CliveEdwards

Many thanks and all understood but there still seems to be a misunderstanding regarding the role of the Merchant Navy Assn Boat Club as regards promoting the RNLI's Respect the Water campaign which is what our initiative is actually about. We are NOT never have been and never will be seeking to become a Cat 1 responder Interestingly none of the comments on the NBN forum have mentioned the Norfolk & Suffolk Boating Association (NSBA) but their excellent Green Book has featured an article on the MNA and our Boat Club regularly every year so from now on rather than me responding to each of these posts individually I would refer anyone who wants to know about the role of the MNA Boat Club to 81 of the 219 edition of the Green Book

Thanks for your response, but I think you may have misunderstood - The MNA Boat Club has operated its previous SeaVue Watchekeepers Afloat scheme for the past five years and more, and we have had at least a couple of members reporting incidents, potential incidents whilst out on their boats and have either assisted or stood by pending the arrival of a Cat 1 responder and we're not suggesting that WaterWatch will change that situation as far as boating activities are concerned. What we're trying to do is to address precisely the problem you highlighted - namely those members of the public who for whatever reason (and you mentioned one!) unintentionally, or even occasionally intentionally and very ill-advisedly end up in the water The RNLI have their own Water Safety Teams around the coast addressing exactly the problem that you (and we) have identified but they do not have Water Safety Teams covering inland waterways, and nor are there Coastwatch Stations inland either and we we are seeking to do is to make a start to plugging that gap - as far as the Broads are concerned you and Marshman are undoubtedly correct in saying there are already groups/organisations providing safety cover, at least as far as boating activities are concerned (although in my days on the Broads years ago that wasn't the case) but there are waterways, canals, lakes, rivers and so on where there isn't much by way of a water safety provision. hence our initiative. We're not planning suddenly to start some major safety operation but in response to the RNLI's Respect the Water campaign we#re asking our members to put their vast boating and maritime SAR experience to good use inland as well as around the coast To go back to your point about pubs etc an example of what we're actually is to distribute the attached leaflets to pubs and clubs in particular and take the opportunity to distribute other RNLI water safety materials ,

Good Morning and thanks for your comments which I understand and to some extent agree with, particularly as regards the Norfolk Broads (as I was brought up in Cromer and first learned to sail on the Broads) However in general terms having spent 23 years as a member of HM Coastguard, a further 5 years as a National Coastwatch station manager and currently as an RNLI Water Safety Officer there is quite rightly a serious concern to address the sad fact that some 200+ members of the public lose their lives every year as a result of unintentionally entering the water, and that 70% of these fatalities occur on inland waterways and the RNLI's Respect the Water Campaign aims to reduce this by half within the next three years. So whilst I agree that there are quite a lot of groups involved one way or another in activities related to search and rescue as an organisation representing both current and former professional seafarers, coastguards, lifeboat crews etc The Merchant Navy Association are proud to be joining forces with the RNLI in their Respect the Water Campaign with a view to extending it to cover the UK's inland waterways some of which are certainly not as well covered as the Broads are! I'm attaching a quote from Sir Robin Knox-Johnston who I'm sure you will have heard of which reinforces what I've just said. I would emphasise that our aim is certainly not to become a Category 1 maritime rescue service, or to set ourselves in competition with other groups who are no doubt doing a good job, but our aim is to provide water safety advice and where appropriate to provide a reporting/alerting service in line with the RNLI's national Respect the Water Campaign and the Nautical Institutes Confidential Hazardous Incident Reporting Programme (CHIRP) all aimed at reducing the number fatalities from drowning around the UK. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston endorses Merchant Navy Association (MNA) Boat Club partnership with the RNLI to promote the RNLI’s Respect the Water Campaign on the UK’s inland waterways “I am really pleased to see the Merchant Navy Association (MNA) Boat Club join forces with the RNLI to reach inland waterway users with safety messaging, helping to raise awareness of the Respect the Water campaign. MNA Boat Club members are former professional seafarers with a wealth of maritime experience and expertise so they are perfectly placed to support the RNLI’s prevention work in non-coastal waters. As a former Merchant Seaman and a Vice President of the RNLI, it’s great to see these two organisations working together to reduce accidental drowning in the UK.” Sir Robin Knox-Johnston CBE RD* I hope I have clarified our objectives, and if you, or any of the subscribers to the Forum are interested in more information or even interested in getting involved then do please contact me again Yours Aye Clive .

The Merchant Navy Association Boat Club would welcome new associate members with an interest in contribution to our WaterWatch initiative whether they prefer to participate whist on the water or from the shore - or indeed both! You can find out more from the contacts below or by going to www.seafarersafloat.com. or www,MNA.org.uk Commodore: Clive Edwards, 19 Horsford Street, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 8UH Tel 01305 781725, email commodore@seafarersafloat.uk Merchant Navy Association Boat Club to launch “WaterWatch” Following the formation of the partnership between the Merchant Navy Association (MNA) and the RNLI last autumn to promote the RNLI#s Respect the Water Campaign on the UK’s inland waterways the RNLI has recently re-branded its former Community Safety operations as “Water Safety” For some years the MNA Boat Club has operated a scheme to promote maritime safety under the brand name “SeaVue” whereby Boat Club members undertake to act as watchkeepers afloat to “Spot, Plot, and Report” incidents, potential incidents and hazards whenever they go afloat and to alert the Coastguard accordingly, in a manner very similar to the National Coastwatch (NCI) operating from their fifty or more look-outs around the coast Given the involvement the MNA Boat Club now has with the RNLI in respect of promoting the Respect the Water campaign on inland waterways the Boat Club is now in the process of launching its “MNA WaterWatch” scheme whereby MNA Boat Club members will undertake the same “Spot, Plot and Report” activities in respect of the UK’s inland waterways, including rivers, canals, lakes and the Broads. Initially the MNA WaterWatch scheme will be launched as a “pilot scheme” in their East Anglian region The MNA’s WaterWatch members will operate both from their own boats and/or from ashore by means of ad-hoc patrols and will of course report to the relevant waterway authority rather than to HM Coastguard unless the incident is in an area such as a major tidal river or estuary. In some cases it may also be appropriate to report incidents to the Nautical Institute’s Confidential Hazardous Incident Reporting scheme known as CHIRP The new MNA WaterWatch scheme is now featured on the www.seafarersafloat.com website where details of the MNA Boat Club’s various other activities are also to be found For further information contact Clive Edwards on 01305 781725 or email commodore@seafarersafloat.com or Steve Walker (MNA Boat Club East Anglian regional Chairman) on 07769 725434, email wavewalker@btinternet.com Clive Edwards, 28th May 2020 Press Release May 2020 WaterWatch.doc

MNA-RNLI AMBASSADORS endorsement by RK-J Press Release AUG 19.doc