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www.thevillagenews.co.za
New building for NSRI Station 17 Hermanus Writer Taylum Meyer
T
he original NSRI Station 17 was built in 1976 and, due to the constant growth of the station, has had to expand every few years to house more equipment and more volunteers. The original structure finally become too small to be functional and construction on a new building for NSRI Station 17 in Hermanus was started earlier this year in April. The new building, designed by Nicolette Lloyd Architectural Design, is valued at R13 million and is an investment made by NSRI Head Office. The new station building is estimated to be approximately three times the size of the old one. NSRI Station 17 currently has 23 volunteers, led by Station Commander Deon Langenhoven, who has been in charge of the station for the last five years. The base has three vessels for rescues and the team services an area from Quoin Point near Cape Agulhas, to Hangklip in Pringle Bay. They also currently have the largest vessel in the Overstrand, allowing them to assist extend their service. The NSRI Hermanus team will also be receiving a 14.8m Orc Class Deep-Sea Rescue Vessel to the value of R15 million in January 2021. “We were the busiest Class One station in the country last year,” says Deon. “This boat can travel up to 800 nautical miles and travels twice as fast as our current vessel, with a top speed of 30 knots. This will enable us to get
to casualties over longer distances at twice the speed.” The boat is also much bigger than their current vessels and would not have been able to fit in the station’s old building. The construction team has just recently started working on the foundation of the new building and it was expected to be completed by December 2019. However, due to the amount of rock that needed to be excavated for the new building’s base, the projected date for the project’s completion has now moved to February 2020. The new building will not only be able to house three big vessels but will also accommodate more equipment, with the result that it will be possible for additional volunteers to join the station. It will also be equipped for High Angle Rescue training, which volunteers used to have to drive to Cape Town for. Besides a bigger boathouse for the vessels, it will also have separate shower rooms for men and women as well as a lecture room and a control room. “NSRI Head Office has invested almost R35 million in Station 17 over the past two years: the new building, the new Orc, a 6.5m RIB (a small open boat with a fibreglass hull and inflatable rubber sides) and a refurbished 4x4 tractor,” says Deon. The NSRI Station 17 team were given three containers located behind the old station’s building at the New Harbour, from which they are
ABOVE: The new NSRI Station 17 building designed by Nicolette Lloyd Architectural Design. RIGHT: André Barnard from Station 17 at a High Angle Rescue Course in Cape Town. Once the new building is complete, volunteers will be able to train in Hermanus. PHOTO: NSRI
currently running their operations, and are looking forward to their new premises early next year. If you would like to make a donation to NSRI, visit www.nsri.org.za/ funding/donate/. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer for Station 17, you can contact Deon on 082 772 2984 or at deon@searescue.org.za. To find out more about the NSRI, everyone is welcome to attend a presentation by the PRO for the NSRI, Liezl van der Merwe on Friday 2 August at 10:00 in the Catholic Church Hall.
31 July 2019
