New rescue vessel is set for duty on Lake Macquarie

by Ken McManus on 8 Jul 2013 A new rescue vessel is set for duty on Australia’s largest saltwater lake, Lake Macquarie, after its arrival at its new home base on Sunday, July seventh.

The Lake Macquarie unit’s volunteers will undertake intensive training on the new vessel before it starts rescue work on the lake, which is four times the size of Sydney Harbour, stretching 24km from North to South and with 174km of foreshore that is the unit’s home territory.

Deputy Unit Commander Roger Evans said the new Naiad was 'a really magnificent boat' with an offshore deployment capacity of up to 30 nautical miles in addition to its inshore capability for work on the lake.

'The vessel was constructed by Yamba Welding & Engineeringon the NSW Mid North Coast and is similar to othercraft in service at several other Marine Rescue NSW bases and with other emergency services,' he said.

'Our members brought the vessel down by sea, leaving Yamba on Saturday with an overnight stop and crew change at Port Macquarie, arriving late on Sunday afternoon at Swansea.'

Other vessels from the unit met Lake Macquarie 30at Moon Island and escorted it through the channel at Swansea and then to the Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie boat base at Pelican.

Marine Rescue NSW has embarked on a demanding vessel replacement program to provide the NSW recreational boating community with a fleet of modern rescue boats and ensure its volunteers have safe, modern and reliable vessels for their vital work.

MRNSW Commissioner Stacey Tannos saidLake Macquarie 30was the latestNaiad to join the fleet.

'Lake Macquarie 30 is a valuable addition to marine search and rescue resources in the Hunter-Central Coast region,' he said.

'It is part of our strategic safety netprotecting boaters on the water along the NSW coastline from the Queensland border to Eden and inland on the Alpine Lakes and the Murray River at Moama.

'This is one of more than 30 new and refurbished vessels that have been delivered at a cost of more than $nine millionas part of our ongoing project fleet upgrade being delivered with the financial support of the NSW Government and the boating community.'

Lake Macquarie 30 is powered by twin Suzuki 250hp four-stroke outboard engines and equipped with state-of-the-art Raymarine navigation, Icom marine radio electronics, Furuno AIS (Automatic Identification System), FLIR night vision and advanced first aid equipment including cardiac defibrillator and oxygen therapy.

Commissioner Tannos reminded boaters to always wear their lifejackets and to Log On and Off with their local Marine Rescue radio base whenever they were on the water. To find your local base, visit here.