Skegness and Hunstanton RNLI crews team up for historic Coastwatch anniversary flag relay

It set off on a 2,000-mile trek around its 60 UK stations in early June, as part of the anniversary celebrations.

Crews from Hunstanton and Skegness RNLI launched to assist their colleagues transport the flag by sea across The Wash, after it was delivered by volunteers from the NCI's station at Brancaster on the Norfolk coast.Relief hovercraft Samburgh, which is currently on duty at Hunstanton RNLI, took the NCI's emblem afloat before handing it over to the station's B class lifeboat Spirit of West Norfolk.Then it was the turn of the Skegness crew in their D class lifeboat The Holland Family, who set off to their base in Lincolnshire with the standard on the next leg of its journey.Mike Gould, acting RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager at Hunstanton, said: 'It was an honour to be approached by our partners at the NCI Brancaster and to be a part of their anniversary celebrations.

'We work closely with both the NCI and HM Coastguard to keep our waters and coastline safe.'John Allen, station manager at NCI Brancaster, said: 'It's brilliant, absolutely superb to see Hunstanton linking up with Skegness to help the flag on its way.'He added the Coastwatch station, which opened in 2022, now has 30 volunteers who keep an eye on the busy beach at Brancaster.When the flag relay has been completed, the flag will be taken to Trinity House in London for a special commemorative event at the end of September.

Trinity House is a charity dedicated to safeguarding shipping and seafarers, providing education, support and welfare to the seagoing community.

NCI's volunteer watchkeepers help to keep people safe and save lives at sea by maintaining a daily visual and radio watch of the coast, looking out for anyone in potential danger.

They report any incidents to HM Coastguard so that expert help can be sent, including RNLI lifeboat crews and other emergency services.

The charity was founded in 1994, after two crew perished when their fishing boat sank near a Coastguard lookout which had been closed down.

The local community decided to establish a volunteer watch over that section of the coastline, and the National Coastwatch Institution was established.

The NCI has gone on to establish 60 lookout stations around England and Wales, from Fleetwood in the North West, through Wales, and around the English coastline to Filey, in the North East.

Today (Wednesday) the Standard will be carried by volunteers from Skegness NCI, setting off from Chapel St Leonards beach at 10am and arriving in Mablethorpe around 2pm. Spectators are being welcomed to offer support.