NCI Manual Part 3 Station Operations & Training. Section 3 Training Guidance Notes. A Watchkeeping Basics

Transcription

1 National Coastwatch NCI Manual Part 3 Station Operations & Training Section 3 Training Guidance Notes A Watchkeeping Basics Station Operations Group NCI Manual 303.2A-2 National Coastwatch Institution Registered Charity No

2

3 CONTENTS Page Introduction 2.1 Basic Competency A1: Maintain an Effective Visual Watch 2.1 Effective Visual Scanning Use of Binoculars and Telescope Vigilance during the Watch, Watch Handover Basic Competency A2: Be Aware of the Spotting Priorities 2.5 Hierarchy of Observation Hierarchy of Vulnerability Basic Competency A3: Complete the Logbook to the Required Standards The Station Logbook: Functions The Station Logbook: Required Standards Basic Competency A4: Know what DFS means 2.9 Declared Facility Status DFS Assessment, Declared Facilities, Radar and AIS Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) Jargon Buster 2.7 AIS DFS HMCG MOU MRCC PV SAR Automatic Identification System (ship identification) Declared Facility Status Her Majesty s Coastguard Memorandum of Understanding Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (HM Coastguard) Persons visible Search and Rescue SO Group Amended: Mar 14

4

5 A. WATCHKEEPING BASICS Introduction 1.1. The contribution that NCI makes to safety along our coasts rests on the watchkeeper s ability to maintain an effective visual watch over the sea area, shore and sky visible from the station. Visual watchkeeping means being aware, at all times, of what is going on within the station s watch sector so that potential incidents are anticipated, and actual incidents are spotted and reported without delay. To be effective watchkeepers must be trained to use their eyes, as well as the optical equipment within the station, to maximum effect and to be aware of the spotting priorities. Guidance on developing these essential skills is set out under Basic Competencies A1 and A2 below Essential to a basic understanding of the watchkeeping role is an awareness of the importance of: the Station Logbook as an official document, and Declared Facility Status (DFS) as the means of defining the role that a NCI station plays within the national Search and Rescue community. These fundamental aspects are covered in Basic Competencies A3 and A4 below. Basic Competency A1: Maintain an Effective Visual Watch 2.1. The primary purpose of NCI, as embodied in our Mission Statement, is to provide a first class visual lookout. However, although it may seem a simple task to continuously monitor what can be seen from the station, few people know how to do this effectively. This section aims to teach how to search the area visible from the station and provides various strategies to make the watchkeeper more effective Each station will have a different outlook and thus it is important to ensure that all watchkeepers are aware of what is normal in terms of the view from the station windows. Thus at the start of the initial training always ensure that new watch-keepers are given the opportunity to look out and be made aware of the station s unique view. SO Group Page 2.1 Amended: Mar 14

6 Effective Visual Scanning 2.3. When introducing the watchkeeper to the view outside the station also share with them the following general principles in maintaining a good visual lookout: 1. Move the Head not the Eyes. Whether the watchkeeper is doing a straightforward visual search of the sea or using binoculars or a telescope to obtain a specific piece of information, he or she should always turn the head not the eyes. It is possible to keep the head still and move only the eyes, but they will soon tire and thus the lookout will be less effective. 2. Use Peripheral Vision. It is tempting to look straight ahead when searching an area and even more so when trying to identify the name of a vessel. Peripheral vision is more acute so use it. By placing a target slightly off the centreline of vision it will be noted that the target will be easier to identify. 3. Sweep Slowly. This is particularly important at deep sea stations where the view is being constantly modified by waves, swell and wind. However, at all stations it is good practice to ensure that the sweeping of the view is unhurried. A good exercise is to imagine something small in the water and estimate how long it might be before it would next appear on a top of a wave. The watchkeeper should not leave that area until the sequence has been completed. 4. If you think that you might have seen something, you probably did. It is a wellrecognised condition that the brain will register a fleeting contact slightly later than the eyes have sent the message to the brain. Frequently the watchkeeper will have moved on and it is tempting to think that it was imagination. Always go back and pause long enough to check out the situation. SO Group Page 2.2 Amended: Mar 14

