Coastwatch Irvine is a voluntary coastal monitoring and safety organisation. We are a small group of dedicated volunteers who aim to look after people at the coast. Coastwatch Irvine monitors multiple marine band VHF radios installed in our office as part of our daily duties. This is to hear any transmitted distress signals across multiple channels and ensure the emergency services are aware of these calls for help, to send appropriate help to the casualty. Over the years there has been many times we have heard transmissions that have not been received by the Coastguard if the radio signal is local to Irvine and doesnt have adequate power to be heard from further away.

Over the course of this summer we have identified the need to upgrade these critical radios. They are ageing and are no longer as effective as they once were. As technology advances we feel Coastwatch should as well. We have had multiple incidents that has required volunteers to communicate with HM Coastguard or local lifeboats on the radios to assist in an emergency, and with this workload increasing with more beachgoers coming to the Ayrshire coast it is important we have the right tools to help.

New radios would improve our coverage by having clearer audio speakers. This would ensure volunteers can note down all important details to pass on to the emergency services and not risk crucial information being misheard. This funding would greatly support us to fund this equipment. This would allow us to better help others within our local community and falls into the theme of community action.

Please find our costings below:

Icom M423GE VHF Radio - £299.95 per unit

3x units = £899.85 total