Page 17 - Essex Mason Spring Special Edition

£10,000 grant will keep the

coast safe at Shoeburyness

ssex Freemasons have donated £10,000 to help save lives
Eand protect those using the beaches and coastal waters
near Shoeburyness. The money will be used to replace a vital
watch station near the Town’s East Beach which has kept vigil
over swimmers, kite surfers and boat enthusiasts for more
than 20 years.
The money was presented to NCI Southend, part of the
National Coastwatch Institution, a registered charity formed in
1994, which provides a visual presence to ensure that families
and visitors using the beach and local waters remain safe.

That essential work, handled by a team of local volunteers, was
put in jeopardy last winter when severe storms damaged the roof
and infrastructure of the watch station, but even after months of
fund raising, the charity still needed further funds to proceed with
necessary replacement.
That is when the Essex Freemasons Community Fund stepped in to
make up the difference to allow NCI Southend, to make plans to
complete the vital work to its station.
In presenting the cheque to Rodney Hyne-Jones, the Station
Manager, Deputy Provincial Grand Master Paul Reeves, commented:
“Our Community Fund is intended to support projects like this, where
we can see a real benefit for local people, visitors and their families.”
“If anyone is any doubt about this, then just 24 hours prior to this
presentation NCI Southend prevented a potential fatality with a kite
surfer who was seen to be in difficulty. Swift action by these volunteers
helped prevent a tragedy. After volunteers called out the lifeboat the
kite surfer was rescued which perfectly illustrates what the charity is
about.”

The Southend Branch was set up in 1998 to cover the area of Shoebury
East Beach which was out of sight of the local Coastguard station. In
addition, there is no Lifeguard cover there and the Charity’s primary
aim is to spot, plot and report any incident.
A spokesman from Coastwatch, Southend, commented: “If we had
been unable to replace the cabins at our existing station within the
year we would have been unable to sustain our watchkeeping activity
because the existing premises would have been unsafe to use.”

“This in turn would have been a significant loss to the local community and other visitors in terms of us no longer being
able to support the safe use of the beach and waters around Shoeburyness. This grant of £10,000 means we can carry
on and we cannot thank Essex Freemasons enough – the money will make a real difference.”

NCI Southend is the first contact for incidents on the north side of the Thames Estuary with the nearest manned Maritime
and Coastguard Agency station as far away as Dover. In an emergency Dover Coastguard are contacted and it is they, in
turn, who call out the Lifeboat or any other emergency services.

When required, Coastwatch volunteers can also liaise with the lifeboat by VHF radio to guide them to the casualty. They
also monitor key marine radio frequencies and can report any incident to Dover Coastguard if not picked up by them
directly.

All watch keepers are volunteers but are fully trained to deal with emergency situations and the station has Declared
Facility status with the Maritime Coastguard Agency meaning they are recognised as part of the UK’s Search
and Rescue capability.

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