Action-packed Whitsundays weekend for north Queensland VMR volunteers

Their weekend on the water didn’t quite go according to plan, with several real-life emergencies taking priority over scheduled training exercises

RACQ helicopter gets ready for landing during a training exercise in the Whitsundays. Photo: Shirley Wodson.

Marine rescue volunteers from all across the north had a jam-packed weekend responding to both real and simulated emergencies as they gathered in the Whitsundays for their biggest training event of the year.

The simulations were part the annual Volunteer Marine Rescue Northern Zone joint search and rescue exercise, or SAREX, which involved VMR crews from across the region, as well as Whitsunday Water Police, SES, and the Queensland Ambulance Service.

But with many members of the public also out on the water enjoying the weekend’s fine weather, there were plenty of unplanned opportunities to put their rescue skills into practice too.

No fewer than eight real emergency callouts had the local Whitsunday Volunteer Marine Rescue team calling on crews from Bowen and Midge Point and to help share the load, while still managing to complete elaborate training exercises in between.

VMR and SES volunteers working together on a simulated rescue at South Molle Island as part of the SAREX. Photo: Shirley Wodson.

VMR Whitsunday president Mal Priday said the eight real “activations” included a medevac from Hamilton Island for a sick nine-month-old baby, as well as a number of breakdowns.

He said it was an unusually high number of activations for one weekend, attributing this to the impact of COVID-19 on international travel.

“This time last year, we’d done 41 activations and that was a record year,” he said.

“This year, we’ve already done 76.

“Because people can’t travel overseas, more people are buying boats and taking them out, and some of them aren’t in the best condition.”

Mr Priday was nevertheless thrilled with how volunteers from different areas worked together to meet the weekend’s challenges, and said the unplanned events did not take away from the success of the first SAREX since 2019.

“We tried to run [the SAREX] twice last year and had to cancel due to COVID, and it was very nearly put off again with the recent checks at Hamilton airport,” he said.

“So we’re really happy that it went ahead.

“It was an incredibly busy weekend which tested our radio and rescue crew capabilities, and we came through with flying colours.”

Day and night exercises included a simulated fire, with real smoke, on a vessel on a mooring off Coral Sea Marina; as well as deep water rescues and shoreline searches.