Mandurah Volunteer Marine Rescue Service

 

On average, I probably find it necessary to walk over to the local chandlery about 1.5 times a day. It's about 10 minutes each way, and the route takes me right past the Mandurah Volunteer Rescue Service. I had watched them tow a disabled motor yacht into the marina a week or so ago, and on one of my trips to the chandlery, I thought I would stop in and find out more about what they do.

The Mandurah Volunteer Marine Rescue Group, or Mandurah VMRS for short, is one of 39 groups of volunteers along the 8100 mile (13,000km) coast of Western Australia from Esperance in the southeast to Kununurra in the northwest. Together, they provide 24 hour radio coverage along the entire WA coast. They work closely with the WA Police (WAPOL) in providing search and rescue missions at sea. The group does everything from searching for and assisting vessels and people in peril, to assisting vessels that are out of fuel or have run aground.

The U.S. used to have a similar service covering most of the U.S. coastal waters, by the way. The American Life Saving Service was started in the 1800's, primarily to assist mariners in danger. While funding for the stations and equipment was provided by the government, most of the men manning the stations were volunteers. Eventually the number of stations grew to almost 300, and in 1915, they were combined and reorganized into the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Mandurah VMRS has over 80 members, none of whom are paid. At any time, day or night, someone is on duty to man the radio and a boat crew is constantly on call. I spoke at length with Kevin who was on duty the day I stopped in, and between his radio calls he gave me quite a bit of information.

The various VMRS groups work together under the WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES). Each group raises money to fund its own operations, and the DFES matches each dollar raised by the group. In our travels around Australia, we would frequently hear vessels calling into the local VMR station using radio call signs rather than boat names. One of the ways each VMR raises money is by issuing a call sign for local vessels which has an annual fee of $25. The rescue and assistance services are provided free of charge, although a donation is requested.

The Mandurah VMRS has a large seagoing vessel for offshore needs which is berthed at the jetty a few feet from the building. They also have a shallow draft catamaran for use on the extensive inland waterways here. It is kept inside the building, but can be launched in minutes. It usually takes less than 15 minutes to get the rescue boat underway once an emergency call is received. Not bad considering the crew is on call and each member has to travel from home or wherever to the boat once they are paged.

Vessels heading out are requested to log in with the VMRS and leave a basic float plan – where they're headed and what time they expect to return. If a boat doesn't return on schedule, the VMRS will try to establish radio contact to see whether there is a problem. If there is no response, the water police are notified. They try calling the vessel's contact numbers to find out whether the captain or crew has returned but, forgotten to log in. If after an hour there is still no information, the VMRS vessel is sent out to look for the overdue boat.

We haven't, thankfully, needed assistance for Nine of Cups from any of the VMRS groups .There have been a few times, however, when we needed local knowledge. Sometimes sandbars shift or channels silt up. Sometimes a channel is deeper on one side than the other or range markers are no longer accurate. It was always good to know the local VMRS was there to provide advice and information.

The radio operator told me there were often training sessions on Saturday and/or Sunday mornings, and the crew usually took the boat out. If I was interested, I would be welcome to join the crew as an observer. This sounded like a great idea to me, and I left my card and cell number in the hopes someone could give me a call the next time training maneuvers were scheduled.

The next evening, I got a call from the VMRS letting me know that while there wouldn't be a training session this weekend, something even better was scheduled. The VMRS vessel would be taking several seabirds out to sea to be released. The birds had been rescued and rehabilitated by the local WA Seabird Rescue group. Would I be interested in going along? Uh gosh – let me check my schedule...

To be continued...

Splash in Mandurah

We splashed today. We could not have planned a more miserable day to plan going back into the water. It poured in torrents all through the night and we only hoped that the clouds would rain themselves out before our 0930 appointment with the TravelLift.

Luck was with us. It did not rain on our walk from the hotel to the boatyard. It did not rain while we were making final preparations to go back into the water. We waited rather impatiently as another boat was hauled and then it was Nine of Cups' turn and the TravelLift moved into place.

