Busy season for Marine Rescue crews

The rescue at Point Frederick last weekend

Marine Rescue crews have had their second busiest 12-month period ever, despite the wettest start to a year on record.

Across Central Coast waterways there’s been 218 rescues with 166 from the Central Coast base at Point Clare, 10 from Norah Head base and 42 rescues by Tuggerah Lakes Marine Rescue.

Last weekend the rescue vessel Central Coast 21 was diverted from a training exercise on Brisbane Water when the Marine Rescue radio operators received a request for help.

Skipper Doug Fitzgerald and his crew Peter Alderton, Andrew McKellar, Trevor Phipps and Bob Gilbody sprung into action to help the skipper of bow rider at Point Frederick with a tow back to Gosford boat ramp.

Many boaters in the lower reaches of Lake Macquarie around the Central Coast have also called on assistance from Swansea-based Marine Rescue with 584 rescues around the lake.

Earlier this week, volunteers onboard Lake Macquarie Three Zero were called to search for a tinny which had been spotted drifting in the southern part of the lake.

A fishing rod could be seen on the tinny and there was concern the boater had collapsed in the boat or had fallen overboard.

Marine Rescue located the tinny, brought it to shore, and was later reunited with its owner after coming adrift from a yacht.

Over the whole Hunter/Central Coast region there has been 1,147 rescues, 229 in potentially life-threatening circumstances bringing 2,242 people safely to shore.

Marine Rescue NSW Commissioner, Stacey Tannos said that the number of rescues had come in slightly below the previous year, thanks to the poor weather over the summer boating period.

“Over the year our volunteers around NSW received an extraordinary 223,338 radio calls, nearly one every two minutes,” he said.

“These included 73 Mayday calls when lives were in imminent danger, and 47 Pan Pans, when boaters were in an urgent but not life-threatening situation, as well as 14 flare sightings. Commissioner Tannos said.

“About 57 percent of calls were for flat batteries, running out of fuel or engine problems, providing boaters with an important reminder to keep their vessel properly serviced and to always carry enough fuel for the journey.

“In total, 65,433 boaters across NSW waterways logged on to their local Marine Rescue base, helping to keep them, and their passengers, safer,” the Commissioner said.

Marine Rescue NSW volunteers also attended 247 groundings, 146 capsizes and 23 medical emergencies, with most rescues while boats were fishing (37 percent), cruising (32 percent) or sailing (eight percent).

Weekends accounted for 50 percent of all rescues, with Sundays the busiest day with 27 percent of rescues, and Thursdays the quietest on the water.

Boaters were most likely to be rescued between 12pm and 3pm, with 40 percent of all rescues at this time as boaters begin to head home and strike mechanical issues or deteriorating weather conditions.

As the warmer months approach, Marine Rescue NSW is urging boaters to follow the safety advice and wear a lifejacket, check the weather conditions before heading out and to log on with their local Marine Rescue base so they can be quickly located in an emergency.

Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke congratulated Marine Rescue NSW volunteers for their outstanding efforts.

“One third of the rescues conducted in the last financial year were for life-threatening emergencies, sometimes in the worst of weather and sea conditions and at the dead of night,” she said.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank our volunteers whose skill, bravery and dedication saves lives on the water and helps keep our State’s waterways safe.”

Sue Murray