welsh costs.
National Coastwatch is a critical part of the UK Search and Rescue, working alongside HM Coastguard, the RLNI and other emergency services to help save lives at sea.
Prawle Point NCI was founded in 1997 and was the first NCI station outside Cornwall.
On June 3 at the NW-most station NCI Fleetwood, celebrating 30 years of this important work, a custom embroidered anniversary flag featuring the names of all 60 stations started on its travels anti-clockwise around the coast.
It will end its journey in September at the NE-most station at NCI Filey.
Locally, the flag will travel from Rame Head in an open top Morgan sports car to Prawle Point on Monday July 8.
Shortly after 10am on Tuesday July 9 the flag will be taken to the Vahanna from Britannia Royal Naval College at the Normandy Pontoon in Salcombe (Whitestrand) and will be carried by sea to its next destination, Dartmouth, accompanied by a small flotilla of local vessels (including one more Vahanna from BRNC) where it is expected to arrive around noon.
Richard Cropper, Acting Station Manager at Prawle Point said:
“This year is an exciting milestone in collaborative search and rescue services for all who use the sea and for walkers along our section of the SW coast path. The anniversary is also an opportunity for some additional fundraising with some fun along the way.”