Coastguard Stations, Lighthouses and Associated Equipment

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jbryce1437
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Coastguard Stations, Lighthouses and Associated Equipment

Unread post by jbryce1437 »

Flamborough Head
On my recent holiday to Bridlington I had a trip up the coast to Flamborough Head. As well as a nice little cafe and some brilliant scenery, I came across what I thought might be a Coastguard Station. I just had a shufty at Wiki and it turns out that the installation was, originally, a Fog Signal Station perched on the cliff top near the lighthouse.
In 1859 a fog signal station was built at a short distance from the lighthouse, close to the cliff edge. Initially an 18-pound gun was used as the fog signal (the cottage was built as accommodation for the gunners). In 1878, explosive rockets replaced the cannon, discharged every 5 minutes in foggy weather and reaching an altitude of 600 feet (180 m). By 1889 an engine house had been built to provide compressed air for a fog siren, which sounded through twin horns (Rayleigh trumpets from 1908) mounted on the roof.[ In 1924 this was replaced by a diaphone system, itself superseded by the current electric fog signal in 1975.

The fog signal compound remains in Trinity House ownership; along with the modern fog signal apparatus, it has since 1998 accommodated a Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) signal station.
DGPS can assist the safe passage of all classes of vessel from cargo ships, cruise liners and fishing vessels to small yachts.
You learn something every day ;)

Jim
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HMS Raleigh 1963 , HMS Collingwood 1963 & 67 , HMS Ark Royal 1964-7, HMS Undaunted 1968-71, HMS Victory (Fleet Maintenance Group) 1971-72, HMS Exmouth 1972-74
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Then 28 years in the Fire Brigade
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Little h
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Re: Coastguard Stations, Lighthouses and Associated Equipment

Unread post by Little h »

Electric/Electronic Fog Warning(s)

Great subject you have opened Jim.

Having spent some hours reading articles about the modernisation of the 'fog warning' and departure from ye olde fog horn.

First a view taken from the Liverpool Echo.

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Why do we STILL have foghorns and everything you need to know about them


Many people were kept awake with the sound of the foghorns last night
ByJosh ParrySenior reporter 11:21, 26 SEP 2017

Foghorns were blasting throughout Merseyside last night - causing sleepless nights for many who live near the river .

With fog so thick planes were left unable to land at John Lennon Airport , some people were last night kept awake by the fog warnings.

Foghorns were blasting throughout Merseyside last night - causing sleepless nights for many who live near the river .

With fog so thick planes were left unable to land at John Lennon Airport , some people were last night kept awake by the fog warnings.

Why do we still have foghorns on the Mersey?



We spoke to Nicolette Jeffreys, operations manager for Trinity House - the organisation which looks after the UK's lighthouses, foghorns and other navigation aids.

She explained that despite larger vessels having equipment such as GPS and radar, there is currently no legal requirement for smaller vessels to carry the technology - meaning the fog horns are used to stop them running aground.

She said: "Parts of the UK still have foghorns because there are still many smaller vessels that do not have any of the equipment like radar or GPS on board.

"The larger ships all have it, but there is no legal requirement for smaller vessels to have it, and in any case even if they did there's no guarantee they've been trained or that it's working properly."

Do other parts of the UK still use foghorns?

Several coastlines in the country no longer have foghorns after they were decommissioned by Trinity House.

This, they claim, is because certain areas are less dangerous than others and also because of the types of marine activity in the area.

Nicollette added: "Some places are seen to be less dangerous, it might be because of the type of boats that are used in the area or beceause they're less likely to have fog.

"We constantly review navigation aids including light houses, light buoys and foghorns and we use them where we deem them to be appropriate."

What does a foghorn do?

Foghorns are stationed on land around the coast in order to warn sailors of land approaching when visibility is low.

They are also positioned on boats to warn each other of their presence to avoid collisions on the open sea.

There are several decommissioned foghorns around the UK which still remain despite no longer being in use.

Older complex machinery has now been replaced by automatic electronic systems.

Continues here

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and ................


Irish lighthouses lose their voice

10 January 2011


The last lighthouse in Northern Ireland to use fog signals will have its haunting voice silenced forever on Tuesday.

The St John's Point lighthouse in County Down joins eight other lighthouses run by the Commissioners of Irish Lights around the island of Ireland, in having its fog signal turned off.

Although in use in one form or another as navigational aids for hundreds of years, fog signals are no longer considered as reliable or accurate as aids to navigation, according to the commissioners.

Captain Kieran O'Higgins of the commissioners said that the decision was taken because "one cannot navigate with a fog signal".

"I know some people find it a comfort and maybe you can get a very rough idea of your position, but it's very imprecise," he said.

GPS

"In the modern day we expect people to go to sea with some means of finding their position."

Until now, just a handful of Irish lighthouses still operated a fog signal. These included the installations at Fastnet, Dundalk, Kish Tower and Tuskar Rock.

The decision to discontinue the signals was announced in September last year as part of a larger review of the system of aids to navigation used in UK and Irish waters. That review has also done away with the need for the traditional rotating lighthouse design.

While the move to end use of fog signals was prompted by the availability of technologies such as GPS and the Automatic Identification System, the Commissioners of Irish Lights warn that no single aid to navigation should be relied on at sea or on inland waterways.

Source; BBC News; UK; N. Ireland
Little h
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ivorthediver
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Re: Coastguard Stations, Lighthouses and Associated Equipment

Unread post by ivorthediver »

Well you live and learn something new every day eh Harry .......thanks for that ...
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Little h
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Re: Coastguard Stations, Lighthouses and Associated Equipment

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NavyLookout Retweeted
Bristow Group
@Bristow_Group
Unmanned aircraft will be flown as safety overwatch in support of search and rescue missions for HM Coastguard for the first time this weekend. Learn more at: https://bit.ly/33eHw7c #BristowSAR
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Little h
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Re: Coastguard Stations, Lighthouses and Associated Equipment

Unread post by ivorthediver »

BZ Harry , good post and excellent photographs
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