Volunteers from Marine Rescue NSW’s 46 units across the state completed 703 search and rescue missions in January, safely returning 1,788 people to shore.
Greater Sydney was the busiest region in NSW with 285 missions while Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie was the most in-demand unit, completing 106 search and rescue missions.
A quarter of last month’s missions were emergency responses and Marine Rescue NSW Commissioner Alex Barrell is pleading with boaters not to become a statistic with the boating season continuing until Anzac Day.
“Summer is by far from over at the moment, our message to boaters is to make sure that they don’t get complacent, that they keep safety front of mind and they make the right decisions before they go boating on the state’s waterways,” Commissioner Barrell said.
10% of incidents in January were for capsized or grounded vessels, which can quickly become life-threatening emergencies and Commissioner Barrell is encouraging boaters to always check equipment and conditions.
“Waterways are great places to be but it is important that you check the conditions and your equipment, not once but twice, make sure that you have everything you need and that you keep safety front of mind.
“What we’ve seen over recent weeks and months is unstable weather conditions. It may be good at one point in the day, but it suddenly changes, that is why it is important that you check the conditions.
“Whether you’re boating, rock fishing, anytime you are around that coastal environment, it is really important that you continually check the weather,” he said.
Marine Rescue NSW radio operators managed 26,047 radio calls last month including 18 MAYDAYs and 11 PAN PANs while the Service’s volunteers kept watch over 32,256 people on board vessels that Logged On with Marine Rescue NSW either via the free Marine Rescue app or VHF channel 16.
Commissioner Barrell said that many Marine Rescue NSW units are currently recruiting members for radio operations and vessel crew.
“We are fortunate to have so many wonderful volunteers as part of Marine Rescue NSW.
“Our volunteers are professionally trained to the highest standard and are regularly assessed so when that phone rings we have got professional personnel to go out and undertake our rescue work,” Commissioner Barrell said.
Breakdown of search & rescue missions across Marine Rescue NSW regions:
Northern Rivers – 26 search and rescue missions including 10 emergency responses with 48 people safely returned to shore across all 7 Northern Rivers units – Point Danger, Brunswick, Cape Byron, Ballina, Evans Head, Iluka Yamba & Wooli.
Number of search and rescue missions in locations of highest demand: Iluka Yamba 8, Point Danger 7, Ballina 7
Mid North Coast – 43 search & rescue missions including 19 emergency responses with 120 people safely returned to shore across all 9 Mid North Coast units – Woolgoolga, Coffs Harbour, Nambucca, Trial Bay, Lord Howe Island, Port Macquarie, Camden Haven, Crowdy Harrington & Forster Tuncurry.
Number of search and rescue missions in locations of highest demand: Forster Tuncurry 18, Port Macquarie 8, Nambucca 7
Hunter/Central Coast – 215 search & rescue missions including 37 emergency responses with 499 people safely returned to shore across all 8 Hunter/Central Coast units – Port Stephens, Lemon Tree Passage, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Norah Head, Tuggerah Lakes, Central Coast & Terrigal.
Number of search and rescue missions in locations of highest demand: Lake Macquarie 106, Central Coast 40, Port Stephens 39
Greater Sydney – 285 search & rescue missions including 31 emergency responses with 770 people safely returned to shore across all 7 Greater Sydney units – Hawkesbury, Cottage Point, Broken Bay, Sydney State Communications Centre, Middle Harbour, Port Jackson & Botany Port Hacking.
Number of search and rescue missions in locations of highest demand: Sydney (State Communications Centre) 84, Botany Port Hacking 63, Cottage Point 40
Illawarra – 87 search & rescue missions including 40 emergency responses with 229 people safely returned to shore across all 7 Illawarra units – Port Kembla, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Jervis Bay, Sussex Inlet, Ulladulla & Kioloa.
Number of search and rescue missions in locations of highest demand: Jervis Bay 31, Port Kembla 21, Shoalhaven 17
Monaro – 47 search & rescue missions including 37 emergency responses with 122 people safely returned to shore across all 8 Monaro units – Batemans Bay, Tuross Moruya, Narooma, Bermagui, Merimbula, Eden, Alpine Lakes & Moama.
Number of search and rescue missions in locations of highest demand: Batemans Bay 25, Narooma 7, Eden 6
Marine Rescue NSW is a volunteer based not-for-profit professional organisation dedicated to keeping boaters safe on the water and supporting local communities.
