Winter hasn’t kept boaters off the state’s waterways with Marine Rescue NSW volunteers making a record 265 rescues in July, up 46% on the same month last year.
Marine Rescue NSW Commissioner Alex Barrell said volunteers across the state were tasked to a variety of incidents in July, 114 of which were emergency situations.
“From assisting the NSW Police Force Marine Area Command in searches for missing people to medical evacuations, late night rescues well offshore and assisting boaters with mechanical failure, our highly skilled volunteers have answered the call at any time of day or night.
“Whilst many people think boating is just for the warmer months, the record number of rescues that we’ve seen in July goes to show that boating is a year-round activity and we ask all boaters to make sure they check their vessel regularly and ensure they have the right safety equipment and an appropriate amount of reserve fuel on board.
“It only takes seconds for a flat battery in the offshore environment to turn into a life-threatening situation,” Commissioner Barrell said.
The dedication and commitment of Marine Rescue NSW volunteers across the state saw 632 people, adults and children returned safely to shore last month.
The number of boaters Logging On with Marine Rescue NSW in July using the free Marine Rescue app or by marine radio VHF channel 16 more than doubled from 3,084 in July 2022 to 7,442 last month.
Commissioner Barrell said with more boaters hitting NSW waterways he would like to see all skippers Logging On and Logging Off with Marine Rescue NSW to keep safe on the water.
“When a boater Logs On, it ensures that we start searching for them if they don’t return as planned, it is a simple process and one that could save a life,” he said.
Marine Rescue NSW radio operators managed 22,475 radio calls in July with a large volume of the traffic handled by the State Communications Centre at Belrose.
Greater Sydney was the busiest region last month, with 87 rescue missions while units on the Hunter/Central Coast were involved in 79 rescues and the Illawarra 33.
25 rescues were conducted on the Northern Rivers, 22 on the Mid North Coast and 19 in the Monaro region.
