Increase in Jetski Licences

 There’s been a 92% spike in new jetski licences in the wake of the pandemic.

That’s 9076 new jetski riders out on our waterways.

This surge in popularity of the craft has coincided with a spike in disruptive and dangerous behavior.

That’s why this weekend, NSW Maritime will be carrying out a safety blitz across all waterways in Greater Sydney.

The top five safety issues related to jetski use are:

irregular riding

speeding

unlicensed riding

not keeping a safe distance from other boats

failure to keep to the right.

We understand riding a jetski is a lot of fun, but please – cool your jets.

Help us make sure the water is a safe place for everyone.

Drone

 Are we using the right equipment in a sea search?

We have seen two search and rescue operation within the last week here on the South Coast of NSW. Significant assets have been deployed to search for a missing snorkeler and now a missing yacht abandoned by Marine Rescue to the mercy of the sea. It has caused a serious hazard to navigation as it drifts along the coast – either to sink, come ashore or to join the lonely mariner in the Southern Ocean.

The local Batemans Bay Boating Safety Officer mounted a search operation after the vessel was abandoned and did a search in difficult sea conditions but found nothing in the limited area covered.

Marine Rescue, Police Operations Centre, AMSA and Maritime were contacted by the Association to determine if any of these organisation knew the whereabouts of the abandoned vessel. Not one did and as of Monday had no intention of taking any action to find it.

Is Marine Rescue and Maritime currently using outdated technology and methods to look for vessels and people lost at sea along our coast?

Surf Life Saving NSW use drones to assist their operations patrol beaches, to spot sharks and on occasions drop aid to a swimmer in distress. They have a specialised aviation unit, the Australian UAV Service (AUAVS), for the state of the art Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) program they currently operate. Funds have come from the State Government to support this initiative.

These drones are small with limited endurance and facilities but the concept is not new. - See the Associations Facebook post of January 2018

https://www.facebook.com/BBBoaters/posts/447206285693841

The question is: has the technology advanced over the last three or four years? The answer is very defiantly yes. The use of long range spy and attack drones has been perfected by the American military for use to monitor the movement of questionable people and in some cases to “take them out”.

What about over water monitoring? The Royal Navy has recently launched their Puma monitoring drone from a small patrol navy vessel in the English channel to give them long range endurance “eyes in the sky” capabilities. It has been used for search and monitoring capabilities in a range of weather conditions. It is to be rolled out to other vessel in the near future.

So how about a Drone station at Nowra to assist with search operations along our NSW coast line? It would be much more effective than a pair of eyes on a vessel at sea level. It would be less expensive than a fixed wing or helicopter searching the coast line and could be used for other “strategic compliance operations as well as to assist combat agencies”.

We know the cops in Melbourne used drones to check that the citizens did not break lockdown laws. Drones are used for mapping in the outback. The Australian Army regularly use their Black Hornet, Wasp and Shadow drones in surveillance and reconnaissance operations. So why not have Marine Rescue and Maritime use drones to locate an abandoned yacht drifting in the Tasman Sea?

Can you suggest any reason why this is not a good idea which should be pursued?

Questions unanswered

The Association posed a number of question regarding the operational aspects of the Marine Rescue operation in saving a solo yachtsman last week and the abandoning of a so called “sinking” yacht along the south coast of NSW.

The questions raised were the following:

Who made the decision to leave the vessel to the mercy of the sea? Was it Marine Rescue instructing the master under some dubious police authority or was it made by the owner fearing legal liability?

• Who made the decision to leave the vessel to drift ashore or sink into the depths of a Marine Park?
• Did Marine Rescue place or activate an EPIRB on board to track the vessel?
• Did the vessel have an AIS safety device to tell other vessels its location, speed and direction?
• Has this operation been recorder as an AMSA incident and when?
• What notice to mariners has been issued regarding a “sinking” vessel in the area?
• Will Marine Rescue undertake a full, open and transparent incident and operational review of this incident?

The Association has made every effort to contact the sailor to establish the facts but has been stone walled by Marine Rescue refusing to provide information or update their social medial posts. They refer all enquiries to the Police Information Centre and Eden Police who also gave the Association the run around saying they know nothing.

Maritime Incident office was not aware of the situation and a search of their database returned nothing however the local BB Boating Safety Officer was aware of the incident and did a cursory search south of the rescue area on Saturday in difficult conditions. He took his brand new vessel for a spin. He speculates the abandoned yacht could be miles into the Tasman Sea and therefore not their responsibility. It could return months from now, still floating.

It appears that Marine Rescue is starting to cover their tracks and close the channels of communication. No-one is speaking. Some are just plain rude. The website has not been updated and no notice to local or State mariners has been issued as to the hazard to navigation of the yacht. Maritime and AMSA have not issued a statement.

So the questions still remain:

• What went wrong with the operation and why the stonewalling?
• Why does AMSA not know about a drifting vessel in the Tasman Sea?
• Why has Maritime not made the public aware of the dangers of an unlit drifting vessel along the coast?
• Who will be responsible for the cleanup if the vessel comes ashore or sinks in the marine park?

And the final very important question: When will the public who contribute significant funds to the assets and operational expense of Marine Rescue know the details of this incident?

More Money and Boat to Maritime - Safety?

 

South Coast gets state of the art patrol boat which quote “will improve safety for all boaters” HOW? Come on, explain how?

The press release is just full of fake expressions and unsubstantiated spin.

The Maritime Operations Officer states the vessel will be used for “ strategic compliance operations as well as assist combat agencies” Did you read that correctly “Compliance operations” and assist "combat agencies”

Improve safety – not a word….. you have got to be joking! Not a single sentence regarding demonstrations or education or in fact safety operation but “enforce rules”. Just PR spin.

