25th June 2022. The Coastguard recently called NCI Charmouth advising that a member of the public had reported a dinghy a mile offshore and expressed concern for the safety of the occupants.

The volunteer watchkeepers confirmed that they had kept eyes on the dingy since it entered the water some 45 minutes earlier. They gave the description of the dinghy with an inflatable ring, one male adult, one male child and one female child on board all wearing wet suits. At this point they were approximately 400m offshore and showing no signs of distress or being in difficulty. The Coastguard advised that, in view of the nature of the call from the member of the public, they were launching the Lyme Regis Lifeboat and passed on the description of the inflatables to the lifeboat. NCI Charmouth observed the Lifeboat half a mile off the beach, however the dinghy and ring were now approaching the beach. The watchkeepers informed the Coastguard who advised the Lifeboat that the casualties have been reported ashore and stood them down.

Another example of the value of our watchkeepers being the eyes along the coast providing information, in real time, during a potential incident.