MAKING WAVES Monaro News
Dramatic drop in Eden radio base workload $205,000 facelift improves working environment for members.
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hat a difference a year makes. The impact of a terrifying bushfire season followed by a pandemic can be clearly seen in the workload of MR Eden. As with other coastal holiday destinations, Eden has been hard hit by the COVID-19 travel restrictions, impacting the number of boaters on the water and the subsequent demand on the unit’s services. In the first four and a half months of 2019, the unit Logged On 2,459 boats with 15,981 people on board. This workload has fallen by more than two-thirds over the same period this year, with our radio operators Logging On just 665 boats with 2,497 people on board from New Year to May 13. Having put the threat of the bushfires behind us in January, the unit pivoted to manage the social distancing impacts of the pandemic in March. Radio operations have continued
as normal, with the added benefit of our channels on Mt Imlay being brought back on line after the restoration of essential network infrastructure severely damaged or destroyed by the bushfires that tore through the National Park south of Eden. Interim repairs to install temporary VHF radios were completed in early March but we are now operating fully across the huge range provided by this site. A major project to update the unit base has been completed. The exterior of the building was fully clad and the interior gutted, refurbished and painted, with a new bathroom and kitchen, wall linings and floor coverings installed, all computer equipment replaced and radios upgraded or replaced where needed. The $130,000 project, funded through the MRNSW Facility Development Program, followed the extension and new external
MR Eden has undergone a $205,000 facelift. Photo: John Steele.
disabled access completed last year with a $75,000 NSW Government Infrastructure Grant. The upgrading project was planned and overseen by a house committee of Deputy Unit Commander Stuart Manson, Glenda Wood, Peter Smith, Jessica Wyers, Kent Farrell, Nancy Weatherman and Robert Van Den Helm. Thank you to Monaro Regional Operations Manager Glenn Sullivan for his assistance during the planning
approval process.The improvement in our work environment has made a big difference to volunteer comfort and the base’s general atmosphere. We also replaced our Davis weather station, which had started playing up after almost six years’ exposure to the sometimes fierce weather conditions of our clifftop location, leading to worn bearings and corrosion of some of the electronics in the anemometer. John McKinnon
Batemans Bay planning for life after COVID
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t has been a catastrophic start to 2020, with bushfires devastating our region, followed by severe flooding from an East Coast Low and then COVID-19. While a range of MRNSW risk management strategies was implemented to restrict activities to safeguard our volunteers, it seemed the ‘Stay Safe. Stay Home’ message did not reach the Batemans Bay boating community. The autumn weather was extraordinarily warm and settled and the boaties made the most of it, with more than 30 vessels Logged On most weekends. The unit responded to 18 emergencies from the start of the year to mid-May, half during the pandemic restrictions. Most resulted from mechanical failures, requiring vessels to be
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towed back to the boat ramp. In line with the risk management procedures, only essential personnel have been attending the unit’s base, with training limited to Zoom and online resources. A maintenance routine ensured the unit’s vessels were always ready to respond. The world has not stopped turning altogether in our neck of the woods though; the bar has been dredged, new sector lights have been installed in the bay and the leading lights have been replaced. The electronics suite on rescue vessel Batemans 20 was upgraded during essential repairs. Attention is now turning to life after COVID-19 and how the unit manages the process of returning to training, getting marine drills back in date and ensuring we are
Batemans 30 returns a runabout with four on board to safety in May.
at the same pre-pandemic level of competency for a seamless transition back to full operations. Unit elections and the Annual General Meeting are taking place in June. Voting will be conducted online and the meeting most likely held via Zoom in a first for most, if not all, our members.
It would be fair to say most of our volunteers are keen to get back on the job but with everyone’s safety first and foremost there is still a need for us all to exercise caution to avoid a second wave of coronavirus. Let’s hope the second half of 2020 is far less stressful. Richard Blundell