Maritime will not tow a vessel to safety nor render any other assistance. The local BSO does not answer calls on VHF Chanel 16. So what is the use of the calling and safety channel when he does not respond. So improve safety – one must question that.

Read the press release further: “NSW Maritime will now have three patrol boats and two jetskis operating in the Batemans Bay area.” What an overkill of assets for the number of boaters in the area especially in light of the single always open boat ramp west of the bridge and the private boat ramp at Hanging Rock.

Maritime was moved kicking and screaming under the new Transport for NSW Department while the bureaucrats scrapped over who would manage the vast boating licence fee honey pot so this may be the sop the Minister had to give to keep the local union representative quiet and sweet. Wink wink nudge nudge."

Yachtsman death delayed by Marine Rescue’s actions.

A person sailing a 33 ft yacht south along the south coast of NSW contacted Marine Rescue Batemans Bay Friday to inform them that there was a foot of water in his vessel and it was sinking. The vessel was presumed to be off Brush Island which is halfway between Ulladulla and the Bay so both MR bases scrambled their crews on the fast response rescue vessel to proceed to the scene of the incident.

On route three of the crew fell off their chairs and sustained non-life threatening injuries. It was reported that the winds gusted up to 20 knots in seas “too hazardous” to come along side the distressed vessel and attach a tow line to the vessel.

The master was instructed to launch his flimsy inflatable dinghy into these confused seas, get on board and row to the Marine Rescue vessel so his life could be saved.

Photos showed the owner – wearing a person safety device, clutching the side of his “sinking yacht” while transferring his belonging. He bruised his body during this dangerous operation while the MR crews looked on. He was later examined by paramedics on the wharf at Ulladulla and released immediately and told to take medication and lie down for a rest.

Marine Rescue left the yacht to drift along the coast in the rain and mist as a grave hazardous to navigation. Stating "It could end up on the beach, or it could sink before it gets to the beach.". It should be noted the adjacent land area is a pristine national park with endangered birds nest on the shoreline so the diesel, petrol and other debris will land up on the shore. This will release Marine Rescue of any obligation and transfer the clean-up responsibility to another Government agency.

However if the yacht did sink it would find a resting place on the bottom of the ocean in the Batemans Marine Park sanctuary zone where the diesel and other debris would drift along the sea bottom for years to come. Save the Sanctuary Zone activist will soon be organising a salvage operation calling all their member to donate to find this wayward vessel before it destroyed the pristine nature environment of the Eurobodalla coast line.

Now the hard questions:

• Who made the decision to leave the vessel to the mercy of the sea? Was it Marine Rescue instructing the master under some dubious police authority or was it made by the owner fearing legal liability?
• Who made the decision to leave the vessel to drift ashore or sink into the depths of a Marine Park?
• Did Marine Rescue place an activated EPIRB on board to track the vessel?
• Did the vessel have an AIS safety device to tell other vessels its location, speed and direction?
• Has this operation been recorder as an AMSA incident and when?
• What notice to mariners has been issued regarding a “sinking” vessel in the area?
• Will Marine Rescue undertake a full, open and transparent incident and operation review of this operation?
• Will the report be made available to the public who contribute to the funds of Marine Rescue?
• Will Marine Rescue again brush this under the carpet as just another “learning” experience and never mention it again?

Many many unanswered questions. Will Marine Rescue respond or put out a further social media post regarding searching for the disabled vessel?

BB Bridge replacement project

 Update from Transport for NSW regarding the new BB Bridge replacement project.

Boat Ramps to Open

Clyde Street

Clyde Street boat ramp will be reopened on Thursday 17 December 2020, weather permitting.

Old Punt Road

Old Punt Road boat ramp will close again from Monday 11 January 2021 and access to the river will continue to alternate between the boat ramps for the remainder of major work. Signage will be in place at both boat ramps to keep the community informed.

Both Old Punt Road boat ramp and Clyde Street boat ramp will each provide up to eight boat trailer parking spaces, a safe boat holding location, and a boat trailer turn-around area.

TfNSW points out that Hanging Rock boatramp will be open and may be used by vessel wishing to travel upstream. The Association STRONGLY suggest to boat owners to proceed with a high degree of caution if leaving Hanging Rock boat ramp on passage up the Clyde River. If your skills or vessels are not adequate for this area please dont attempt to pass through the exit in unsuitable conditions.

On an outgoing tide with even a slight Northerly wind and any eastern swell the area is very very dangerous.

It has wrongly been classified as smooth water not requiring lifejackets and safety equipment for open water. This was done so Transport for NSW (Maritime) could close the local boat ramps west of the bridge and not reinstate the wash-away temporary boat ramp. One serious accident has already happened in the area as a result of these actions.

Punt Street Boat Ramp Sand Removal

 Yesterday at low tide John Holland’s local contractor arrived at the Punt Street Boat Ramp and removed the build up of sand on the only open boatramp west of the bridge. Well done John Holland for doing this just before the busy holiday period. This will make this less than adequate boat ramp a bit safer for those that wish to traverse the middle reaches of the Clyde River.

The Association appreciated this effort.

Now enforce your own rules regarding trades utes and cars parking in spaces reserved for boat trailers and for staying in spaces longer than the designated time both here and at the Clyde Street Boat Ramp area. This has been an ongoing problem which John Holland refuses to address.

Update: Clyde Street Boat Ramp will reopen - fore the foreseeable future on Thursday 17 December 2020. John Holland has released a notice this morning.