There are 30000 yacht moorings between Chichester and Poole and on a warm Summer day up to 6000 boats have been out in the Solent at once. Add the numerous people on beaches and commercial and military shipping and there is an evident need for effective search and rescue. In this area, the service is provided by a combination of official and voluntary bodies. In 2013-2015, the Coastguard and helicopter services are being reorganised, with consequent effects on the voluntary sector. We will do our best to explain what this will mean to Solent users. The Issues involved and the questions raised are set out in the Current Issues section.
The principal players are
Disaster and pollution incident management is a separate subject to be reviewed at a later date.
Solent Protection Society 