Volunteers from Marine Rescue 46 units across NSW completed 700 search and rescue missions in January, safely returning almost 1,800 people to shore.
On the South Coast 47 search & rescue missions took place including 37 emergency responses with 122 people safely returned to shore across all Monaro units.
25 of those search & rescue missions were undertaken in Batemans Bay with seven in Narooma and six in Eden.
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,” he said.
“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.”
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,” Commissioner Barrell said.
“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.
Images: Marine Rescue NSW
