Why did you join HM Coastguard? 
  “My husband is part of our local lifeboat crew, and our house looks across to the Coastguard station,” says Kate McManus Coyle, Station Officer for Kames Coastguard Rescue Team.  “I always wondered what the Coastguards did, so after watching their water rescue training I spoke to one of the team. I just thought the service sounded really interesting!” 
  Kate became Station Officer (SO) for the team around six years ago, taking on the role from another female Coastguard who’d decided to step down. “At that point, there were about five of us on the team, and really, it’s just grown from there to a crew of eight,” she adds.  
  “We’re quite a female-heavy team and being based in such a remote community, we’ve got people from all walks of life here.” 
What is the most unusual incident you have attended? 
  The Kames team respond to an incredibly broad range of incidents, but it’s a missing person search that most sticks in mind for Kate.  She says: “Last summer, we had a missing person call for someone who, it was said, couldn’t walk very far. We’d been told their range was about 100 metres or so, but it turned out a little different.” 
  Search plans were made and the team scoured the immediate vicinity for eight hours, looking for a person in need of urgent assistance, but their investigation had amounted to very little. “We searched all major routes and had our helicopter out, the Police, police dogs, lifeboat...,” says Kate.  
  After an exhaustive effort, the person concerned popped out of a woodland area with a suitcase, more than nine miles away from the search. 
  
What is the most unusual place you’ve been when your pager has gone off? 
  "It has to be while I’ve been out fishing. We had to rapidly sail back in, and then I was trying to catch up with the team!” 
  What is the most challenging part of being a Coastguard? 
  Kate shares that being an emergency responder within a close-knit local community has its challenges, a delicate balance between being respectful of the community but also tolerant of the frustrations it can sometimes bring about. 
  “With my husband also being part of that response too, we find that we must be very diplomatic,” she says. “We’re very respectful of our community but we’re also aware that sometimes people within it can be personally involved or might have family involved."
  She adds: “It’s something we’ve learned to handle very well, and something that we ensure new recruits become familiar with.” 
  Which local beach is your favourite and why?  
  “My favourite beach is Ostel Bay, also known as Kilbride Bay, on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll. It’s lovely,” says Kate. “It’s right near to where I live and is a massive and beautiful sandy beach that looks right across the sea to the Isle of Arran.” 
 What do you enjoy most about being a member of the team? 
  
Kate says that she really appreciates the teamworking among her colleagues, and the enjoyment and pride that comes with supporting people in her local community.  
  What new skills have you learned as a CRO? 
  "There are just so many things!” she adds. “I think really, being a Coastguard has made me much more confident about doing things I haven’t done before. It’s very dynamic, too.
  “Years ago, I wouldn't have thought I could do water rescue training, but I pushed myself and managed it.” 
When you’re not a CRO, what do you enjoy doing? 
  When she’s not Coastguarding, Kate is walking her dog Arwen, an eight-year-old hairy lurcher. She also kayaks, paddleboards, cycles, and gardens.  She says: “I love my garden and I’m generally outside all the time, winter and summer. Arwen is kept busy by the many deer and other animals she follows the tracks of locally.”  =
What do you do for a living? 
  “I’m home a lot of the time nowadays, as my husband works at sea, but I’ve worked in hospitality, including when I first joined the Coastguard. I really enjoy running the Coastguard Station, which takes a lot of my time.”
