Membership of sea rescue

 Hi guys

 

i am a member of whitfords sea rescue and have no reason to give it up even if the answers aren't inline with my expectations, but

 

i have been asking people and my belief is that being a member should I break down I get towed in free, is that correct or am I wrong.  I thought the membership was similar to the rac

 

 

whatelse does my membership give me, apart from cheap courses

 

as said earlier I have no interest in giving it up the membership fee for me is a cost of boating but just would like clarification

 

cheers!


Chinbald's picture

Posts: 315

Date Joined: 21/02/09

Piece of mind

Thu, 2015-10-22 19:30

 Im a member of Leeman sea rescue, I hope my membership helps to have someone be on the radio should the unfortunate break down occur and especially in case of the unthinkable. Would be happy to pay any fuel/ donation amount should my systems fail and I need assistance. This is only my opinion but hopes add clarification. Many thanks again to all VMRs.

Posts: 5739

Date Joined: 18/01/12

big difference

Thu, 2015-10-22 19:59

Membership is NOTHING like RAC, which you could compare to Seatow (closed up here now I believe)

probably will tow you but you do need to realise there is an important distinction.
They, and anyone else for that matter, are only obliged to make every effort to save people.
They have no obligation, legal or otherwise, to save your boat.
They usually do though because its the good thing to do.

VMR=save people and help out when they can.

RAC=send out a dodgy mechanic who sells you a new car battery that goes flat again the next day, after which you hire a proper mechanic.

Towing someones boat can easily leave you wide open to problems, once you are hooked up you'r the skipper of both vessels. If you hook up a crappy looking boat and it sinks in the shipping basin causing the port to be closed for a period the tow skipper may be held liable.
Having said that, I'm really just saying, if someone breaks down and calls VMR-then act as though they are obliged to tow his boat because he paid $50 to them, he may be disappointed.

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 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

Deckie's picture

Posts: 1297

Date Joined: 03/04/09

Hi Todd, not sure if you are

Fri, 2015-10-23 07:12

Hi Todd, not sure if you are a "Volunteer",(Forgive me if I am wrong) but as a member of WSR you would probably know that a Tow In doesn't cost anything up front.
The person towed in is given a form to fill in & if they appreciate the help & feel the need, hopefully they can make a donation to the group.
As a member of the same group, I just like to be able to help folks out. I guess it is the knowing that someone is out there to assist in the time of need.
Glad to hear your a member & I hope you continue to be one for a long time, can never have enough people willing to help.

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Cheers & Stay safe

Posts: 10

Date Joined: 05/03/15

 Hi guys Thank you for your

Thu, 2015-10-22 20:30

 Hi guys

 

Thank you for your answers, as mentioned I have no problem paying the membership fee, even though in 6 months I have only been out on the ocean twice, more of a river guy

 

i appreciate the safety aspect of boating (ie I have all flares,vhf, epirb, more life jackets than I can fit people on board)  I bought all this after the purchase of the boat, even as I said I am more of a river guy, can never be to careful  

 

I never intended on critising the service, I really appreciate it.  Just wasn't sure what it offered and if I was missing out  if it came across that way I am truely sorry  

 

i would consider becoming a volunteer, however time commitments stop me, and also a massive sea sickness problem (which is why I bought a boat to get over that problem)

 

thanks guys

Posts: 573

Date Joined: 23/04/14

Donation

Thu, 2015-10-22 21:09

Membership of a volunteer sea rescue organisation is really nothing more than a donation to keep the organisation going.  There are no membership benefits such as you would get with the RAC.   

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robert1979's picture

Posts: 224

Date Joined: 13/05/12

 As a member of freo sea

Thu, 2015-10-22 21:25

 As a member of freo sea rescue you are towed to your home mooring, rather than the nearest safe place, eg breakdown near Rotto as a non-member could see you towed to Thompson Bay. See below from their website. They are true to their word as I found out early this year! Fantastic service. 

 

"We will tow our members to their mooring, pen, club or jetty. Non-members are taken to the nearest safe port". 

Swompa's picture

Posts: 3757

Date Joined: 14/10/12

We got towed by FSR, from the

Fri, 2015-10-23 07:22

We got towed by FSR, from the bridges to Fremantle Sailing Club. Got a "please pay us" letter in the post for nearly $1000.

This is even after the membership.

carnarvonite's picture

Posts: 8622

Date Joined: 24/07/07

Donation

Fri, 2015-10-23 06:46

Signing up and not being an active member is like others have stated, more or less a donation to the group. Also one for those who don't know is that most if not all groups are registered charities and the donation is tax deductable if you still have the receipt.

Most country groups, our Carnarvon group included, are always in need of active vollies and they are hard to come by. We have approx. 14 active members to do radio watches and crew the rescue boat with the older retired ones doing most of the weekday stuff and those who work getting the after hours and weekends. Luckily the employers are very understanding that in an emergency situation they will let the workers attend and most times with no loss of pay.

So please put your best foot forward and become an active member and not sit on the sidelines and expect someone else to do it

Posts: 8027

Date Joined: 07/05/12

I pay my $50 for the comfort

Sat, 2015-10-24 08:16

I pay my $50 for the comfort of knowing someone is going to be on the other end of the radio 24/7. I got a shock when I went out of Mandurah mid week to silence and later found out they only man the radios on weekends during the off peak season

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Officially off the Pies bandwagon

Posts: 162

Date Joined: 23/12/08

Small amount to contribute

Sun, 2015-10-25 19:19

Small amount to contribute for the great service that the many Sea Rescue groups provide. I've not owned a boat for at least the past 5 years but still pay my subscription to Fremantle Sea Resue every year, plus a donation as I still go out on other peoples boats and appreciate the fantastic job these guys do.

just dhu it's picture

Posts: 1081

Date Joined: 14/05/09

Membership

Sun, 2015-10-25 21:32

once you have joined the sea rescue , we then have all of your personal data on our computers , when you log in we then know what size your boat is and motor , car details and trailer and boat ramp preference , when you have not signed off at the end of the day or are missing , we can look up your data and call your next of kin , family members and have a quicker response to a possible emergency  and know what boat we are looking for , we speak directly to any family members or yourself  from the mobile numbers given to us when joining the local VMRS ,     In other cases we wait for non members on the day become overdue on our radio logs , we spend some time , calling the boat rego given over the radio , from there we do not have any other info on the boat onwner , so then we pass it onto the water police , who then have to trace down the boat owner through dept transport regos and hopefully have addresses only to then send a police car to the address of the boat owner to see if they have returned home from their day out or not.

this is where being a member could save you and your family lives , $50 per year , same cost as a coffee per month we have your info on hand and can react to a possible situation a lot sooner with information readily available rather than waiting for information from another source which does take time, we are not allowed access to dept of transport records or members of fishing groups personal information,  it would be great if everyone did join their local VMR group and have a required call sign, even if they got out in another VMR area , it's a simple phone call between the two groups and they are up to date with all of the relevant information to assist in a situation being solved as quick as possible 

Posts: 10

Date Joined: 05/03/15

Thank you just dhu it

Mon, 2015-10-26 05:34

thank you,

 

so so just to clarify if I go out of Fremantle I use my whitfords sign on and that is all good? 

just dhu it's picture

Posts: 1081

Date Joined: 14/05/09

all good

Mon, 2015-10-26 07:18

Tod that's correct you can use your ocean reef call sign anywhere you need and if theres any issue the VMR group you logged on with would call us for any information if needed , and the same goes for other VMR groups and ours , we often get Two rocks , or Fremantle vessel launching through our area and log in directly with Whitfords tower