LETTERS

FROM THE HELM

SPRING IS UPON us and hopefully Covid-19 is in its autumn! Certainly this year has been unprecedented and all of you will probably be glad to see the back of it. However, rust never sleeps, as they say, and by necessity everyone at Sea Rescue has been busier than ever!

I’ve been buoyed by the swell of activity among our staff and volunteers, who, through pure passion and enthusiasm, have innovated and created their way through the year to maintain and deliver the life-saving services expected of us. We have been busy operationally, with more medevacs in six months than we usually have in a year (lots of coronavirus cases), as well as a constant stream of rescues, more online training than ever before and plenty of whale disentanglements! All in a constrained environment and, let me say, fortunately with very little in the way of Covid-19 infections among us. We’ve been surprised by the demand for our services when things were ‘locked down’.

Crises often bring out the best in people and we’ve certainly seen our donors rally behind us. Volunteers are responsive as ever and staff are flexible, adapting to business abnormal. Everyone has repositioned and adjusted, and remain committed despite the catastrophes. Our Call Centre staff operated from home for two months; training staff shifted content online through webinars; water-safety educators went live on radio in vernacular languages; and medical staff adapted

Tel: +27 21 434 4011 Fax: +27 21 434 1661 to new PPE regimes… The list goes on. And so, despite the anxiety and challenges to wellbeing, the community around Sea Rescue has collectively supported one another and wrestled through positively, enthusiastically! As they would say, ‘It’s what we do.’

Sadly we’ve had to delay our AGM and awards – always a great evening of celebration – but we’ll catch up again and make sure that our stakeholders and volunteers receive the essential recognition they deserve. Our Integrated Report 2019 is probably the best ever, so get a copy online from our website and read it cover to cover. You’ll note that our auditors’ report is a testimony to our governance structures and our commitment to transparency and stakeholder accountability.

Lastly, we recognise the huge challenges within our economy and the need to keep people working and so we’ve made extraordinary efforts not to retrench staff, to support volunteers and to keep our projects moving forward so that they keep people employed and to play our part, in however small a way, in keeping people alive. Saving lives is our mantra, directly through our services but also through our social and economic contribution.

It’s wonderful that our beaches are open again. Heaven knows we need the fresh air in more ways than one.

DR CLEEVE ROBERTSON, CEO

CAPE TOWN: NSRI, 1 Glengariff Road, Three Anchor Bay 8001; PO Box 154, Green Point 8051 Stay safe out there!

Visit our website at www.searescue.org.za or email us at info@searescue.org.za

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Thank you for your support! THE CREW

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LETTERS

SEA RESCUE

R14.95 | SPRING 2020 | FREE TO NSRI MEMBERS

WE NEVER STOPPED WORKING

READ OUR COVER STORY ON PAGE 14. PHOTOGRAPH: SIMON MCDONNELL

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WINNING LETTER

Thank you, Richard, for sharing your story with us. Your book and hoodie are on their way.

BOOK OF TREASURES

It was with great pleasure and a sense of synchronicity that I read, on Youth Day, in your Autumn edition, that George and Margo Branch’s magnificent book Living Shores has been updated and republished. Just a few days before that we hauled out our trusty and rather battered edition of the book to verify that we had seen a wonderful collection of chitons in the rock pools at Dalebrook Tidal Pool, Kalk Bay.

I am a retired school principal and former volunteer at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. A highlight of my year was to take the Grade 2 classes on a beach study and rock pool exploration. Naturally part of the fun was the identification of seaweeds and creatures we discovered on our explorations with the help of Living Shores.

From time to time I am reminded by those same Grade 2 pupils, now adults with children of their own, of the impact that experience had had on them. It seemed to have awakened an abiding curiosity and respect in them for our wonderful living shore.

Some of the children wrote letters to me, telling me what the experience meant to them. I have kept these inside my copy of Living Shores.

I am so grateful that I was able to have the opportunity to share my love of our coastline with young people. It does my heart good to read in your publication of the focus on young people and the difference they can and do make.

My grateful thanks to NSRI for the vital role you all play in our society. I am glad to have been able to support your worthy cause in a small way over the years and hope to do so for many years to come. RICHARD FREEDMAN

LETTERS

A PADDLE TO REMEMBER

On Saturday 18 July, my wife, Isabella, and I undertook a challenging surfski paddle from the Langebaan Yacht Club around Saldanha Bay and its harbour.

