As the festive season is fast approaching plans now turn towards how to spend the holiday period and Marine Rescue is urging people going out on the water to be sensible.
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With Port Macquarie growing in size and the stunning holiday destination that it is, Port Macquarie Marine Rescue unit commander Greg Davies said logging on to their system might just save your life.
“These holidays we are expecting our busiest Christmas period ever with more boats, yachts and jetskis than ever before out on the water,” Mr Davies said.
“Last year was pretty busy for us but we have been in touch with local boat dealers and they say they have sold more water crafts than ever before.
“Add to that the holiday makers and everyone needs to ensure they follow the rules or else things could get very dangerous.”
Mr Davies said the first step to ensuring you stay safe on the water is letting Marine Rescue know where you are going.
“Before you go out on the water ensure that all passengers in the boat know how to operate the safety features on the vessel and log your trip with us via channel 16 on the radio or the Marine Rescue app,” he said.
“No one plans to get into trouble and if you haven’t logged on with us it can be very hard for us to find you if something goes wrong.
“It is a big ocean out there for us to search in and having as many details as we can increases our chances of finding you.”
He said the process of logging on is very simple and the friendly volunteers at the radio base are always at the ready to help.
“Our radio base at Town Beach is looked after 24 hours a day, seven days a week by our local volunteers, so no matter when you want to go out on your boat someone is on our radio ready to record your trip.
“Logging on is a very simple process and can take as little at 30 seconds so you can’t say you don't have time and could honestly save your life.”
Mr Davies said there are some myths about logging on but the service is only about ensuring safety on the water.
“No we don’t want to know where you are so we can steal your fishing spot and no we don’t constantly hassle those out on the water.
“We do a simple check in to ensure your situation is the same and leave you to enjoy yourself.”
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