Around 10:30am on Wednesday (16 May) the volunteers on duty in the Point Clare radio room of Marine Rescue Central Coast were asked to broadcast a ‘Securite’ warning for boaties using the Woy Woy Channel.

Roads and Maritime Boating Safety Officer Mark Raward indicated that a vehicle had sunk near the 4-knot channel marker that is located off Lions Park boat ramp at the eastern end of the Woy Woy Channel.

The sunken vehicle is not readily visible and has been marked  with a yellow warning buoy. Police and ferry operators were notified. Marine Rescue ‘Securite’ warning broadcasts will continue until the vehicle is recovered.

The Marine Rescue Radio Base at Point Clare responded to a radio call for assistance from four men on a 7.5m motor cruiser off Bungan Heads about 1:00pm of Sunday. The men indicated they had a fuel problem and need help to get back to the boat’s mooring at Ettalong.

The duty radio operator assigned the task to Marine Rescue Vessel ‘Centaco 20’, and its volunteer crew, Norm Smith (skipper) and Ken Sharp and Peter Ashworth (crew). After a prolonged search, the vessel was located and was towed back to Ettalong. The rescue boat was at sea for over three hours.

A Search and Rescue Training Exercise (SAREX) was completed over the weekend of 14/15 April. The exercise was coordinated by NSW Water Police with assistance of presenters from RAN, NSW Ambulance, and NSW LifeSavers. Volunteer Marine Rescue members from units at Botany Bay, Broken Bay Central Coast, Cottage Point, Middle Harbour, Port Jackson Terry Hills and Terrigal participated.

Day one, (Saturday) was primarily desk top exercises held at the RMYC at Newport. Subject covered included Police coordination, search theory and techniques, deployment of assets, air support, search patterns, duration, plotting, electronic aids and tracking.

Day two (Sunday) was the ‘on-water’ component including seven rescue vessels from the Marine Rescue units, WP vessel Nemesis, and helicopters from Westpac and the Navy. The exercise was to locate two missing persons (dummies) in the area offshore between Avalon Beach and Barrenjoey lighthouse. After breakfast and an exercise briefing at the RMYC the vessels assembled offshore for a grid search commencing at 0900 hours, coordinated by the police and MRNSW officers on board Nemesis.

Central Coast Unit was represented by Norm Smith, Ken Sharp (both skippers) and Mark Sheehan and Gary Marshall (crew). Rescue vessel Central Coast 20 spotted and recovered the second missing ‘person’. During the debrief that followed the SAREX all participants indicated that the training was very useful and engendered great teamwork and camaraderie within the units

Annette Karton (left) President of the Rotary Club of Woy Woy with RC member John Greenway and MR CMDR Ian Gallard

The Rotary Club of Woy Woy had some good news for the volunteers from Marine Rescue Central Coast on Wednesday 11 April.

Rotary Club President, Annette Karton and member John Greenway met with CMDR Ian Gallard with the most welcome news that the Rotary Club of Woy Woy has donated $5000 to Marine Rescue. The donated funds are towards the $50,000 spent as a matter of urgency, to replace the diesel engine and gearbox in the unit’s principal offshore rescue boat. Rotary’s kind donation was a part of the proceeds from the recently held “Opera in the Arboretum” in Pearl Beach.

A further $1000 has been donated by The Ettalong Bowling Club Fishing Club while $5160 was raised at a Variety Concert held at the Gosford RSL. Ian Gallard commented, ‘That just leaves us $38840 to raise to get us out of the red’.

If you want to help, tax deductable donations can be made by calling the base on 4325 7929

Central Coast 011 - diesel rescue boat

The volunteers from Marine Rescue Central Coast were rostered for duties for the entire Easter weekend to provide a safety net for the local boating community.

On Good Friday, the duty crew assisted three vessels. Around 1120 the rescue boat, Centaco 011, was flagged down by the two people on board a 5.0m ½ cabin runabout off Noonan’s Point. The vessel’s engine had failed and the men requested a tow to Gosford boat ramp. Skipper Norm Smith and his crew obliged.

The volunteer on radio duty at Marine Rescue Central Coast received a 27MHz radio call from the Saratoga Sailings Club Safety Boat about 2:40pm on Sunday afternoon. The safety officer sought help for a 5.0m trailer-sailer that had capsized and was upside down in a location between Green Point and Saratoga.

Conditions at the time were quite ordinary; a 30knots southerly was blowing accompanied by rain and very choppy seas. The yacht’s two crewmembers were safe on the safety boat but the yacht’s mast was stuck in the mud and the vessel could not be recovered.

Skipper Al Morris with his crew, Alan Howes and Mark Sheehan on rescue boat, Central Coast 11, went to the location. The Marine Rescue crew were successful in righting the vessel that was then towed by the safety boat to Saratoga.