7 5. Be Methodical. There are many different patterns that can be used for searching. The search can be from out to in e.g. from horizon to station, or from in to out. It can be broad sweeps or through relatively small sectors. Whatever method is chosen there must be a gapless search and each step must be small enough to provide some overlap. Each station will probably have some particular hazard such as a tidal race or a beach used by holidaymakers - always start the sweep/search there and look more frequently in this area. 6. Lock on to the Target. It is very easy to lose a target that has been acquired, particularly if it is something small like a child in the water. It is for this reason that, wherever practical, there should always be two on watch so that one person can keep his/her eyes on the target and give a continuous commentary so that every detail can be noted and - combined with a tape recording of the incident - can give useful information for any subsequent reconstruction, report etc. 7. Mark the Target. Even if a watchkeeper is able to lock on to the target, it is easy to lose sight of a small target, particularly if the sea is rough and it is drifting. The following methods can be used to go back to the last known position of a small moving target: Use of Binoculars and Telescope line up the pelorus sighting vane with the target and update continually. use a non-permanent marker (placed in the hand of the watchkeeper who has visual contact by the other watchkeeper) to mark the lookout window with a circle around the target, and maintain the same body stance in relation to that line of sight e.g. by a second mark on the counter where the watchkeeper is standing. if there is a distinctive feature (vegetation, landscape feature etc) on the cliff edge or shoreline that lines up with the target then maintain the same body stance and use the feature as a reference point The guidance about using eyes can be applied to the use of binoculars and telescopes but there are some features that can make a significant difference. The most obvious is that the magnification will reduce the field of view and that the higher the magnification the more restricted the area that will be covered. In low light situations a watchkeeper can often be more effective when not using aids such as binoculars or a telescope as more light is able to enter the eye. SO Group Page 2.3 Amended: Mar 14

8 2.5. It is also important to know how to set the binoculars and telescope in use at the particular station. All watchkeepers must be advised on how this should be done. In doing so advice must be given on the importance of getting the inter-ocular distance right. This is the gap between the centre of the left pupil and the right pupil. The binoculars must be set so that the distance between the lenses exactly matches this measurement, or double imaging will occur When the watchkeeper has eye contact with a small target and needs to use binoculars to see more detail, she/he should keep their eyes fixed on the target as they bring the binoculars up to their face. This will put the optics of the binocular in the line of sight while they keep their eyes on the target. 2.7 Note that watchkeepers will require instruction in the care of binoculars or telescope as well as in their use e.g. binoculars should not be stood on their object lenses and lenses should not be cleaned with the corner of a hankie or shirt! Vigilance during the Watch 2.8. It is important that watchkeepers are constantly vigilant and are not distracted from their task. It is recognised that four hours is the maximum time that this vigilance can be maintained. During this period of time watchkeepers trained to use the visual scanning techniques described above, backed up by the use of binoculars/telescope, should be capable of maintaining an effective watch By remaining vigilant during the watch, a watchkeeper is able to build up a mental map of what is out there in the watch sector i.e: what craft and vulnerable people are where, what they are doing, who is at risk, what has been logged and what hasn t, what the weather and tide are doing and what changes can be anticipated. All this information could be of value in both handling incidents effectively should they arise and in helping to avoid them before they arise. It is information that should, as far as is practicable, be passed onto to the next pair of eyes at watch handover. Watch Handover It is important that the process of watch handover is taken seriously by both the offgoing and the oncoming watchkeepers. It should be treated as a formal process but not a formality! Training should be given in conducting the handover and station-operating procedures should include guidance on the form it should take. SO Group Page 2.4 Amended: Mar 14

