North Coast 500 is 'a big emerging risk', warns Wick RNLI water safety volunteer
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The rise of the North Coast 500 has inspired increasing numbers of visitors to explore the cliff-tops and beaches of the northern Highlands. With the continuing growth in road-trip tourism, statistically there is a greater chance of people ending up in life-threatening situations if they fail to treat the sea with the respect it deserves.
Whether straying too far off a cliff path, or ill-advisedly venturing onto the waves in a flimsy inflatable, or underestimating the coldness of the water, or misjudging a tide, the potential for something to go wrong is ever-present – and William Munro, in his new role as water safety volunteer at the Wick branch of the RNLI, is determined to help raise public awareness of the dangers.
“There is a big emerging risk here and that is the North Coast 500," William said. "You've got this big loop going round the coastline and all these thousands of people going round it and interfacing with the sea.
“They could go to Reiss beach and not realise the water is so cold, they could go tombstoning [jumping into the sea] off the Trinkie and the water is cold and they drown, they beach-walk and there are tide rips they don't know about, they go to Castle Sinclair Girnigoe and they don't read the script and they slide off the path. They might join the John O'Groats Trail and get too near the edge.
"People are naturally inquisitive. That's what they come up here for, to see the open spaces – and the sea is a big attraction.
“We can see it happening. A lot of people are wild swimming now. People are paddle-boarding and they don't realise the tides.”
William (61), a master mariner in the merchant navy with 44 years' experience of being at sea, took on the Wick water safety volunteer task as part of a nationwide effort by the lifeboat service to reduce fatalities and accidents in, on and by the water. The Thurso branch has a vacancy for the same type of role.
“The lifeboat service saves lives at sea. That is its fundamental purpose,” said William, who is one of the launch authorities for the Wick branch.
“About 15 years ago the RNLI started a lifeguard service and they started employing lifeguards on beaches as a preventative measure. In the last couple of years they decided to take it a step further and have a national initiative to prevent drownings and accidents.
"Instead of the lifeboat going out saving people, let's see if we can stop the accident happening – stop the drowning happening, make people more aware of the dangers of the water."
It is not about discouraging people from going to the coast, but ensuring they know what to expect and are aware of the risks.
William is putting together a team of local water safety ambassadors to spread the message. These include Ivor Mackay, Hamnavoe ferry skipper and Seafish trainer, and Jackie Dodds, mission port officer for the Fishermen’s Mission at Scrabster. “Jackie is ideal," William said. "She is talking to fishermen all the time and putting the RNLI safety message across to them – look after your engines, look after your life jackets.”
Social media will play its part, and William will be handing out water safety posters to accommodation providers for the benefit of guests.
“Then we look at what we can do to educate locally," he said. "I can start thinking about setting up a tent at the harbour day and getting leaflets handed out. I can go down to the marina and start talking to the sailors that are coming in. I can go and meet the kayak club, we can go to the beach walkers, the John O'Groats Trail. There are safety messages on leaflets for different types of water users.
“We're not going around beating people over the head. It's just a softly-softly approach telling them about the dangers of the water. If you're going to sea, put your phone in a waterproof pouch.”
William is also keen to recruit a fellow volunteer who can focus on youth education. “That would mean doing a child protection course and going into high school and to the primary schools," he explained.
“You go into schools and say 'enjoy the water, but make sure you know it's cold, and if you jump into cold water this might happen, you might gulp water – cold shock'. And then have a video to say what cold shock is.”
William's role involves addressing the so-called high-risk groups – identified through what he calls "number-crunching" at RNLI headquarters, based on all call-outs for each branch – and formulating a Community Lifesaving Plan for the area.
“Our highest risk group is fishermen," he said. "Our next group is vulnerable people going missing and at risk of self-harming. Our call-outs are quite frequent to vulnerable people and missing people.”
In every aspect of the water safety role William will be drawing on his own vast experience of the sea, including deep-sea sailing with Maersk. For years he was responsible for transporting supplies from the Swedish port of Gothenburg to Greenland under a government contract.
Closer to home he is co-director of Caithness Seacoast, the Wick-based boat tour business which he and his wife Adelaine have run for the past 13 years. Its new season is getting under way this week, with Covid precautions in place.
William said: "My past role as master mariner suits this water safety job because it's passing a core message to the general public. In my role as captain I pass on key messages to crew and officers all the time. If there's a new initiative within the company I'm the one that has got to pass it on. I've got to get the guys trained up, I've got to organise the training, the dates, who's going to do what and when, and put the course together.
"It's nothing unusual, it's just a different subject. It's getting a key safety message across to inexperienced people.
“The whole initiative is to prevent drownings and accidents, and our job is to get that message across in any shape or form. If you get into danger, how do you call the coastguard? How do you call the lifeboat? There are simple precautions.
“We're not trying to stop people going to the water – that's not our job. People come to enjoy the water, and they should. But be aware there are dangers involved.”
