Coast Guard St Kilda VF02

Last night, a volunteer crew from the Marine Rescue NSW Ballina unit responded to an urgent call for assistance from a yachtsman in difficulty. Tragically, two of the volunteer crew lost their lives during the course of that incident response.

It is a reminder that Marine Search and Rescue volunteers respond into a dynamic environment that is not without risk.

Our thoughts are with the family members, the other crew members as they recover, and the wider Marine Rescue NSW membership.

At 9pm last night our volunteer crew were tasked to assist in the search for a female, reportedly in an inflatable boat alone and drifting offshore in the Sandringham area.

Once in the area, our crew quickly located the casualty in pitch darkness, unwell and around 1km from shore off Brighton. She was taken to St Kilda and handed over to a waiting Ambulance Victoria crew.

This once again highlights the risk of using inflatable craft in open water environments, particularly in offshore winds and after dark. Luckily in this instance the casualty had a working mobile and was able to raise the alarm.

🔴 Remember: Inflatable toys are not boats, they may be difficult to manoeuvre in windy conditions, and you are one puncture away from being in the water rather than on it.

Thank you to our voluneer crews, as well as those from Coast Guard Queenscliff VF09 and Southern Peninsula Rescue Squad, who gave up their time to help facilitate these important Ambulance Victoria training sessions.
Together we ensured the state’s MICA flight paramedics and aircraft crews maintained their over-water skills for another busy season ahead.

EXCLUSIVE: Some of the state's most skilled paramedics have undergone gruelling training out in Port Phillip Bay as they prepare to protect Victorians this summer. 7NEWS was invited onboard as the team performed drills after Australia's worst year for drownings, on record.

Over the coming weeks our crews will be participating in Ambulance Victoria MICA Flight Paramedic Water Winching currency sessions on the waters off Sandringham. These sessions are key components of training and skills maintenance for Air Ambulance Flight Paramedics from around the state, and involve winching operations into the water as well as onto and off of moving vessels.

If you are on the water during these operations, it is important that you:
🔴 Observe from a safe distance
🔴 Do not approach personnel or equipment in the water
🔴 Do not obstruct the path of MSAR vessels that are underway whilst aircraft are overhead

Crews from Coast Guard Queenscliff VF09 and Southern Peninsula Rescue Squad will also be supporting these operations, which will continue into December.

Hot off the heels of International Day for Women in Maritime, and Australia’s National Volunteer Week, our very own all-female crew took to the water yesterday. Taking advantage of some great Autumn conditions, Sharon, Sam, Lea and Erica were on the water to conduct training for the afternoon.

Skipper Sharon, who lead the training, said “We were proud to be part of such a highly qualified female crew. Although female representation in Marine Search and Rescue has a way to go, Coast Guard St Kilda has a number of female members at various levels of training and qualification, and today was a great opportunity to train together as a crew.”

We’d also like to recognise other female crew and leaders in MSAR across the state, including Coast Guard Werribee’s own female Skipper, Celestine Hade, as well as the recent all-female crew from Coast Guard Portland.