When the Isle of Wight’s Cowes Yacht Haven needed an all-new CCTV system to monitor its incredibly busy maritime facilities, they turned to local specialist security installation firm Lifeline Alarms and Security Services. Lifeline supplied the marina with a state-of-the-art video surveillance solution from Hikvision, incorporating cutting-edge panoramic cameras and ultra-low-light Darkfighter imaging technology.
Cowes Yacht Haven is considered by some as the very heart of the sailing world, describing itself as “the gateway to sailing in the South Coast, Solent and Isle of Wight”, welcoming yachting enthusiasts from across the globe. The Marina boasts 260 fully serviced berths, a 400 seat events centre, a media centre, more than 20 retail units, and a modern boatyard. In 2018, Cowes Yacht Haven management decided the time was right to replace their existing security system. They needed video surveillance which would provide extensive coverage of the full facility – and the ability to provide high quality images during the hours of darkness was vital. Security staff on-site needed to be able to monitor and investigate vessels moving and berthing within the harbour, as well as residents’ berths and the foot traffic around the marina at all hours of the day and night, particularly during events such as Lendy Cowes Week, when the marina operates at full capacity.
Andrew Bamford, Financial Controller and Director at Cowes Yacht Haven Ltd, said the marina’s needs went beyond just this 24×7 wide scale coverage. “One of the most important elements to us was to have future proofing, and to allow temporary expansion of the system for events such as Round the Island, Lendy Cowes Week, Fastnet and Power Boat racing events,” he said.
The system designed by Lifeline consisted of 29 cameras including fixed, PTZ, panoramic and dome-style models, said Lifeline’s managing director Mark Lee. “There were a number of obstacles and challenges to overcome,” Lee said. “The site itself is large and complex, and features a broad range of both marine and land-based operations. There were time pressures, too, for system design and implementation, thanks to the event and race schedules which were fixed in the calendar.”
The marine location posed its own challenges, not the least of which was the instability of the working platforms Lifeline’s engineers would have to utilise when implementing the system. All the while, this highly active marina also saw vessels moving in to dry dock and around the marina for maintenance, while necessarily large objects were constantly being transported across the site; all of which presented significant logistical challenges, not to mention health and safety headaches.
As Bamford outlined, the new system was required to be temporarily extendable during high profile events, in order to provide additional camera positions. These major events also meant there would be a need to work closely with the manned security companies operating the system during those exceptionally busy periods. “Failure to deliver this solution in time would result in CYH being unable to host pre-planned sailing competitions, regattas and events, with a significant detrimental effect on its reputation and commercial standing,” Lee said. “And a busy yacht haven presents a challenging environment in which to work.”
Lifeline calculated that installing five metre high columns to sea walls would provide the necessary height and scope of view for marina surveillance. This was supported by the use of Hikvision Panovu panoramic cameras, equipped with Darkfighter technology allowing it to capture images in the darkest of lighting conditions. The Panovu camera uses four different lenses to provide faultless HD pictures, enabling operators to interrogate and zoom into wide angle images using the other equipped lenses.
The Panovu cameras were complemented by Hikvision Darkfighter-equipped pan-tilt-zoom cameras, dome cameras, turret cameras, and motorised zoom bullet-style cameras. Wireless transmission of images utilised equipment from Ligowave, sent to a Hikvision 4K decoder. Simon Rann, Managing Director of Blueline Security Management Ltd. said “We specialise in the provision of supervised security staff, medical and event safety, which includes Lendy Cowes Week. The CCTV has made our job easier and is one of the best systems we have worked with. We easily monitor all entrances. A control room was set up for our use with access to all cameras. This is a first class set up.”
The final proof, of course, is in the experience of the customer. Bamford echoes this positive assessment of the new Hikvision video surveillance system provided by Lifeline. He said, “Images are of high quality and exceeded all of our expectations.”
