By the numbers: Hectic year for Marine Rescue on Northern Rivers, Mid-North Coast

The numbers show Marine Rescue has experienced a hectic year statewide – and no less so on the North and Mid-North Coast. But many incidents are totally preventable.

Point Danger on the border in the Tweed was the top spot for Northern Rivers and Mid-North Coast rescues as NSW Marine Rescue battled through its busiest year on record statewide.

Marine Rescue Point Danger performed 158 rescues between July 1 last year and June 30 this year, while Port Macquarie embarked on 94 rescues.

It was followed by Forster Tuncurry with 87 rescues and Coffs Harbour with 75 rescues.

In June, Ballina was the busiest unit for rescues with 10, while Point Danger and Port Macquarie followed on nine each.

NSW Marine Rescue Commissioner Alex Barrell said rescues rose from 4251 in the 2020/21 financial year to 4567 statewide this year. About 3300 volunteers were involved.

Ballina Marine Rescue Unit Commander Ken Delaney said the biggest problem for boaties has been a lack of vessel maintenance.

“It’s batteries, it’s fuel, sometimes it’s steering – that kind of thing,” he said.

“It’s just a maintenance thing.”

Even though the Ballina bar is notorious, Mr Delaney said on some days “we could backstroke across it”.

He said the safest time to cross was during high tide.

“A pressure wave is caused by an out rush at low tide while the sea is still coming in,” he said.

“So most guys go out on a making tide.”

Mr Delaney said more people were heading out fishing at the moment due to good weather.

“With this westerly wind, the (Ballina) bar has been quite good,” he said.

“The snapper are coming on and that sort of stuff. The weather is fantastic.”

NSW Marine Rescue Commissioner Alex Barrell said: “Rescues for the past 12 months are up around 7.5% on our previous busiest record set in the year 2020/2021.”

“Our volunteers safely returned over 10,000 boaters to shore during the 22/23 financial year,” he said.

NSW Marine Rescue Commissioner Alex Barrell.

Fishing was the main activity at the time of incidents over the last 12 months, while mechanical failure, flat batteries and running out of fuel were common statewide.

Marine Rescue acting zone duty operations manager Northern Region Rodney Page reminded boaties they can log a trip with the organisation.

“If they don’t come back we start looking for them,” the Evans Head veteran rescuer said.

Mr Page said boaties do not have to log trips, but it certainly makes them easier to find if they run into trouble.

“Most people don’t want to tell us where they’re going so when they call and say their motors broken we don’t know where they are,” Mr Page said.

He said on-board navigation gear is not a requirement and most water users don’t know their coordinates.

“They often tell us they’re just going east, and you know, that’s 80 miles of water,” Mr Page said.

Marine Rescue acting zone duty operations manager Northern Region Rodney Page of Evans Head.

Marine Rescue NSW radio operators managed 250,123 radio calls over the financial year.

Commissioner Barrell also confirmed that Marine Rescue NSW experienced its busiest June on record with 315 rescues – a third of which were emergency situations.