The slings were put into place and the stands were moved out of the way. Cole, the lift operator, is quite friendly and very proficient at his job. He had us ready to go within minutes.

With Cups in the sling, we knocked away the keel supports and David slapped some anti-fouling paint on the places we hadn't been able to access while Cups was on the stands.

We had planned letting the paint dry for a ½ hour or so, but Cole indicated that radar showed a rather large squall heading our way. It was already blowing nearing 20 knots; we really didn't need any more wind for launching. Without delay, Cole had Cups moving toward the lift bay.

She looked beautiful with her new blue bottom, red bootstripe and shiny topsides. Cole lowered away and her keel touched the water. Splash!

We scrambled aboard using the anchor as a step and ducked under the bow pulpit. We were ready for take off. David burped the shaft seal and turned on the engine.

A friend had brought over large cardboard boxes which David had rigged to shield Cups from the dirty slings and keep the topsides clean. We had a time tying them to lifelines as the wind gusted and blew them like kites. Marcie rigged the docking lines to tie back up at the marina and grabbed the boat hook … just in case. We were ready to head out.

We're pleased to report … no drama. Cole moved us as far to the end of the bay as possible. David backed her out and the wind caught us, but in the right way. He made a u-turn and maneuvered Cups across the channel … the northwest wind pushing us closer to the dock without much effort on our part. We were tying up and removing the cardboard protectors when the winds increased and the torrential rains started up once again. Thank you, Neptune!

A Vacation from Our Vacation

Being on the hard is no vacation. In fact, living on a sailboat/yacht is an alternative lifestyle and after 14 years, it can hardly be called a vacation. We work hard and sometimes get to play hard, too.

Okay … okay … so it IS a vacation for the most part.

With Nine of Cups in a marina for the past couple of weeks, it really did seem more of a vacation than usual. When Cups came out of the water and went on the hardstands in the boatyard, we weren't allowed to live aboard. Though it's been hectic and lots of work, we've been staying in a little “chalet”, which has been very, very nice to come home to at the end of a long day working.

It's a luxury to have a hot shower whenever we want it and we were thrilled to be in the marina for that very reason. BUT … having a hot shower in the next room as opposed to having to get dressed, pack your toiletries and towels and walk down the dock to the shower block … now that's real luxury. And, of course, there's a full size fridge with a freezer that actually keeps ice cream frozen. Just sayin' … though we're working hard, this might qualify as a vacation.

The 20 minute walk from the chalet to the boatyard (when it's not raining) is quite pleasant in the morning. We walk along the foreshore path, across the footbridge and then along the water's edge. It's a lovely way to get the day started. There are always runners and walkers about and everyone nods and says “Morning … how ya going?” as they pass by. The birds are all busy, getting ready for breakfast. There are honeyeaters and red wattles which seem to favor the flame trees planted along the path.

We stopped one morning to watch an anhinga/darter dive into the water. The water was clear enough for us to see him swimming around, poking his beak into the rocks and crevices. He came up with a snack. They're such funny birds when they surface, looking more like snakes than they do like birds with their long, skinny necks just poking out of the water.

Two mornings in a row, there's been a young sea lion on the rocks that line the entry channel from the sea. We wonder if he's been separated from his parents or hurt. He doesn't move far from the rock he's perched on and is usually taking a nap when we pass by … morning or evening.

There are several shops and boutiques along the way … always closed when we pass by. One storefront has a huge Christmas display … pretty early if you ask me. Another has a window full of colorful tutus which caught my attention. I didn't realize there was such a market for tutus, but evidently there is.

In the evening, there seems to be a whole different crowd wandering around. Mandurah is a tourist-type town, at least in the foreshore area. On the weekends, it's quite crowded with people, but during the week in the late autumn with winter fast approaching, there are fewer people around. One evening when we were walking home, we saw several people pointing into the water. They'd spotted a rather large octopus making its way along the rocky bottom. No pics unfortunately … you'll have to take my word for it.

Three days on the hard; four days at the chalet (pay for 3, stay for 4 winter special). Vacations are nice, but it's always good to get back home.