President ’ s Report PRESIDENT : Glenn Norris 2021 - 2022
Volunteer Marine Rescue
SOUTHPORT - SURFERS PARADISE Assoc . Inc .
PO Box 866 Southport Qld 4215
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 2021 - 2022
PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT SECRETARY TREASURER SEARCH & RESCUE COMMUNICATIONS RADIO OPERATORS COMMITTEE COMMITTEE
Phone : 5591 1300
E-mail : info @ vmrsouthport . com . au Web Site : www . vmrsouthport . com . au
Editor : glenn @ mrq . org . au
Gold Coast Seaway Tower
Hours : Mon - Sun : 0500 - 1800
Glenn Norris Warren Beeston
Peter Tatham John Kaus
Merv Handley
Peter Bell Hunter Neuss Diana Gibson Bruce Partridge
Glenn Norris
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Mike Oram mike . oram @ optusnet . com . au
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glenn @ mrq . org . au
Glenn Norris
Summer has been and gone and the workload at VMR Southport has been steady , although the unstable weather of the season has certainly restricted a lot of vessel movements , and we haven ’ t been as busy as we expected we would be . Towing of broken down vessels continues to be the highest percentage of activations .
I sincerely hope that if you had the chance to get out on the water during this time , you enjoyed yourself , and had the opportunity to keep clear of the dreaded Covid19 situation , which has been so prevalent in recent months . VMR Southport has been extremely lucky to date once again , with only a small percentage of members being struck down with the virus , and at time of writing this report , I haven ’ t heard of any cases of unwell members from the Squadron for in excess of two weeks . As a Squadron we have managed to meet all of our commitments in helping the boating public , and as we see cases in the community slowly decreasing I hope we are over the worst of this , and that we can continue to move back into normality . If you , or your family and friends have been unlucky enough to become ill with Covid19 , I hope you and they have fully recovered , or are recovering well , and there are no further issues moving forward . I thank the Active members for their co-operation and sensible actions in staying away from VMR Southport if they have had Covid19 symptoms .
Aside from the Covid19 pandemic , VMR Southport has seen a rapid increase in the number of Queensland Ambulance Service activations , and these cases now make up approximately 16 % of our workload .
Given the number of people who live aboard vessels within the Gold Coast ’ s waterways , and those who live and holiday on South Stradbroke Island , we activate on average 2 - 3 times per week ( on one recent occasion , four times in a day ) for medical responses , which has keep our First Responders busy , with cases many and varied , emergent and non emergent , with some of these being very interesting , and providing a
great opportunity for all in training , and the use of their skills . Well done to all of you for your efforts , your actions definitely help those persons in need .
Sadly the last week of February was a devastating time for South East Queensland , which saw a weather system dumping many hundreds of millimetres of rain on the region , and the heart of everyone at VMR Southport goes out to those who have lost houses , businesses , personal belongings , and ultimately their lives during this event . Miraculously in our operational area on the Gold Coast we appear to have largely escaped the unbelievable destruction otherwise seen on the waterways of Brisbane and the north coasts .
Given the massive rescue response needed to cope with this , VMR Southport offered our neighboring northern VMR Squadrons the availability of extra Crew members for rescue vessels , however we were not required , and I absolutely applaud the fantastic efforts of all the volunteers , general public , Emergency Services , and anyone else involved in helping out , as the assistance you provided showed what a wonderful community spirit our country has in times of ultimate despair .
No doubt over coming months VMR Southport will be called upon to help in some way with the cleanup of flood damage , and as always we will give our best where its needed , with whatever is needed . Please reach out if you need support in the recovery .
In December another prestigious honour was bestowed upon VMR Southport , when we were named the Volunteering Gold Coast , Community Organisation of the Year for 2021 . Up against an amazing array of competition , this award was thoroughly deserved , and once again the privilege belongs to every single member , given the outstanding contribution they provide to the boating public , and island communities of the Gold Coast .
In a continuing trend , the Associate membership numbers of VMR Southport continue to increase , and I am predicting by the middle of this year , we will hit the magic continued page 4 -
Phone : 5591 2948 swt @ seawaytower . com . au
DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed by the authors and contributors of articles in the Vsheet are not necessarily those of Volunteer Marine Rescue Southport - Surfers Paradise Assoc . Inc . ( VMR ) nor does VMR guarantee the accuracy of statements made by contributors or advertisers or accept any responsibility for any product or service statement made herein .
FRONT COVER VMR Southport vessel ' Marine Rescue 2 ' and the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter on a marine search and rescue tasking in the Gold Coast Seaway
PROUD SUPPORTERS OF VMR SOUTHPORT
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