9 2.11. The following Watch Handover process, based on the mnemonic ICELAWS, may be helpful: INCIDENTS - Report any ongoing incidents and their status, plus other incidents occurring during the watch. CONCERNS - Point out any vulnerable craft or people currently at risk that require close monitoring, their location and what they are doing. EQUIPMENT - Report any equipment failures, deficiencies. LOG - Point out and identify (by vessel ID and/or type) visible craft that that have been logged. Point out those that have not been logged. (The pelorus provides a good pointer ). ADVISORY NOTICES, MESSAGES etc. Draw attention to any station notices, messages to be passed on, housekeeping issues. WEATHER - Describe the (changing?) state of the weather and tide, and state if the weather is forecast to improve or deteriorate. SUMMARY & SIGN OFF Complete the watch summary (incidents, types of vessel logged, comms. in/out) and sign off the log. Basic Competency A2: Be Aware of the Spotting Priorities 3.1. Watchkeepers must be made aware that there are priorities in keeping a visual watch and, although there will be differences for each station, there are general principles to be observed. The Hierarchy of Observation 3.2. The first set of priorities is the Hierarchy of Observation. This means that whilst on watch a watchkeeper must use eyes first, binoculars/telescopes and then radar last. In other word our eyes, augmented where necessary by binoculars and/or the telescope, provide the most valuable aids to visual watchkeeping and, except where visibility is very poor, radar should be regarded as having a much lower priority 3.3. It is likely that a watchkeeper will use the binoculars/telescopes when trying to identify a name or sail number. Remember that the use of peripheral vision (see para above) is as important in this circumstance as when using just the eyes. SO Group Page 2.5 Amended: Mar 14

10 The Hierarchy of Vulnerability 3.4. The second, equally important, set of priorities is the Hierarchy of Vulnerability. This is the priority that must be given to the various targets in evidence around the station. Each station will have different priorities but as a general rule the following must be seen as important and in NCI terms mandatory Key Priorities: All incidents (as defined below) occurring within the watch sector Vulnerable craft and people (as defined below) Fishing/working boats/small pleasure boats Leisure craft on passage e.g. yachts, motor cruisers, line fishermen Dive boats and associated activity. Lowest priority: Large Merchant and Naval vessels Types of vulnerable craft and people: 3.7. Types of Incident. Swimmers, divers, canoeists, wind/kite surfers etc, water and jet skiers Small inflatables, rowing boats, small open boats Lone children, lone walkers, groups of children Rod/beach fishermen Rock/cliff scramblers, climbers and tombstoners Any craft/person acting strangely/looking odd. Casualty spotted at sea distress signals, vessels/people in difficulty Mayday, PanPan distress and urgency messages heard Land incidents on cliffs, rocks, coast path: missing persons, people in difficulty, injured farm animals Beach incidents empty inflatables, missing children, erratic jet skiing Suspicious Activities drug/people smuggling. Note: This last list is not exhaustive and there may be incidents that are peculiar to individual stations which must be noted. SO Group Page 2.6 Amended: Mar 14

11 Basic Competency A3: Complete the Logbook to the Required Standards The Station Logbook: Functions 4.1. The Station Logbook is an official document which records activity/weather in the station s operational sector. It can be called upon at any time as a source of evidence by relevant authorities such as the Coroner s Court, Police, and HMCG. In essence the Logbook is a record of station activity throughout its opening hours. Thus it should be treated with respect and every effort made to ensure it is completed in a correct manner. It is one of very few documents that can be used in an official capacity outside NCI In addition the Station Logbook can provide valuable information whenever an incident arises. The identity and position of a casualty, and of craft in the vicinity that may be able to assist, can be more readily established if their details have already been logged, whilst the log entry for a craft that is subsequently reported missing may provide essential information about its last known position It is important to discourage any tendency on the part of watchkeepers to regard the logging of vessels as a form of maritime train-spotting i.e. mechanically collecting the details of all visible craft without regard to the spotting priorities and disregarding vulnerable craft once they have been logged. Watchkeepers must give priority to vulnerable craft and people, more especially during busy periods, and continue to monitor them after they have been logged - in other words, to spot, log and monitor NOT spot, log and forget At stations, such as on the Solent, where the sheer volume of visible craft in the busy summer season makes the logging of individual craft impractical, priority should be given to the visual scanning and monitoring of vulnerable craft and people rather than to the routine logging of vessel details. The Station Logbook: Required Standards 4.5. Instructions are set out in Part 3 Section 1 Subsection 3 Time 4.6. Search and Rescue Services work to UTC (Co-ordinated Universal Time) which is the international time standard, formerly expressed as GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) and called Zulu time by the military. Local time is current civil time. Local time involves adjustment to BST (British Summer Time) which is UTC +1 hour. Although some stations operate on UTC throughout the year, the use of local time is generally less SO Group Page 2.7 Amended: Mar 14

