Welcome to the new Botany Port Hacking Newsletter
Published bi-monthly in the months of January, March, May, July, September and November. All articles for publication as well as advertising material must be in the hands of the Editor by the first of the month in which the Newsletter is published. (i.e. as listed above).
We gratefully acknowledge the support of our sponsors and advertisers. Please show your support by using them and don’t forget to introduce yourself as a Member of the Botany Port Hacking Unit of Marine Rescue NSW.
Articles appearing in this magazine and opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Executive Committee of the Botany Port Hacking Unit.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Editor: Greg Spencer
Mobile: 0425 334 412
Email: gregspencer@optusnet.com.au or editor.bph@marinerescuensw.com.au
From the Unit Commander -Aaron Blackwell
As we welcome 2025, I’d like to start by expressing my sincere gratitude to each of you for your hard work and commitment throughout 2024. Your dedication to keeping our waters safe, particularly during the festive period, has been remarkable. The holiday season is one of the busiest times for boating, and it’s thanks to your efforts that our community enjoyed it safely.
This year began on a very special note with the naming of BH32 as The Noel Parkinson. This significant occasion honours Noel’s extraordinary contribution to Marine Rescue and serves as a reminder of the high standards we strive to uphold in our work. BH32 is a vital asset in our capability, and it’s up to all of us to ensure it continues Noel’s legacy of excellence. Fittingly, within an hour of being named The Noel Parkinson, it was tasked to an incident.
Looking ahead, I want to remind everyone of the importance of maintaining our drills and skills. Regular training is essential to ensure we can respond quickly and effectively in any situation. Whether you’re a seasoned member or just getting started, there is always something new to learn or improve upon. Let’s commit to staying sharp and prepared throughout 2025.
One event to mark on your calendars is the upcoming Port Hacking Regatta on February 9. This is a key event for our boating community and an opportunity for us to demonstrate the vital role we play in ensuring safety on the water. It’s always a rewarding experience, and I look forward to seeing many of you involved.
As we embark on a new year, my hope is for a great, safe, and successful 2025 for Marine Rescue Botany Port Hacking. I encourage you to share any topics, ideas, or concerns you’d like to see addressed this year. Your input is invaluable, and I want to make sure every member has a voice. If you have questions or suggestions, you’re welcome to reach out to me directly or submit them anonymously through the link below: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/T5QBLVL
Thank you once again for all you do. Let’s make 2025 a fantastic and safe year for our team and the boating community.
of Future Events
February 2025
Sea survival course Sunday 2nd
Port Hacking Putters Regatta
9th
by RMYC Pt Hacking Meat raffle
March
April
CPR Oxygen Refresher course
Bldg. 3, BPH base Hungry Point
Meat Raffle Every Thursday evening at 6 pm RMYC Pt Hacking
Radio Room Ramblings
John Werda
Happy New Year to you all, hope you all had a great time over the festive season. Many thanks to all those members that worked over this period and especially to those that took on additional duties to cover the gaps in availability.
The computer at workstation 2 (western side) has been replaced with a new mini system. All three computer stations have now been updated, which should minimize the difficulties that some members have had.
Did you know that there is a map tab on Seahawk which will show you all the destinations of the vessels logged on, on your screen. Very good for getting an overall appreciation of where vessels are or if there is a vessel in the vicinity of an incident that you might be dealing with. Also, Seahawk has the ability to send SMS directly from your Seahawk screen at your workstation. A number of templates are included e.g. overdue, DV locate and there is even a text for acknowledgement of an App log on. Good for confirming to a vessel that you have received and acknowledged their log on.
As it is a new year all radio operators should have completed their skills and drills for 2024 and uploaded them to OTTER under your name and section titled Files and then sub section radio drills and skills, If not please do so. You can also start doing your skills and drills for 2025, spare sheets are included in back of skills and drills folder.
