UK SAR 2013 privatisation: the new thread
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771
The Final Duty
04/01/2016
After over 40 years of providing Search and Rescue' operations from RNAS Culdrose, the four duty crew of 771 Naval Air Squadron have completed their last 24 hour shift.
Over the years, personnel from 771 Naval Air Squadron have saved countless lives, whilst risking their own, in some of the most hazardous conditions imaginable.
It is estimated that they have carried out over 9000 rescues and saved over 15,000 lives since 1974.
With that in mind, 31st December 2015 their last full day of operation, it was business as usual for the four man crew - Commanding Officer Lt Cdr Richard Calhaem, Lt Cdr Andrew 'Tank' Murray, Lt Jonathan 'Stretch' Hounsome and WO Andy Penrose.
It has been the most rewarding and satisfying job I could ever have hoped to fulfil - I have been privileged to serve at 771
, Lt Cdr Andrew Murray RN
The experienced team have many flying hours between them; indeed three of them have carried out almost 400 rescues each.
With a cabinet full of honours and awards, the four individuals have taken part in some major rescues from the Spanish Trawler Presca Verdes Tres in 2008, Boscastle in 2004, FV Le Sillon in 2014 and the Panamera in 2013.
‘Search and Rescue’ will continue for the Royal Navy - it is essential to flying operations at sea - but from January 1st 2016, the baton of responsibility for the provision of UK civilian search and rescue was handed to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency contractor Bristow Helicopters, based at Newquay airport.
Before handing over to the MCA and Bristow, Commanding Officer of 771 Naval Air Squadron, Lieutenant Commander Dick Calhaem explained that the squadron would not be slowing down: “It will be business as usual for 771, right up until the moment we pass the baton on to the Bristow team at Newquay.
“The weather is not looking great, so let’s see what the next 24 hours bring!”
To ensure a smooth handover, 771 personnel have been liaising with the new Bristow Helicopter team at Newquay, many of whom have been based on 771 Squadron themselves.
Lieutenant Commander Calhaem said: “A lot of the new Bristow team are ex-771 so they are very familiar with the Cornish Coastline and should know the ropes well!”
WO Andy Penrose, the winchman on the final crew and one of the longest serving members of the squadron said: “When you get the call, you don’t really know what you are going to find at the scene.
“I have many memories of a whole host of jobs, some have extremely happy endings and some unfortunately do not.
“Each and every one has been unique in its own right. The ones which stick in your mind are the big jobs like Boscastle, but also those in the dead of night with massive sea states.
“Language has often been a problem too - once we got scrambled to a job where a man had got a fish hook stuck in his eye, but when we got to his fishing vessel, he had lost an arm!”
Andy added: “It has been the most rewarding and satisfying job I could ever have hoped to fulfil - I have been privileged to serve at 771 in every rank from Leading Hand to Warrant Officer.
“I am filled with sadness that my 771 days are all but finished, however, I have treasured memories of a job well done and have had some of the most challenging yet rewarding scenarios I could have ever have hoped to experience.
“I have every faith in my Bristow colleagues at Newquay, most of whom I know as previous 771 Squadron personnel.
“I look forward to my own personal challenge as I move onto my next unit as a Merlin Aircrewman and as a Merlin Sqn Warrant Officer.”
771's team of engineers have also been working hard as usual to ensure that the squadron's Sea King helicopters are ready to fly.
Petty Officer Martin Greenwood has been doing 12 hour watches every day since Christmas Day. He said: “We have been really busy, with engine changes and fixing avionic faults.
“This is the best squadron that I have ever worked on. The atmosphere is brilliant – everyone works together as a team.”
771 Naval Air Squadron has been ‘on call’ 24 hours a day, every day of the year since 1974, saving many lives in some of the most hazardous conditions imaginable, often putting their own lives at risk. Before 1974, the unit was based at RNAS Portland.
At 15 minutes notice by day and 45 minutes by night, the Squadron operated within a 200 nautical mile radius of Culdrose.
They have carried out over 200 rescues every year, ranging from plucking sailors from sinking ships, to airlifting casualties of road traffic accidents to hospital and assisting the police in carrying out aerial searches
29/12/2015
A busy year for RNAS Culdrose
MORE
24/12/2015
One in every 17 sailors and RM on duty over Christmas at hom
QUEEN ELIZABETH CLASS AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
FUTURE
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04/01/2016
After over 40 years of providing Search and Rescue' operations from RNAS Culdrose, the four duty crew of 771 Naval Air Squadron have completed their last 24 hour shift.
