Known as the ‘Eyes Along The Coast’ the NCI was started in 1994 when two fishermen were lost at sea within sight of a recently closed Coastguard look-out station at Bass Point in Cornwall. The locals at Bass Point obtained permission to use the look-out station to keep watch over vessels and people and so the NCI was born.

There are now sixty stations around the coast of England and Wales, with more in the pipeline, and two thousand seven hundred trained watch-keepers.

Supported entirely by public donations, our watch-keepers are all volunteers.

NCI is part of HM Coastguard’s Search and Rescue organisation. We watch over the
beaches and inshore waters, providing the eyes and ears along the coast, monitoring radio channels and plotting vessels. If we spot someone in trouble, we alert the Coastguard, who then direct the appropriate rescue services to the casualty. Our station is open three hundred and sixty five days a year.

We also have a Beach Safety Office on the southern end of the promenade. This is run in
partnership with the Police, RNLI and Lifeguards at Mablethorpe and it’s purpose is to
communicate with the visiting public in order to teach them how to keep themselves and
their families safe on the beach and in the water.