Marine Rescue News contributed by VMR Whitsunday

Medical Evacuations

VMR Whitsunday regularly conducts medical evacuations at the request of the Queensland Ambulance Service.

Last year we completed 67 medivacs.

When a call goes to 000, the duty QAS supervisor considers all aspects of the call for help, such as the seriousness of the injury or illness, before deciding whether a medivac is necessary, and whether it is best performed by helicopter or by sea.

Sometimes the weather precludes the use of the helicopter or it is unavailable, and we are called into action.

At other times, we are their first call. Medivacs can be literally anywhere in the Whitsundays, from any of the island resorts, or from boats at sea or around the islands, from campgrounds, maybe even on the outer reef.

They can be at any time, day or night, in almost any conditions, and we always have at least one and sometimes two QAS Paramedics on board when we do a medivac.

Coral Sea Marina VMR1 was designed specifically to handle medivacs, as well as other activations.

We carry on board our own QAS stretcher, and an addition to our equipment was a ‘Combi-Carrier’ or split backboard, that allows easier, safer and more comfortable transfers of a patient onto and off Coral Sea Marina VMR1, to or from a new model QAS stretcher on shore.  

What happens if there is an emergency at sea or on the islands?

In the Whitsundays we only have a relatively small number of volunteers and can only open our radio base from 7am to 5pm, on weekends and public holidays. 

Outside of these hours, calls via VHF channels 16 or 67 are monitored by Whitsunday VTS or VMR Mackay, and emergencies are relayed to our 24/7 emergency phone holder. 

Channels 81 (Whitsunday Island) and 82 (Hayman Island) are monitored during the day by commercial operators. 

We have a roster of 24-hour Volunteer phone holders who respond to all phone calls (4946 7207) 24/7, and we attend to emergencies on the water and on the islands if required, 24/7/365. 

Sometimes we are tasked by the Water Police, at others by QAS.

This arrangement has been in place for many years and is approved by Maritime Safety Queensland and AMSA. 

We do not take log-on or log-off calls when the base is closed, so it is important that boaties tell someone where they are going and when they will be back.

So, what happens when we get an emergency call?

Our radio or emergency phone holder takes all the details, and calls one of our Search and Rescue Coordinators (SARCO), who usually approves the activation of one of our rescue vessels. 

The SARCO advises the radio or phone operator of any special requirements, recommends any special skills or equipment required, and which rescue boat to take. 

The radio/phone operator then uses our mobile phone app. to assemble a volunteer crew. 

In the Whitsundays last year, we averaged one activation every 32.5 hours – and some of those are back-to-back at times. 

Activations have no regular pattern, and we rely on assembling a crew when required.

Each Active crew member fills in their availability on our phone app and the operator can see who has made themselves available. 

On the phone app, the crew member’s phone number appears and the operator simply taps on each of the required crew members to call them. 

For most activations on Coral Sea Marina VMR1 we need a Skipper, and a Senior Crew is preferred as well as 2 other crew members. On VMR2 the minimum crew is usually a Skipper and a Senior Crew member.

When the rescue vessel leaves the port, the phone or radio operator and usually Whitsunday VTS are advised, and it can be tracked on Marinetraffic.com (AIS) https://www.marinetraffic.com/.

VMR1 has been clearly visible on AIS as far out as Square Reef, 65 miles from Airlie Beach.

The operator is then advised at the completion of the activation that the vessel has been refuelled and is available for the next activation.

VMRW membership is cheap insurance at just $90.

You can join online at https://vmrwhitsundays.com.au/join/ and your membership helps to keep us going in case you need us.