Over the years, personnel from 771 Naval Air Squadron have saved countless lives, whilst risking their own, in some of the most hazardous conditions imaginable.
It is estimated that they have carried out over 9000 rescues and saved over 15,000 lives since 1974.
With that in mind, 31st December 2015 their last full day of operation, it was business as usual for the four man crew - Commanding Officer Lt Cdr Richard Calhaem, Lt Cdr Andrew 'Tank' Murray, Lt Jonathan 'Stretch' Hounsome and WO Andy Penrose.
It has been the most rewarding and satisfying job I could ever have hoped to fulfil - I have been privileged to serve at 771
, Lt Cdr Andrew Murray RN
The experienced team have many flying hours between them; indeed three of them have carried out almost 400 rescues each.
With a cabinet full of honours and awards, the four individuals have taken part in some major rescues from the Spanish Trawler Presca Verdes Tres in 2008, Boscastle in 2004, FV Le Sillon in 2014 and the Panamera in 2013.
‘Search and Rescue’ will continue for the Royal Navy - it is essential to flying operations at sea - but from January 1st 2016, the baton of responsibility for the provision of UK civilian search and rescue was handed to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency contractor Bristow Helicopters, based at Newquay airport.
Before handing over to the MCA and Bristow, Commanding Officer of 771 Naval Air Squadron, Lieutenant Commander Dick Calhaem explained that the squadron would not be slowing down: “It will be business as usual for 771, right up until the moment we pass the baton on to the Bristow team at Newquay.
“The weather is not looking great, so let’s see what the next 24 hours bring!”
To ensure a smooth handover, 771 personnel have been liaising with the new Bristow Helicopter team at Newquay, many of whom have been based on 771 Squadron themselves.
Lieutenant Commander Calhaem said: “A lot of the new Bristow team are ex-771 so they are very familiar with the Cornish Coastline and should know the ropes well!”
WO Andy Penrose, the winchman on the final crew and one of the longest serving members of the squadron said: “When you get the call, you don’t really know what you are going to find at the scene.
“I have many memories of a whole host of jobs, some have extremely happy endings and some unfortunately do not.
“Each and every one has been unique in its own right. The ones which stick in your mind are the big jobs like Boscastle, but also those in the dead of night with massive sea states.
“Language has often been a problem too - once we got scrambled to a job where a man had got a fish hook stuck in his eye, but when we got to his fishing vessel, he had lost an arm!”
Andy added: “It has been the most rewarding and satisfying job I could ever have hoped to fulfil - I have been privileged to serve at 771 in every rank from Leading Hand to Warrant Officer.
“I am filled with sadness that my 771 days are all but finished, however, I have treasured memories of a job well done and have had some of the most challenging yet rewarding scenarios I could have ever have hoped to experience.
“I have every faith in my Bristow colleagues at Newquay, most of whom I know as previous 771 Squadron personnel.
“I look forward to my own personal challenge as I move onto my next unit as a Merlin Aircrewman and as a Merlin Sqn Warrant Officer.”
771's team of engineers have also been working hard as usual to ensure that the squadron's Sea King helicopters are ready to fly.
Petty Officer Martin Greenwood has been doing 12 hour watches every day since Christmas Day. He said: “We have been really busy, with engine changes and fixing avionic faults.
“This is the best squadron that I have ever worked on. The atmosphere is brilliant – everyone works together as a team.”
771 Naval Air Squadron has been ‘on call’ 24 hours a day, every day of the year since 1974, saving many lives in some of the most hazardous conditions imaginable, often putting their own lives at risk. Before 1974, the unit was based at RNAS Portland.
At 15 minutes notice by day and 45 minutes by night, the Squadron operated within a 200 nautical mile radius of Culdrose.
They have carried out over 200 rescues every year, ranging from plucking sailors from sinking ships, to airlifting casualties of road traffic accidents to hospital and assisting the police in carrying out aerial searches
29/12/2015
A busy year for RNAS Culdrose
MORE
24/12/2015
One in every 17 sailors and RM on duty over Christmas at hom
QUEEN ELIZABETH CLASS AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
FUTURE
An island nation needs a powerful navy.
Follow us...
