There’s something about the first warm days of spring that makes everyone suddenly remember they own a boat. The covers come off, the esky gets dusted off, friends start talking about getting out on the water and, before you know it, the bay is getting busier. Which is lovely, until the water decides to remind us who’s actually in charge.
I was talking to Brian Taylor, aka Sam, an operational skipper with what we used to know as Volunteer Marine Rescue, and he has enough stories to make you look at a perfectly calm stretch of water slightly differently. One of the most memorable involved a Brazilian windsurfer who was being swept out to sea. He was exhausted and couldn’t get back onto his board. Brian and wife Deb happened to be out in their own boat when Deb spotted something orange in the water. They went to investigate. That “orange thing” was a person who needed help and they got him back to safety.
Then there was the boat they were trying to approach recently, sitting only about 25 metres away. Except it disappeared. Not because it went anywhere, the swell simply got between them. Twenty-five metres away and temporarily invisible.
That’s the part worth remembering as we head into the warmer months. The bay can look beautiful, it can look inviting, and it can even look like the perfect place for someone who has had one too many drinks to say, “She’ll be right.” She may not.
And there’s been a bit of change in the marine rescue world itself. What many of us have known for years as Volunteer Marine Rescue is now Marine Rescue Queensland (MRQ); Queensland’s new statewide volunteer marine rescue service.
MRQ was established to bring the former Volunteer Marine Rescue and Australian Volunteer Coast Guard services together under one organisation, creating a single, integrated service across the state. The transition is happening in stages, with local units progressively moving across.
The name might be changing, but the important bit isn’t. The volunteers are still the people getting into the boats and coming to find you when your day on the water goes sideways. And Brian has certainly seen plenty of sideways. He’s been involved in around 825 activations in six years. That can mean boats broken down, boats aground, people running out of fuel, training exercises and medical emergencies. That’s a lot of people discovering, usually at the least convenient possible moment, that something has gone wrong. The good news is that Marine Rescue is there, and the better news is that you don’t want to need them.
There’s also another change worth knowing about. Under the new Marine Rescue Queensland system, the cost of a rescue is now covered by the Queensland Government, so boaties no longer need to feel obligated to pay a membership fee to have access to the rescue service.
The rescue may be covered by government funding, but keeping the service afloat still takes plenty of resources. The boats need fuel, radios and equipment need maintaining, crews need training and, most importantly, there are volunteers giving up their time to sit on standby while the rest of us get on with our weekends. Local supporters, donations and fundraising also continue to play an important role in covering the things government funding doesn’t necessarily provide, with some volunteers even putting their own money into supporting the organisation they give their time to. So as the weather warms up and we all get a little more enthusiastic about getting onto the water, perhaps take five minutes before you leave. Know where you’re going, check the weather and conditions, make sure your boat is up to the job, have the right safety equipment, and tell someone where you’re headed. And if something doesn’t feel right, don’t turn a pleasant afternoon into an emergency because you’re determined to prove you’re tougher than the weather.
Brian says the best part of Marine Rescue is seeing the relief on people’s faces when they realise they’re safe. He calls it the feeling of knowing you’ve got someone’s back.
I reckon there’s another side to it. Have your own back first. Get prepared, respect the water, and know your limits.
Because spring and summer on the islands should be about sunshine, boats, swimming, fishing and good times. Not about becoming somebody else’s Tuesday afternoon activation.