Central Coast 20 with ketch at 1/2 Tide Rocks

Around 1:00pm on Thursday March 8, the volunteers at Marine Rescue Central Coast were tasked by the Water Police to assist a 14.5m Steel Ketch that had broken away from its mooring and was aground on the northeastern side of Half Tide Rocks. There was nobody onboard.

The unit’s larger rescue vessel, Central Coast 20 (CC20), was despatched with Norm Smith as skipper and Roger Palmer as crew. Conditions were quite ordinary, with a strong run-out tide, choppy seas, rain and a fresh Nor-westerly blowing at about 15 knots. The rescue crew initially attached a towline to the stern of the yacht, and once it was freed and in navigable water, Roger Palmer boarded the ketch to transfer the towline to the bow.

The vessel was towed to Ettalong and placed on the Police 24-hour Emergency mooring to await attention of its owner.

This was the first ‘real’ emergency task attended by CC20 since its re-fit with a new $50,000 diesel engine  that has been carefully ‘run-in’ over the past couple of months. The engine had its initial service on Thursday morning and had only just been placed back ‘in service’ when the call for help was received.

Volunteer Marine Rescue Central Coast is one of forty-nine units that form Marine Rescue NSW. Central Coast unit was established in 1971 as Volunteer Coastal Patrol. The unit has marine radio bases at Point Clare and Terrigal Haven where it monitors the marine frequencies 7-days-a-week.

The unit has two diesel-jet rescue vessels with trained rescue crews on standby 24-hours a-day, to assist any vessel in trouble in its area, offshore between Norah Head and Broken Bay plus Brisbane Water and its tributaries.

In December 2011, the 310HP Yanmar diesel in the principal rescue vessel was determined to require replacement due to excessive wear. Cost of the engine replacement was $50,000 and this cost has put a severe strain on the financial resources of the volunteer members who must raise the funds needed for capital expenditure and maintenance.

Toni Stevens

With help from many performers who have donated their services and Gosford RSL that has donated the venue, a Variety Concert has been arranged for 7:30pm on Thursday 29^th March, to raise funds for the volunteer rescue unit.

Emcee for the evening will be vocalist Lambeth Bennet. The entertainment will include comedienne Toni Stevens from Aunt Molly’s at Morisset; vocalist / impressionist / actress Elizabeth Taylor who is winner of eight Mo awards; vocalist Lillian De Los Reyes, known as the Shirley Bassey of the Philippines and international country performer Wayne Horsburgh who is a winner of four Mo awards. The performers will be

Liz Taylor

accompanied by the Andrew Swan Trio.

Marine Rescue Central Coast unit is grateful to the variety concert artists and to Gosford RSL for their support. Tickets are available to the public (group tables of 12 and 24 are also available), all affordable at $20 pp. Please call 4325 7929 for more information or to secure your tickets for a great night out. Please have your credit card details available.

Ian Gallard, Commander of Central Coast unit has received a most generous donation of $1000 from President Cliff Thompson of Ettalong Memorial Bowling Club Fishing Club. The Fishing Club’s members are unable to attend the concert due to prior obligations and have presented a cheque to the unit to help with the engine costs.

Just before 1:30 pm on Sunday March 4, Marine Rescue Sydney received a mobile phone call forwarded by Telstra from three men in a 4.8m runabout with engine failure. The vessel was at Juno Point near the entrance to the Hawkesbury River. The men were seeking assistance to get back to the ramp at Gosford where they had launched their boat earlier in the day.

MR Sydney contacted the Central Coast unit to arrange for the tow. The rescue boat, Central Coast 11, was at the time assisting a 5.4m yacht at Davistown that was aground near its mooring. The rescue boat was tasked to assist the runabout once the yacht had been relocated into deeper water.

To avoid a long delay, Marine Rescue Cottage Point offered to assist. Its rescue boat, Cottage Point 20, located the runabout and towed it from Juno Point to Booker Bay where it was met by Central Coast 11, and the tow to Gosford ramp was then completed.

A great team effort from three Marine Rescue units to ensure the safety of those in need of help on the water.

Advanced Resuscitation Kit (left) and Applied First Aid Simulation Kit (right) donated by BWMW

Brisbane Water Marine Watch (BWMW) has donated two training kits valued at $698.00 and $717.00 to Marine Res­cue Central Coast.

One kit (red) contains realistic simulation material for wounds and broken bones.  The other kit (green) donated earlier includes oxygen and other aids to enable advanced resuscitation. The donated kits will greatly assist in ensuring reality for First Aid training and help satisfy the requirements of the new First Aid competencies required of Marine Rescue crews. All the volunteer members of Marine Rescue must have a current Advanced First Aid certificate.

The donations by BWMW of First Aid training equipment now total $1415. The money is from funds that, in previ­ous years, were used by BWMW to host the Putt Putt Regatta. BWMW is no longer directly involved with that event.

Commander Ian Gallard said, “Marine Rescue Central Coast is grateful for the help received from Brisbane Water Marine Watch and we acknowledge their valuable donations to ensure our members have first class First Aid Training.”