TwitterFacebookGoogle+YouTube
Last edited by Bucaneer Bill; 15th Jan 2016 at 04:26. Reason: iPhone runaway
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Moment Snowdonia climbers rescued 3,260ft up
MCA are on Twitter and Facebook, not to mention BBC news feeds.
Well done the Coastguard!
Well done the Coastguard!
Last edited by Bucaneer Bill; 15th Jan 2016 at 04:10. Reason: IT tomfoolery
Coastguard chopper grounded before 100mph storm
Coastguard chopper grounded before 100mph storm | Shetland News
Coastguard chopper grounded before 100mph storm
19:25 Thursday, 04 February 2016 | Written by Hans J Marter
SHETLAND politicians have demanded a full and open investigation after it emerged the Sumburgh-based search and rescue helicopter was grounded for 24 hours last week due to crew shortages.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) confirmed on Thursday that their Inverness-based chopper had to take responsibility for the Shetland area during the build up to last week's storms.
However the agency insisted that the islands had at no time been left without emergency cover.
The downtime took place from Thursday to Friday immediately prior to Storm Gertrude bringing winds in excess of 100mph to the isles.
Chairman of Shetland's community safety and resilience board, councillor Alastair Cooper, said he was 'gobsmacked' when informed by Shetland News.
"We depend on the coastguard helicopter for much around here; it is a highly utilised facility," he said.
"I am amazed that we had an outage for such a long period as they (Bristow Helicopters) must have been able to bring staff in to cover for such a situation.
"Last Friday was a particularly bad day, but this is when you need the helicopter.
"We knew that Friday was going to be a bad day; so there is no reason they shouldn't be able to bring in coverage on Thursday before the wind set in.
"I think it is something that needs to be further investigated and we need to ensure that there are systems in place that it doesn't happen again."
His views were echoed by Shetland MSP Tavish Scott who described the situation as "unacceptable".
"Inverness is an hour's flying time away. If there had been an incident in Unst requiring a helicopter it would have taken significantly longer to get there," he said.
"That would have had implications for coastguard volunteers, police and any other emergency service.
"I want to have the assurance that at the very least the MCA made the other emergency services aware of the fact that Sumburgh was unavailable."
However when asked, Shetland area commander chief inspector Lindsay Tulloch said he had not been informed.
In a statement the MCA said: "Search and rescue helicopter operations for Shetland were covered by our Inverness aircraft between Thursday and Friday due to short notice absence amongst the Shetland crew.
"At no time during this period was Shetland left without cover.
"The MCA for its part will be discussing the matter with Bristow to make sure that the impact of such absences in the future is similarly reduced."
Bristow Helicopters operates the search and rescue helicopters on behalf of the MCA.
19:25 Thursday, 04 February 2016 | Written by Hans J Marter
SHETLAND politicians have demanded a full and open investigation after it emerged the Sumburgh-based search and rescue helicopter was grounded for 24 hours last week due to crew shortages.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) confirmed on Thursday that their Inverness-based chopper had to take responsibility for the Shetland area during the build up to last week's storms.
However the agency insisted that the islands had at no time been left without emergency cover.
The downtime took place from Thursday to Friday immediately prior to Storm Gertrude bringing winds in excess of 100mph to the isles.
Chairman of Shetland's community safety and resilience board, councillor Alastair Cooper, said he was 'gobsmacked' when informed by Shetland News.
"We depend on the coastguard helicopter for much around here; it is a highly utilised facility," he said.
"I am amazed that we had an outage for such a long period as they (Bristow Helicopters) must have been able to bring staff in to cover for such a situation.
"Last Friday was a particularly bad day, but this is when you need the helicopter.
"We knew that Friday was going to be a bad day; so there is no reason they shouldn't be able to bring in coverage on Thursday before the wind set in.
"I think it is something that needs to be further investigated and we need to ensure that there are systems in place that it doesn't happen again."
His views were echoed by Shetland MSP Tavish Scott who described the situation as "unacceptable".
"Inverness is an hour's flying time away. If there had been an incident in Unst requiring a helicopter it would have taken significantly longer to get there," he said.
"That would have had implications for coastguard volunteers, police and any other emergency service.
"I want to have the assurance that at the very least the MCA made the other emergency services aware of the fact that Sumburgh was unavailable."
However when asked, Shetland area commander chief inspector Lindsay Tulloch said he had not been informed.
