Achieving together

Marine Rescue NSW engages with a range of operational, community and commercial partners who share our mission to save lives on the water.

PATRON His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is the Patron-in-Chief of Marine Rescue NSW, continuing his long association with the volunteer marine rescue sector in NSW as the Patron of the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol. The Prince extended his warmest congratulations and gratitude to the members for a decade of service to the NSW community on the occasion of the organisation’s tenth anniversary on July 1, 2019. In April, he again wrote to express his support as MRNSW and other charities and bodies of which he is Patron faced the challenges of COVID-19 (right).

REPRESENTATION Commissioner Stacey Tannos continues his tenure as Chair of the State Rescue Board, which oversees rescue service policy development and delivery on both land and water in NSW.

The Commissioner also is a member of the State Emergency Management Committee. Units contribute to the safety of their communities through their representation on Local Emergency Management and Rescue Committees and many personnel were based at Emergency Operations Centres during the summer bushfire crisis.

At a national level, MRNSW is a member of the Australian Emergency Management Volunteer Forum, National Volunteer Marine Search and Rescue Committee and Enterprise Registered Training Organisation Association.

We also are a member of the International Maritime Rescue Federation, which represents marine search and rescue agencies, both professional and volunteer, military and civilian, around the world.

OPERATIONAL & COMMUNITY PARTNERS MRNSW works closely with the State’s network of emergency service, rescue, marine and medical organisations to protect and assist our boating community. Cooperation and collaboration are the basis of the NSW emergency management arrangements, ensuring a seamless response to emergencies, whether on land or water.

The NSW Police Force Marine Area Command (MAC) is responsible for the coordination of rescue delivery on the water in this State. The MAC and MRNSW work cohesively in emergency operations, coordination and training.

MRNSW Regional Operations Managers and senior volunteers again were posted to the MAC at East Balmain as liaison officers over the peak summer boating season to enhance tasking efficiency and operational awareness.

We also work with agencies including the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter service and Toll Ambulance Rescue, both on emergency response and to support air crew winch training, and Surf Life Saving NSW at organisational and local levels. Marine Rescue Bermagui and the Bermagui Surf Life Saving Club were this year recognised with a national innovation award at the Surf Life Saving Australia Awards of Excellence for a joint project to strengthen search and rescue coordination and deployment on remote

Support from our Patron

stretches of the NSW Far South Coast. MRNSW units also support bodies such as Transport for NSW, NSW Maritime, sailing clubs and sporting and community groups by providing a communications safety net and on-water logistical and personnel support for numerous boating and community events. This year, these included events staged before the onset of the pandemic: the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and other sailing events, New Year’s Eve and Australia Day festivities in Sydney and regional areas and the second F50 catamaran SailGP on Sydney Harbour. Numerous other events were cancelled, including the Rose Hill Trailer Boat Show and Sydney International Boat Show, and others moved online.

WILDLIFE As well as saving human lives on the water, MRNSW also works with agencies whose charter is to protect wildlife. Crews regularly join personnel from the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Primary Industries and ORCCA (the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia) for training and operations to free whales entangled in marine

debris as they migrate along the coastline. A Memorandum of Understanding is being finalised with the NPWS to guide these activities.

RADIO CLUBS MRNSW units’ Radio Clubs are a direct way to engage with their local boating communities and a valuable source of financial, safety and operational support. The 15,444 club members join our mission to save lives on the water through an annual subscription to support their local volunteers but their contribution is more than just financial. These boaters’ raised safety awareness makes them a valuable auxiliary asset on the water, potentially assisting crews searching for a missing vessel or giving initial assistance to a fellow boater in trouble while a rescue crew is under way to the scene.

Each Radio Club member is provided a unique marine radio call sign that makes it quicker and easier to Log On when heading out on the water. Using the free MarineRescue App also is quicker and easier for Radio Club members, too. As a gesture of appreciation, Radio Club members receive a free e-edition of Soundings and new online newsletter each quarter and exclusive discounts on the range of safety, boating and fishing gear and MRNSW supporter merchandise available on the MRNSW online store at shopmrnsw.com.au

COMMERCIAL PARTNERS MRNSW established a commercial partnership with a new rescue vessel builder in 2019. Harwood Marine, based on the Clarence River on the North Coast, is reinforcing our large vessel build program, constructing a new 13.5m aluminium monohull for MR Jervis Bay. Our other fleet suppliers this year are: • Yamba Welding & Engineering • Sailfish Catamarans • Sea-Doo Watercraft • The Haines Group and Suzuki Marine • Raymarine, Barrenjoey Marine Electrics and GME • Stewart Toyota

Karera Communications continues to support our radio infrastructure and a new partnership has been established with Telstra, Exigo Tech Pty Ltd and MobileCorp.

Thanks must go to the suppliers for our e-shop and the organisations that advertise in our quarterly journal, Soundings, which showcases our work and their products and services.

SAFE BOATING EDUCATION Providing boaters with the skills and knowledge to stay safe on the water is an important way of engaging with our community of interest. MRNSW units offer recreational boat and Personal Water Craft licence courses under the NSW Maritime Approved Boat Driving Licence Training Provider Scheme. Members of the public undertaking a licence test at one of our units are required to take a mandatory theory course. Unit members teaching these courses required to hold a Certificate IV in Training and Education, a first aid certificate and boat/PWC licence, as well as undergoing Working with Children and police record checks. In 2019-20, 10 units conducted 58 Safe Boating and Personal Water Craft (jet ski) licence courses and testing. A total of 360 adults and 54 young adults undertook a boat driver’s licence course and test, with a further 35 adults and four young adults enrolling in a PWC

Port Jackson 30 maintains an exclusion zone for a light show off Luna Park. Photo: Brendan Trembath.

course. MR Forster-Tuncurry, Wooli and Lake Macquarie topped the number of workshops offered, with Lake Macquarie recording the highest number of participants.

GOOD SPORTS MRNSW personnel proved their prowess in the sporting arena in October, winning medals and accolades in the Police and Emergency Services Games. Thirty-five events were staged over six days of competition in Wollongong. Assistant Director of Training and Education Brad Whittaker took gold in the longboard division of the surfing competition and silver in the Over 45s shortboard final. Fleet Manager Kelvin Parkin also progressed to the longboard semi-final. Development Officer Sophie Galvin became a dual silver medalist in the 50m and 100m freestyle events, while MR Lemon Tree Passage volunteer David Davies and IT Support Officer Matt Sims won bronze in the team darts competition. MRNSW had encouraged members and staff to sign up for the 18th Australasian Police and Emergency Services Games, planned to be held in October 2020, but the event has been cancelled.

COMMUNICATIONS MRNSW engages with boaters and the broader community through a range of public communications channels. Boating safety warnings and information, details of our volunteers’ hard work and information on our organisational activities and development are communicated via media activities and on various social media platforms. This year’s activities included the ‘Help us help you’ VHF radio campaign and giveaway, run across the MRNSW and unit Facebook pages. The campaign, featuring our members, boaters and people we had rescued, reached 79,000 people from the corporate page alone. There was extensive reporting of our rescue missions both on our media sites and in the mainstream media. MRNSW has 17,000 Facebook followers and 15,945 page likes, 5,400 followers on Twitter and 1,800 on Instagram.