Land or seagoing crew needed
Port Alfred’s National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) base is calling for volunteers to join station 11’s sea rescue team. Volunteers will be part of the land-based or seagoing crew. “Sea Rescue Port Alfred is a voluntary service manned by an amazing team of unpaid volunteers and is looking for new crew members to join,” station commander Christopher Pike said.
The NSRI is a charity organisation that saves lives on South African waters. Their goal is to prevent drowning through rescue operations, education and prevention initiatives.
Sea and beach rescue training will be provided for the seagoing and land based volunteers. Pike said the seagoing crew will attend to the water rescue missions and the land based crew will be attending to the operation’s control centre, as well as shore based rescue. “If the applicant is successful they will be invited to an intake day in which they will be taken through basic boat safety and a fitness test. Land based crew will be taken through shore based safety training,” he explained.
“After passing this they will be enrolled in the trainee crew program which takes place twice a week in the evenings,” he added. Pike said there are also other areas to get involved in assisting the local base, such as joining as coast watchers, fundraisers or pink rescue buoy assistants.
There are no specific requirements needed to join the sea rescue team, although a knowledge of the sea is an advantage and volunteers must be 18 years or older. Volunteers should submit their applications via email to station11control@gmail.com before August 22.
This year, the NSRI is giving away 4 cars in their annual fundraiser competition. On July 13, the charity organisation hosted their first draw to award one car to a lucky donor who has been supporting the organisation for over 12 years. In a media release, Mr Hogg of KwaZulu-Natal was announced as the first winner of a Mitsubishi ASX 2.0L worth R450 000.
The NSRI’s 4-Car Competition offering a first prize of two vehicles worth over a million rand and a second prize car worth R490 000 runs until December 13, 2022, with another two winners to be drawn at the end of this year.