The Wednesday Workers started at the Kurnell base back in about 2004 and of the old team there are only four still turning up. Graeme Clarke, Noel Parkinson, Glenn McMahon and yours truly. Glenn also acts as our cleaner of the Conference room on a Wednesday and for some reason we are now called the Maintenance Team.
Our workload over the last 4 years has dropped off due to not quite some confusion around who does what around the place with Sutherland Council, Hungry nPoint Property Trust and MRNSW all site stakeholders. Our Maintenance Team is always busy with small repair jobs on both boats and little jobs around ours and HQ buildings.
Now with MRNSW having full control of the Marine area work for us might start to pick up. I said might. From the outset we were never fully funded from our Unit as members had to supply their own tools and at times purchase screws nails and sometimes material to complete jobs etc out of their own pockets.
We currently run a recycle can and bottle drive collecting the 10 cents refund and this has over the past 5 years facilitated the purchase a number of new tools for our use around the complex. Members are asked to support this recycling initiative and please bring your 10c recyclables the
base (leave around the side of building 5) and this will help us replace some of our old tools in 2025.
We were very lucky a number of years ago when one of our members donated two golf buggies to us. This was a wonderful donation, the best in my time as it means no more pushing loaded wheelbarrows up and down the hill to the jetty.
We are always on the lookout for new members to join us in whatever capacity you can. It is a nice way to spend a few hours on a Wednesday. The Unit Executive are variously in attendance on that day as well, so it is a good chance to make some new acquaintances and understand all the inside goings on with running the Unit.
Long-serving Marine Rescue Botany Port Hacking volunteer and Life Member Noel Parkinson has been recognised for his decades of loyal service by having a vessel named after him. Our Unit vessel Botany Hacking 32 will now also be known as the Noel Parkinson
For more than two decades, Noel has dedicated his time and skills to supporting the local boating community and saving lives on the water. He has been volunteering with Botany Port Hacking since February 2001 and is a highly respected and experienced member of the unit. Noel is a Marine Rescue NSW Coxswain and Watch Officer and has played a vital role in countless search and rescue missions. He is also a former Unit Commander at Botany Port Hacking and is currently serving on the Unit Executive.MRNSW Commissioner Alex Barrel commented “Noel’s dedication to service on and off the water is greatly appreciated, and Marine Rescue NSW is proud to name a rescue vessel in his honour ” Congratulations and thank you Noel from all your fellow Botany Port Hacking Unit members.
Image: Noel Parkinson (centre) is supported by family (left), Marine Rescue Botany Port Hacking Unit Commander Aaron Blackwell, Deputy Unit Commanders Neil Tinker and Rosemary Holloway and Marine Rescue NSW Commissioner Alex Barrell.
Sharyn Buckley is working the Summer in the Antarctic Since Sharyn left Sydney in early November last year she’s had quite the adventure. A month of training and readiness activities in Hobart, prepping the RSV Nuyina for her voyage south to the Antarctic.
Here's a snippet from Sharon:
The journey south is for around ten weeks and the mission is to resupply Casey and Mawson Antarctic stations, collect personnel from Davis and Mawson stations, and to do some cool science enroute. The cool science includes mapping some of the as yet uncharted parts of the seabed around the three stations, collecting krill and phytoplankton and other Antarctic sea creatures, retrieving whale moorings and deploying new moorings, observing whales, recording sea ice levels, and generally geeking around.
We have seen birds aplenty, including two of my favourites, cape petrels and snow petrels, and we've waved at, photographed and generally gazed adoringly, at the hordes of Adelie penguins and odd Emperor penguins as we stooge around in the ice.
Onboard, we've moved around a million litres of Antarctic diesel, 100T of cargo (and that's just Casey Station) and had everyone on the vessel visit at least one station. We are currently at Davis, before heading to Mawson.
It's 24hr sunlight, so no chance of a clear night sky or auroras. We are eating like kings and queens, celebrating Christmas twice, holding a Crossing The Line ceremony, and bringing in the new year on the helideck of Nuyina.
