Coastal Watch

Wendy:  On my last day of walking we had a wonderful walk along the cliffs of Cornwall, with fabulous weather and views as we went. The coastal path stretched out in front of us, with some old tin mine buildings way off in the distance, and spectacular beaches below us. 

We made a stop at a Coast Watch station at St Agnes Head, and the volunteer on duty explained what they do. 

Every ship over a certain size is required to carry a device which transmits information about it (size, ownership, flag, cargo, destination, etc. ) to the station. An iPad mounted on the console showed a map of the headland, and dots in the water represented each ship. Not many were visible to the naked eye, but one touch on the iPad immediately brings up all the info. At the same time two VHF channels were monitoring voice messages. The smaller ships usually carry a radio to keep in touch. The volunteer knew the men in the two visible fishing boats, and explained that the lobster fisherman in the small dingy was checking his pots, and carries only a mobile phone - not much good if he tumbles in, or if he gets too close to the rocks at bottom of cliffs where the phone doesn't work. She told us of a recent rescue when a man had walked down the cliffs to go fishing and didn't returned as scheduled. She closed up the station and went to investigate, only to find that he had fallen and broken his ankle. A helicopter was needed to evacuate him. So it's important to have "eyes" actually watching, and not depend only on radar or technology. 

Volunteer on duty - she does 1-2 shifts per month, but some of the retired coast guard people do 2-3/week. The station is operated 8am-8pm every day. 

We continued our walk across the heathlands - more great views - and on into St. Agnes for a 'cuppa' in a character tea room.

from St. Agnes Beacon (hill)

The Cornwall Cafe, commonly known as Billy's.