COSTING north of $20 million and weighing more than an elephant, the Victorian Air Ambulance Helimed rescue chopper AW`139 carried out a highly successful off a boat rescue drill in Singapore, Deep south of Port Welshpool in the second week of August.
Since COVID, Wilson Prom waters have been attracting an increasing number of larger offshore craft that head offshore to catch game fish like Blue Fin Tuna.
The increase is being partly driven by Westernport Bay fishers who are bypassing local boat ramps, experiencing hour or more wait times for the far quicker Port Welshpool ramp.
In peak season, like at post-Christmas, up to 500 boats use the twin ramps, and it results in a sea of parked rigs along the foreshore.
To better handle this increase, Boating Victoria has recently dramatically expanded and sealed the gravel trailer car park and has plans to replace the floating pontoon with a wider, more stable version that will have a hoist to lift people in and out of boats.
The Air Ambulance Victoria AugstaWesland helicopter crew is based at Traralgon Airport and can be tasked to undertake coastal rescues from the NSW border to Phillip Island.
On board the Port Welshpool Coast Guard rescue cat CG20 involved with the exercise, crewman Jonathon Stevenson of Foster explained, “Having such a very expensive chopper hovering just 10 metres above you whilst being very exciting is extremely loud, as the craft’s rotors punch all the noise and wash down onto us on the deck whilst kicking up heaps of spray!
“Our boat crew has to manage the line from the chopper smoothly and efficiently to prevent entanglements. It may look simple, but it requires your full concentration,” he added.
If a boat on Prom waters needs help, a mobile call to 000 for help will be put through to the Police Control Centre, which may task the Port Welshpool Coast Guard to head out to assist.
Acting Port Welshpool Coast Guard Commander Mike Bland says, “Our operational crew regularly undertake joint forty-five-minute training exercises with the Air Ambulance Victoria crews who need to do refresher drills every six months.
“We are looking to attract more volunteers, especially women, to join us to help with the increasing number of recovery assist jobs and more serious offshore rescues we are being tasked with.
“For anyone interested in getting involved with boating but not wanting to go to sea, we have many roles that include radio work, first aid, back office jobs and fundraising,” he says.