The voyage home will take us under Heard Island, but not close enough to see. We expect to be back to Hobart in late Feb, but sea ice conditions at Mawson might delay us by a few (or many) days. It's difficult to operate the barges and jet boats when the ice is thick. Nuyina can get in anywhere, so we may just sit at Mawson until the ice breaks up and clears out.
A group of our members recently enjoyed a tour of the Qantas Jet base courtesy of Michel Pacifique. Michel recently joined our Unit and for his day job is an aircraft engineer with Qantas at Mascot. Michel is planning to run some additional tours in coming months. If your interested in getting behind all the background work that contributes to Qantas being the safest airline in the world, let Michel know you would like to join a future tour.
A reminder that the 2025 Drills for all Boat Members need to be carried out between January and August 2025.
Please note that the CPR Refresher line on the Drills sheet needs to have a date on it. Skipper's need to sight a copy of a certificate issued for a CPR Refresher or Adv Resus course carried out in 2025 in order for the Drills Sheet to be completed before it can be uploaded to Otter. Please do not sign the CPR line without sighting the Certificate.
A CPR Refresher or Adv resus course undertaken in 2024 only counts towards their 2024 Drills being completed, and, therefore, they are deemed to be current until end August 2025 so there is no urgency for those people to repeat their CPR. There are, however, many boat personnel at all levels who did not complete any form of CPR training in 2024. If you, then you need to urgently enrol in and complete a suitable course in order to be current for the period up to end August 2025. Courses are scheduled for 6th Feb & 22nd Feb; see the calendar. Any boating member not current with their 2024 Drills by March will reluctantly need to be considered for being removed from the Roster until the situation is rectified. Skippers are asked to check the currency of all Crew Drills at the start of each duty - including sighting a 2024 CPR certificate, or enrolment in one of the upcoming courses. If a 2024 certificate exists, boat crew members need not complete a second CPR course in 2025 - but will need to complete the other drills before end August 2025.
Please reinforce the need for all Boat crew members to take responsibility for their Drills currency - this includes Trainees. This includes getting the completed sheet uploaded to their Otter file by the Training Support Officer, Ken Brown. Skippers are asked to also photograph the completed sheet and forward to the Ken, as a backup. Talk to Neil Tinker if still confused. or unsure.
December 2024 numbers
The first full month of Summer, being December 2024, resulted in the Botany Port Hacking members completing 15 Notifiable Incidents; attending to 64 Incidents in total; conducting another 45 Assists; Rescuing 107 boaters; completing 360 VHF radio contacts and 503 Telephone contacts and monitoring 524 Vessel movements (local and transit) involving 1,111 on board people All these stats are as recorded in Seahawk or the Vessel logs. A busy month for all our Participating Members. Well done to all.
A look at what the Unit achieved in 2024.
Activity
Life Endangering Emergencies All notifiable Incidents in Seahawk 95
Rescues All Incidents of any nature in Seahawk 347
Assists
All `boating related assists by our boats (monthly radio/vessel log)
Boaters Rescued POB of rescued vessels across all incidents (monthly radio/vessel log)
Radio calls
Phone call
Total number of Seahawk logged radio calls (incoming and outgoing)
Total number of Seahawk logged phone calls (incoming and outgoing)
Vessel movements (logged on) Total vessels logged on via Seahawk
People aboard all logged on vessels
Total number of people aboard all logged on vessels (local and transit related) on Seahawk
It is interesting to note and reflect on all the various activities undertaken by our Unit during 2024. It is a is a significant contribution to the general community and in particular the boating community. It only happens through the contribution of those volunteers within the Unit who continue to turn up, maintain their skills at the required operational level and give their time so unselfishly to the benefit of the general community. For every person on the water, there is a much greater number of connected people within the general community. Thank you all. You should be enormously proud of what the Unit achieved in 2024.
Let’s get to know
Jacqueline “Jac” Amos
• Where did you grow up and what school did you go to? I’m a Shire girl. I grew up in Bonnet Bay. I was one of the first students at Bonnet Bay public school and I got to meet Princess Anne when she officially opened the school. I then went to Jannali Girls High School. Our year was the last all girls year to finish before they combined with the boys school.