12 confusing for watchkeepers and the public. All stations use the 24 hour clock. Basic Competency A4: Know what DFS means Declared Facility Status 5.1. Declared Facility Status (DFS) is the standard to which all NCI Stations must aspire once they have been operational for at least two years. It is the qualification that allows the Station to be fully recognised as a Search and Rescue (SAR) Asset. This means the Station is seen as an integral part of the SAR community and it gives the Station the same status as the RNLI Lifeboats, SAR Helicopters and other SAR partners Once a station is open and operational, HMCG will take note of information passed to them but, until the station has DFS, HMCG may possibly use a second source to verify information provided. Once a station has DFS, HMCG will receive the information without further verification. DFS Assessment 5.3. The Assessment to achieve DFS is carried out by the NCI Assessment/Liaison Team who will make the recommendation to the Chief Coastguard. The Assessment is of the whole station not of individual watchkeepers, although during the assessment process individual watchkeepers will be questioned to ensure that the standard of operation is spread throughout the whole station This document is designed to equip watchkeepers with the necessary skills that DFS Stations require to obtain and maintain their status. SO Group Page 2.8 Amended: Mar 14

13 Declared Facilities 5.5. The term declared in the DFS heading refers to what the station is declaring or offering to the SAR community at a local level. As NCI is committed to visual watchkeeping the basic facilities that all stations must declare when wishing to be considered are: Equipment: Binoculars and Telescopes Charts and means of taking and plotting bearing and distances A telephone for reporting incidents A tape recorder for recording VHF distress/urgency messages Means of identifying weather conditions Opening Hours: Hours of opening Arrangements for out of hours operation. Number of Personnel: Number of watchkeepers on the roster list Number of watchkeepers in training. Any change to equipment or opening hours post DFS Assessment must be reported to HMCG. Radar and AIS (Automatic Identification System) 5.6. Radar. A station can declare Radar. If it does, then all watchkeepers have to undergo the NCI Radar Assessment (details of which are found in Section I). A station can have Radar but not declare it but, if this is the case, HMCG can reserve the right not to believe information given to them based on the Radar AIS. A station can declare AIS. The policy on AIS is set out in an annex attached to the DFS Standards & Assessment Procedures. 5.8 Previously, the view has been taken that AIS was unnecessary except in those stations which monitor Traffic Management Zones (e.g. in SW Cornwall). However, as the RNLI Lifeboat fleet are likely to be AIS fitted by 2015 and an increasing number of leisure and fishing vessels have Class B AIS transponders, it is now accepted that AIS can be a useful aid to identifying craft of higher priority for watchkeeping than the vessels over 300 gross tons which are required to install Class A transponders. SO Group Page 2.9 Amended: Mar 14

14 Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) 5.9. NCI s relationship with HMCG is governed by the Memorandum of Understanding. This document outlines the respective responsibilities of the two organisations. It is a requirement of the DFS Assessment that the MOU is easily accessible in the station and that all watchkeepers have read it and know where it is kept Separate MOUs exists with: The MCA governing the use of VHF Radio by NCI stations and The UK Border Agency Details can be found in Section 1 of this manual. SO Group Page 2.10 Amended: Mar 14