This weekend will see over 100 members from regional rescue units converge on Batemans Bay.
The weekend will see units from the Marine Rescue, NSW water police, Surf Life Saving NSW, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and rescue helicopter services represented by WestPac and Polair that will no doubt create a buzz on the water and in the air.
The biennial Search and Rescue exercise involves boats from Jervis bay, Sussex, Ulladulla, Kioloa, Batemans Bay, Tuross head, Narooma, Merimbula, with inland Marine Rescue Units also coming to the Bay for the event.
Initially there will be the formalities, the briefings and the comradeship that comes from these networking events that cements collaboration across the response services.
With good weather predicted for Sunday the community might see first hand the various simulations of Search and Rescue being put in place around the Bay extending North and South.
In September this year the VHF marine radio network used by boaters along the NSW coastline was extended to upgrade coverage on the South Coast.
The network, owned and operated by Marine Rescue NSW, covers the state’s coastline with the South Coast recent improvements now eliminating the last remaining major blackspots.
Vital marine communications equipment was installed on Dr George Mountain near Bega, reservoirs at Bermagui and Moruya, Round Hill south of Batemans Bay and Boyne Trig south-west of Ulladulla offering consistent marine radio coverage along the NSW coastline from Point Danger to Eden, 20 to 30 nautical miles out to sea.
As well as local boaters, this year’s Sydney to Hobart fleet should experience superior reception as it transits the South Coast thanks to the timely communications upgrade with Marine Rescue NSW and the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Safety of Life at Sea Trusts funding the installation of the new VHF infrastructure in Bermagui.
Above: the 7.5m Ocean Cylinder Batemans 20- a $300,000 rescue vessel officially handed over Batemans 20 to volunteers at Marine Rescue (MR) Batemans Bay in September 2016.
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