In a statement the MCA said: "Search and rescue helicopter operations for Shetland were covered by our Inverness aircraft between Thursday and Friday due to short notice absence amongst the Shetland crew.
"At no time during this period was Shetland left without cover.
"The MCA for its part will be discussing the matter with Bristow to make sure that the impact of such absences in the future is similarly reduced."
Bristow Helicopters operates the search and rescue helicopters on behalf of the MCA.
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As the curtain closes, a very emotional thank you to military SAR for everything you have done.
As the curtain closes, a very emotional thank you to military SAR for everything you have done.
ARCC Fareham
Tribute as Moray-based rescue centre prepares for closure. - Inside Moray - News
"The switch was announced in March last year – now the transfer is under way, with the final closure of the Kinloss centre to be completed by the end of this month."
============
https://heavywhalley.wordpress.com/2...n-centre-arcc/
"The switch was announced in March last year – now the transfer is under way, with the final closure of the Kinloss centre to be completed by the end of this month."
============
https://heavywhalley.wordpress.com/2...n-centre-arcc/
Last edited by jimf671; 3rd Mar 2016 at 15:49.
RAF club tribute:
Was surprised to see a big yellow budgie (immaculately clean as far as I could see) over Bourton-on-the-Water late this afternoon, heading NW-ish.
Wonder what it was doing - but, whatever, a lovely surprise.
airsound
Wonder what it was doing - but, whatever, a lovely surprise.
airsound
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Was surprised to see a big yellow budgie (immaculately clean as far as I could see) over Bourton-on-the-Water late this afternoon, heading NW-ish.
I hear Prestwick is where they are going to be based. Something to do with a Falkland Islands contingency plan if AAR are not ready on time.
202(R) Sqn?
FISAR contingency is a different issue
FISAR contingency is a different issue
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Hmm, according to the latest DfT Stats there is a massive Gap on the South Eastern Coast of England.
https://twitter.com/DfTstats/status/707506253015089152
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CdB3XurghVbXEAEyE6W.png
Shouldn't be Lydd have a better home at Southend Airport to cover this Area more effectively?
And interstingly there is a lot of Oil & Gas related work which actually should be covered by the all new "Jigsaw" Helicopter out of Aberdeen/Sumburgh.
https://twitter.com/DfTstats/status/707506253015089152
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CdB3XurghVbXEAEyE6W.png
Shouldn't be Lydd have a better home at Southend Airport to cover this Area more effectively?
And interstingly there is a lot of Oil & Gas related work which actually should be covered by the all new "Jigsaw" Helicopter out of Aberdeen/Sumburgh.
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Farewell flypast by the Junglie SEAKINGs yesteerday.
The Sea King helicopters make their final flight over Bristol
The Sea King helicopters make their final flight over Bristol
https://www.gov.uk/government/statis...-december-2015
More info than was ever released by the mod....
More info than was ever released by the mod....
Yes. I am quite impressed with this aspect of the service. It is a welcome contrast with the approach used during the earlier stages of evolution.
Some old patterns re-established. For instance, Inverness not doing the most jobs but doing the most time on task (and probably mileage) as happened at Lossie.
It will interesting to see what happens once everyone is on the same contract and the same spec. (Not to mention the contracted aircraft!)
An interesting week.
Thursday afternoon and Friday morning:
- Last British SAR Sea King stands down (1564 Flt)
- ARCC Fareham flies solo
Those events do not occur in isolation. A few ripples reach out across the SAR world whose reflections we will be seeing for some time.
Thursday afternoon and Friday morning:
- Last British SAR Sea King stands down (1564 Flt)
- ARCC Fareham flies solo
Those events do not occur in isolation. A few ripples reach out across the SAR world whose reflections we will be seeing for some time.
The end of an era.
Some minutes ago, the ARCC function officially closed down at Kinloss.
Earlier this afternoon, the last British SAR Sea Kings were replace by the AW189s of AAR/BIH in the Falklands.
Some minutes ago, the ARCC function officially closed down at Kinloss.
Earlier this afternoon, the last British SAR Sea Kings were replace by the AW189s of AAR/BIH in the Falklands.
I think it's fair to say this thread has seen its share of negativity, so well done to BIH/AAR for setting up the SAR service in the Falklands so efficiently and on on time.
With an AW189 too; perhaps they can help Bristow's out....
With an AW189 too; perhaps they can help Bristow's out....