A sad day as I headed to Portland SAR base to say farewell and thank you to all those who have served at the base over the past 22 years. The SAR base was officially shut yesterday but the Mayor of Portland Cllr David Thurston had rightly organised today's event. It was well attended, as you'd expect, with the Lord Lieutenant, High Sheriff, Sir Alan Massey, the CEO of the MCA, our two local Mayors and of course representatives from other towns and boroughs too. The hangar was full of family and friends of the remaining crew and staff and of course many other local people, many connected in some way to the base. Cllr Thurston gave an excellent address, after which I gave one too. That speech is on the website. Certificates and a bottle of champagne were then presented to the last crew and ground staff before we all walked along the seafront to unveil the new plaque. Just before this happened, local dive boat skipper Ian Taylor intervened, telling us all that a diver had the bends and was having to wait far too long for a helicopter. This was not the news we all wanted to hear, as it's exactly what we warned would happen. Unable to verify Ian's claim at this point, we all then went to the Sailing Academy for some food and a chance to chat to the crew and say a personal thank you. It was a poignant event and one where we all reflected on the decision to close the base, which is wrong. Time will tell how right we all are, and I am sure we are.