As this trip would involve crossing 3km of open sea at the North and South Heads, with notoriously rough swells and strong winds, I got hold of Mike Shaw, station commander at Mykonos, and asked whether the NSRI could be of assistance with this tricky crossing. Immediately he was positive about our trip and when I mentioned the date on which we hoped to do the paddle, he told us that the NSRI national training team were going to be at Mykonos that day, and that support for our trip could be incorporated into their training.

We met up with Mike, national training officer Graeme Harding and some members of the NSRI team the night before to plan and prepare for the next day. Early on Saturday Isabella and I took off from Langebaan Yacht Club and right away we knew we were not in for an easy time. The northwester was blowing in our faces and even close to the shore the swell was becoming daunting. When we reached the meeting point at the heads it was touch and go but, with the NSRI team giving us confidence, we went for it. After a few hundred metres Isabella was taking a different tack to mine and soon we were a kilometre apart. Fortunately, Graeme had arranged for two boats to follow us, so both of us felt comfort knowing assistance was close at hand.

We eventually got to a point on the far side, but the swell and the breakers at the harbour entrance were a bit more than we wanted to take on at that stage. The NSRI guys helped us with a quick lift into the entrance of the harbour and put us down out of harm’s way to enable us to complete the circumnavigation of the bay.

After 34km and some six hours of paddling, we were just 7km short of our final finish point when my back gave in and we had to call it a day. The NSRI training team came to our rescue and lifted us to the safety of the Mykonos station, where a hot coffee and homemade rusks were waiting.

Isabella and I want to say a big thank you to Mike, Graeme and the entire NSRI team that day for their wonderful attitude and extremely professional approach. We never could have managed this adventure without them. WILLIAM HART

THE YELLOW RASH VEST

Since I was little, my family and I have been going to Plettenberg Bay during the December holidays. I was always aware of the NSRI station on Main Beach, but I had thought it was only a building where boats and other ocean vessels were held. That was until two years ago when I was on a school trip in Cape Town and spotted an NSRI pop-up shop at the airport. I got myself an NSRI cap and, as soon as I was back at home, I started reading about the NSRI. I found out that my mom was a member and made a contribution every month. I loved reading the Sea Rescue magazines and watching videos about training and rescues. I decided to get myself a yellow NSRI rash vest and I proudly wore it when we went to Plett that year.

One day when I got out of the water after an amazing swim, a little girl, who looked rather upset, and her mother approached me. Before I could ask what was wrong, the mother said her daughter had lost her swimming goggles in the lagoon and she was wondering whether I could help them look for it. Obviously I did so. After about 15 minutes of looking for the goggles, I found them stuck between two rocks. The mother and her now very happy daughter thanked me, and I walked off. That’s when I looked down and

saw the bright yellow rash vest with the words Sea Rescue on it. Up to this day I believe I was approached by the mother and daughter because I was wearing that rash vest.

Last year when we were in Plett, I got to take part in the NSRI fun run, and it was the coolest thing ever to get a Sea Rescue tattoo on my arm, and eventually a Sea Rescue medal that now hangs on my wall.

The ocean is a beautiful place but can be dangerous and if it weren’t for the NSRI, a lot of people wouldn’t want to swim in it out of fear. Thank you for keeping the water safe. I admire the bravery of every person in the NSRI and how you risk your lives on a daily basis. I have such a deep respect for you. May you conquer all of the stormy seas you will face. JENNA VOLSCHENK

WRITE TO US AND WIN!

The writer of the winning letter published in the Summer 2020 issue of Sea Rescue will receive a hoodie and a copy of Nights Skies of Botswana by Stephen O’Meara. This easy-to-use guide is ideal for beginner and amateur stargazers, as all stars described can be seen with the naked eye. Botswana’s ancestral stories about the stars are scattered throughout the book. Stephen O’Meara is a writer, photographer and videographer for National Geographic.

Email your letters to info@searescue.org.za or post them to Sea Rescue magazine, PO Box 15054, Vlaeberg 8018. (Letters may be shortened, and the winning letter is chosen at the editor’s discretion.)

Your P & I Solution in Africa

We are commercial correspondents and surveyors for the Protection and Indemnity industry and we represent all the International Group of P&I Clubs. We serve those interests throughout South Africa and along the East and West coasts of Southern Africa. To ascertain how we can help you or to find out what we do, go to our website and select one of the several topics. If you have any comments or questions select contact us to contact one of our specialist team members or email us at: pidurban@pandi.co.za www.pandi.co.za

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