New sea rescue base opened at St Lucia
SEA rescue in the Zululand region now has a further reach as the new NSRI base in St Lucia is officially up and running.
Station 40 which serves Maphelane, St Lucia and Cape Vidal, came into being in May and has since grown to include 22 volunteers.
Furnished with all necessary equipment and gear, including life jackets, wet suits and helmets, the base recently received a bakkie from the Richards Bay base and a jet ski (rescue runner) from the Durban base.
In the coming weeks they are expecting a rubber duck, but have in the meantime gained permission to use private boats in the event of an emergency.
Plans are afoot to build a permanent base for Station 40, but until then the control room is run out of Station Commander Jan Hoffman’s own premises at Turtle Bay Lodge.
The dedicated control room is kitted out with a plotting map and VHF systems which are used both during call outs and for training.
‘We are very excited that this is going ahead,’ said Hoffman.
‘With the amount of boating, fishing and swimming in this region, we need our own NSRI base and it’s good that everything is coming together so nicely. ‘Richards Bay has helped us immensely and we look forward to working closely with them
in the future.’
In line with NSRI protocol, the volunteers meet every second Wednesday and undergo regular training, whether swim training, sea rescue training or VHF training.
‘It’s vital for all of us to know exactly what we’re doing at all times so when it comes to an emergency situation, the rescue runs smoothly.’
Hoffman and his fellow volunteers have dealt with relatively minor call outs since Station 40’s inception, but are anticipating a busy festive season.
‘We will base the rescue runner at Cape Vidal, which means that in case of an emergency, we can get there quicker without having to tow it.’
Hoffman says the base’s long term goal is to have a tractor with an 8.5m rescue boat, a bakkie with a 4.5m rescue boat and the rescue runner at Cape Vidal.
Station 40 volunteers assist at all local angling competitions, to increase an awareness of the NSRI within the local community.
The base’s emergency contact number is 063 6992722.
The NSRI is run by volunteers, through donations received from the public.
If anyone would like to become involved with Station 40, they can contact Hoffmann on the number above.