Number 10 National coastwatch station

On a Dorset coastal walk we visited the Coastwatch Station at St Alban's/Anselm's/Adhelm's Head. I'm not sure why the variants on the name, will have to research this. They told us of their work logging the passage of all boats, as many coastguard stations no longer have good views of the sea. If a vessel goes missing this gives a record of  last known position & when. The radar showed the Eastwards & Westwards Channel shipping lanes, hectically busy. Many vessels are in effect electronically tagged so a signal tells Coastwatch who, speed, size & other safety vital information. We had a look thorough his mega-binoculars, & could see two people fishing in a small boat a couple of hundred feet below, well enough to see they were pouring coffee out of a Thermos, detracts a bit from my super-duper 24x telephoto!  He also explained why the "texture" of the sea changed so suddenly off the point; there's a small mountain range under the sea, so it suddenly halves in depth & therefore waves get bigger, with the difference being easily visible. All of this will be old knowledge to seasoned sailors, but I found it fascinating