Marine Rescue NSW volunteers are pleading boaters to make sure vessels are in good working order before heading out to sea after a record-breaking start to the boating season.
Volunteers across the state were reportedly involved in a record 386 search and rescue missions last month, ten more than the previous busiest October in 2020 when crews carried out 376 missions.
October is the official start of the boating season in NSW, which carries through until 25 April the following year.
But Marine Rescue NSW volunteers are kept busy training and responding to distress calls all year ‘round, including the 350 or so members servicing the Northern Rivers from seven bases spread across the region from the Tweed to Yamba.
Local volunteers were reportedly involved in eighteen search and rescue missions on the Northern Rivers this past October.
Costly yachting misadventure in Ballina
Point Danger in the Tweed Shire was the region’s busiest Marine Rescue NSW base last month, with volunteers responding to seven calls for help.
The Northern Rivers also boasts the notoriously dangerous Ballina bar where the Richmond River meets the ocean and volunteers were involved in six rescue missions there last month, including a costly yachting misadventure.
‘A yacht got itself into a bit of trouble, lost all the rigging, and wrapped a line around its propeller,’ Marine Rescue NSW Northern Rivers Operations Manager John Murray told The Echo, explaining that the yacht’s mast had broken.
The yacht was left without steering and sails in wild weather, Mr Murray said.
‘It was when we had a lot of wind that week or so ago,’ the volunteer manager said.
‘Luckily, we had one of our guys get on board that vessel in Ballina and he managed to free the rudder and help pull the rigging in,’ Mr Murray said.
‘The vessel was able to motor under its own power into the Richmond River,’ he said, ‘there was a lot of damage but we didn’t have to tow them’.
‘Then they had to book some time on the slips for repairs,’ he said.
Flat batteries and dodgy fuel tying up volunteer rescue time
Mr Murray had just returned to his office from a search and rescue mission when he spoke to The Echo Thursday morning.
‘Yeah, we had a cold call early this morning from our radio base,’ Mr Murray said, ‘we had a 6.5 metre vessel about twelve miles offshore, couldn’t get his motor restarted, which is one of the typical things we have offshore lately’.
‘The guys went out and we hooked him up and it took us an hour to get back, very slow towing,’ Mr Murray said, ‘he was very grateful for the help’.
Mr Murray says volunteers have been responding to ‘more and more’ mechanical and battery related issues, while such calls reportedly represent nearly 60% of volunteer missions statewide.
‘We are pleading with boaters to make sure that their vessel is in good working order before heading out,’ Marine Rescue NSW Commissioner Alex Barrell said via media release this week.
‘Please carry enough fuel with some in reserve and make sure everyone on board is wearing a lifejacket,’ the commissioner said.
On the Northern Rivers, Mr Murray listed mechanical issues, flat batteries for sonar equipment and radios and running out of fuel as some of the most common issues leading to distress calls for boaters.
Fuel quality was also an issue, he said, especially if boats had been ‘sitting around for a long time’.
Mr Murray suggested three months as a rough maximum for how long fuel could be relied on before expiry and encouraged boaters to carry out basic maintenance before hitting the water.
Optus outage hampered rescues
Wednesday’s nation-wide Optus telecommunications outage impacted the rescue organisation, Mr Murray said, owing to volunteers relying on text message alert to emergency responders.
Thankfully, he said, volunteers were able to turn to the police Marine Area Command for help.
Local police on Wednesday reported a combined agency rescue mission about eight nautical miles east of Tweed Heads.
‘The Marine Area Command would like to remind masters a “MAYDAY” call relates to imminent danger to the vessel and passengers,’ police later said on social media.
‘Alternately a master may use the “PAN PAN” distress call when a vessel requires urgent assistance but [is] not in imminent danger,’ the post read.
Mr Murray confirmed Mayday distress calls are only to be used in case of life-threatening danger and that anyone onboard other boats near a Mayday distress call was obliged to offer help.
Boaters could always be alert to Mayday calls in their vicinity by making sure to keep ears alert to VHF Channel 16 and more information is available here.
Boating crises happened in the rivers as well as at sea, Mr Murray said, explaining that the Northern Rivers Marine Rescue NSW branch included at least one boat and crew dedicated to river rescues.
The organisation featured basic maritime maintenance tips on its website, Mr Murray said, as well as a Marine Rescue NSW app.
The app is said to save volunteers precious time during rescue missions when boaters bother to register and log details before embarking on trips, although the traditional method of using VHF Channel 16 is still available.
Marine Rescue NSW is always looking for more volunteers, Mr Murray said.
Some have found the experience of free two-year coxswain training useful for future employment in the marine industry, he said, while others prefer to stay on land and undergo the radio course.
The Cape Byron office was ‘the best’ in the state, Mr Murray laughed, owing to its spectacular view of the Cape Byron Marine Park, while Ballina’s was home to some of the most dramatic rescue stories.
