07. Jul, 2011

NSRI Durban volunteers are on stand-by for the MSC Regatta taking place off Durban between the 4th and 8th July.

On Thursday at 12h06 our NSRI Durban volunteer duty crew were called out to assist local yacht Magic Dragon which had rudder and steering failure off-Addington Hospital. They were a quarter of a nautical mile off-shore and drifting towards shark nets in a 2.5 to 3.5 meter swell and a 15 to 20 knot South Westerly wind.

Eikos Rescuer II was launched while NSRI volunteer, Paul Dawson, aboard his private skipper training boat Alice, also responded to assist.

While our sea rescue craft was en-route to this first call-out we received a second call-out to assist the yacht Sundance B, also taking part in the MSC Regatta, which had a broken propellor. She was 2.5 nautical miles off the Port of Durban.

Paul had Magic Dragon under tow with his boat Alice so our sea rescue craft diverted to assist Sundance B. We took her under tow and brought her into Port where, once behind the safety of the breakwater, we released the tow-line and her crew used a jib to sail her to her berthing.

As they were about to head out towards where Paul had Magic Dragon under tow we received a third call-out to go to the assistance of the yacht Teesera Blue, also taking part in the MSC Regatta, which had lost motor power and required a tow.

She was lying about 1.5 nautical miles off the Moses Madiba Stadium and our sea rescue boat rigged a tow line and brought her to her mooring.

Source: NSRI website

About the NSRI
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) is run by 980 highly skilled, unpaid volunteers who are on standby day and night throughout the year. Donations and sponsorships cover our annual running cost of R25m. The volunteers save us a salary bill in excess of R250m per annum.

There are 32 coastal and three inland rescue bases, a fleet of 92 rescue craft, 27 vehicles and we have access to a range of helicopters. We enjoy a good working relationship with other emergency services and we believe that it is through team effort that lives are saved.

The NSRI education arm, called WaterWise, teaches children what to do in an emergency and gives them the confidence to initiate basic bystander CPR while they wait for the ambulance to arrive. WaterWise targets the disadvantaged youth between the ages of nine and 14, because statistically they are the most at risk (South African Medical Research Council, 2006).

Our History
The urgent need for a sea rescue organisation in South Africa was highlighted in 1966 when 17 fishermen drowned after their trawler sank near Still Bay due to the lack of a rescue service. Following this incident, Miss Patti Price (whose own life had been saved by life boat rescue in the British Channel) began a committed letter-writing campaign to motivate the formation of a sea rescue organisation. Captain Bob Deacon and Mr Ray Lant were the first volunteers to respond to this call. The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) was established in 1967 when it acquired its first rescue craft - a 4.7m inflatable boat called Snoopy donated by the Society of Master Mariners.