A flag that is undertaking a 2,000-mile relay around the country, as part of the National Coastwatch Institution’s 30th anniversary celebrations, arrived on the Isle of Wight this week. The special anniversary flag is travelling around the UK in a station-to-station relay to highlight the charity’s work of helping to save lives around the coast. The relay started at Fleetwood NCI on 3rd June and is due to finish at Filey in North Yorkshire by September. On Tuesday, the flag arrived in Ryde via hovercraft before travelling to the West Wight. Volunteers accompanied the flag to Freshwater Lifeboat Station before jumping on an open top bus to Needles NCI station. The flag also had a ride on the tea cups and chairlift at Needles Landmark Attraction. Yesterday (Wednesday) the flag was flown by NCI Watchkeepers at Bembridge NCI, in the company of representatives of Bembridge Coastguard Rescue Team and Liz White, Chair of the Bembridge Parish Council. The flag had travelled from the flank station at The Needles via a vintage Bentley. 
Mike Batcheler, Station manager for NCI Bembridge, said:
“This year is an exciting milestone and it’s great for us all to come together, take part in the 30-year celebration and have some fun in our own community at the same time”.
The next destination is Shoreham and on 26th July the flag will be flown from Bembridge Airport by a light aircraft, piloted by Richard Suggitt, the Manager of Gosport NCI and accompanied by Garth Atwell, Deputy Station Manager of Bembridge.