• Who has been a big influence in your life and why? My big sister. She is stronger and braver than me and I have always looked up to her. She’s smart, funny and adventurous. We have done a lot together. She has inspired me in so many big life decisions and as a bonus, she’s my best friend.
• What was your first job? My very first job was selling jewelry in a retail shop. My first ‘real’ job was as an IT consultant with Accenture.
• What career path did you follow? I did an IT degree and worked as a consultant and contractor on large software implementations (SAP for anyone that may be familiar with it). I travelled a lot for work and spent most of my time overseas. Pre dominantly in Singapore (16years) but also Europe and Asia.
• Any challenges you faced in your career? Not really. I wasn’t very good at playing the political game but once I went contracting I could avoid most of that and just focus on doing the work rather than managing.
• Are you still working? Sort of. I left my corporate job and did an Interior Design course and started designing lamps and working as an assistant stylist. I have my own business making lampshades, designing lamps and teaching DIY workshops. If you would like to see my work, have a look on facebook or instagram @lampelier
• What do you like doing in your spare time? Being on, in or near the water, hiking, walking, traveling.
•what do you want to get better at? Running. I have just signed up for the half marathon in Sydney in May. I have A LOT of training to do but as long as I finish I’ll be happy.
• When and how did you end up joining Marine Rescue? I joined about 2 years ago. My cousin is a member of MRNSW down the coast and he was telling me about it. When I said that sounds really cool he suggested I join the one in Cronulla.
• Do you own a boat? If yes, what type of boat? Yes. We have a BRIG Eagle 8. Loads of fun to cruise around Port Hacking, Bate Bay and Botany Bay and anchor up for a swim or a fish.
• Likes and dislikes of Marine Rescue? I love meeting the rest of the volunteers. I still get rostered on with people I haven’t met yet and I always love hearing their stories and getting to know new people. I dislike the morning shift, especially in winter. Thankfully I mostly do PM shifts.
It’s better for everyone as I can be quite grumpy if woken before the sun comes up and before my morning coffee.
The link follows
Unit Committee Contact details.
BLACKWELL Aaron Unit Commander 0405 420 350 uc.bph@marinerescuensw.com.au
TINKER Neil Deputy Unit CommanderOperations 0419 622 770 0400 529 940(P) duco.bph@marinerescuensw.com.au
HOLLOWAY Rosemary Deputy Unit CommanderAdministration 0401144 034 duca.bph@marinerescuensw.com.au
PARKINSON Noel Secretary/Administration 0407 751 881 admin.bph@marinerescuensw.com.au
KNOX Richard Treasurer 0411 257 961 richardn.knox@optusnet.com.au
MCMAHON Glenn Training Officer 0408 622 157 training.bph@marinerescuensw.com.au
WERDA John Rosters, Radio Base Manager 0418 238 234 rosters.bph@marinerescuensw.com.au
BROGAN Michael Vessel Co-Ordinator 0412 897 413 mbrogan@ozemail.com.au
BROWN Ken Training Systems Officer 0414 821 822 tso.bph@marinerescuensw.com.au
CLIFFORD Steve Fundraising Co-ordinator 0412 042 040 fundraising.bph@marinerescuensw.com.au
LEAK Trevor Membership Officer 0467 731 105 trevor.leak14@gmail.com
LOCKERIDGE Bob WH&S Manager, Member Welfare 0412 651 386 robert.lockeridge@bigpond.com
PEARCE Phil Information Technology / Web Master 0438 649 725 it.bph@marinerescuensw.com.au
RUSSELL Allan Base Manager 0416 282 351 arussell3@optusnet.com.au
SPENCER Greg Grants and Sponsorship 0425 334 412 grants.bph@marinerescuensw.com.au
CLARKE Graham Base Maintenance Manager 0432 598 513 wacort@bigpond.com