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Everyday Heroes receive jet-powered boost
Perth boxer Danny Green recently hit the headlines for his rescue of a body-boarder from the surf at Yallingup. Green was hailed a hero, but the media hype surrounding event, somewhat overshadowed what was ‘just another day in the office’ for our state’s volunteer Surf Life Savers.
That same weekend, Surf Life Saving volunteers had rescued 114 people from the surf at Scarborough Beach alone. With a rescue tally of nearly 600 for the whole of last year, the organisation looks set for a record year according to Surf Life Saving Western Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Andrew.
“The season has just commenced and with the fine weather and large swell many people ventured down to the beach. We were kept very busy but a lot of the rescues we performed could have been avoided if the beach-going public had followed the instructions of our surf lifesavers.”
Surf Life Saving’s latest life-saving equipment – Rescue Water Craft (RWC) or ‘jet skis’ purchased with a Lotterywest grant – saw active service during the busy weekend. One of the RWC operators, Scarborough club member, Damien Marangon, undertook several life saving rescues on the weekend using the Lotterywest funded RWC.
The equipment is attached to a newly established ‘Support Services’ group; an ‘on-call’ team ready for close-shore search and rescue at a moment’s notice. This will be the first summer that the skis will be used in the metropolitan area as well as Bunbury, Esperance, Margaret River and Albany.
Surf Life Saving WA depends on over 11,500 volunteer members who give in excess of 60,000 hours a year to patrol our beaches – and that’s not including thousands of hours in education, training, development and club administration.
The jet skis mean that the volunteers are better equipped than ever before. Even so, not every call-out ends in a life saved.
“Our people utilised Inflatable Rescue Boats and jet skis recently assisted the WA Water Police with a search off Quinns beach where a recreational boat overturned and unfortunately two people did not survive”, Paul said.
“Members of the Support Services Group are committed volunteers who react immediately to calls for assistance. When they get a call, such as this one from the Water Police, they need to drop everything, leave their ‘normal’ paid work and put their skills and equipment to the test.”
Lotterywest’s long-standing relationship with Surf Life Saving in our state has been cultivated over many years, with most Lotterywest grants going towards Club infrastructure.
Paul says this kind of support is vital and shows the commitment to the community by Lotterywest.
“Infrastructure is incredibly expensive and with coastal development on the rise, there is greater demand for our lifesaving services and new clubs”.
2007 has been officially titled ‘The Year of the Lifesaver’ and for Surf Life Saving WA the year will be one of the biggest in the organisation’s history. In March they will be part of “the biggest event outside the Olympics that Australia has hosted” – the Surf Life Saving Australian Championships to be held on Scarborough Beach.
While this side of Surf Life Saving makes people think it’s all about ‘super-fit athletes’, Paul is keen to break the stereotype.
“There is a way for everyone to contribute by volunteering with Surf Life Saving. Our movement is very diverse, with a strong emphasis on life skills, leadership and a sense of belonging.”
“It’s what we’re all about – “saving lives and building great communities”.