Our watchkeepers come from all walks of life. Whilst some have sailing experience, many do not and whatever their background everyone who wishes to become a watchkeeper must undergo a course of training.
Training takes place over the winter and entails three half day classroom sessions covering background and theory plus around ten supervised watches alongside experienced watchkeepers. Watchkeepers also receive the necessary training to obtain a Short Range VHF Radio Certificate if they do not already have one.
Our watches run from 9am to 1pm,1pm to 5pm and in the summer, 5pm to 8pm. Watches close at sunset if that is earlier.
With an average of about sixty active qualified watchkeepers, ideally everyone would carry out an average of two watches a month throughout the year PLUS one additional watch per month in the summer. This means that the station’s ‘watchkeeping target’ is 27 watches a year for each watchkeeper.
There is a monthly station meeting of around two hours where you can meet other watchkeepers. Meetings include a short session on station business followed by either a talk from a guest speaker or a training refresher session.
If you would like to find our more about being a watchkeeper at Prawle Point or register for the next training course, please email prawlepoint.secretary@nci.org.uk or use our Contact Form. We shall respond as soon as possible.
