Passing her qualifying test on October 23, she now hold consecutive titles as the only female skipper on the Mid North Coast as well as the only female jetski operator on the Mid North Coast, but insists being female has nothing to do with it.

“It is actually a funny story how I joined Marine Rescue here in Port Macquarie,” Ali said.

“I saw them with their tent up somewhere in town and just decided to sign up. From the very beginning there was no question about where I would volunteer – I always knew it would be with the boat crew.

“Being female or male had nothing to do with it. I grew up with my parents saying I could anything I wanted to and never have I thought about doing or not doing something because I am a female.

“When I first joined there were a few females in the boat crew and we are all still there now. I think we are all like a crazy family and gender doesn’t really come into it – and it shouldn’t.

“I think it is exciting that we are the only unit that can send out a fully female crew on our big boat PM 30, but at the end of the day we are all working together and it is a team effort.”

Ali said the vigorous amounts of training in the lead up to her examination made the events on the day go smoother.

“Our unit is always in a state of training and bettering our skills and I think compared to all the training I have had to do to qualify, on the day it actually went really well,” she said.

“Over the years as I have gained more qualifications I have been making my way to this point.

“I have over 11,000 hrs completed in my logbook, more than 700 training hours and have been involved in 96 call outs.

“During my exam on Tuesday the examiner was astonished by my stats which I found quite funny.”

“Obviously it was still challenging but it wasn’t as hard as I was expecting which I think is ultimately is a good thing.

“We practice so much so that when something happens and we do get called out, everything we can do runs according to plan.”

She said over her time on the boat crew she has been part of some hectic rescues.

“The search and rescues when we are sent out to look for missing people is always the hardest.

“Particularly last summer we had a number of searches in a very short amount of time and that does take a toll on everyone. It was absolutely heartbreaking to have no outcome in two rescues in two weeks. 

“Every time we go out on a search and rescue mission we want to get a good outcome for someone’s family and then to not be able to get any outcome, I think that it is always really disappointing.

“Saying that we have also had some memorable call outs and to get a boat and its crew safety home is always rewarding.

“I remember when I first started we look our smaller boat out to tow the ferry back after its line had snapped and to see people’s faces thinking when will the big boat come was amusing.”

She said joining something like Marine Rescue has allowed her to develop life skills as well.

“The leadership opportunities that I have been given during my time with Marine Rescue has been great and the skills I am learning have applications in everyday life as well.

“If anyone is considering doing something like just come in and say hello.”

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