Just an average training night....

Every second Tuesday evening, volunteers from Coastguard Hibiscus gather at the Hibiscus Coast Boating Club for training. While many people see the rescue vessels

heading out on callouts, few see the countless hours of preparation that happen behind the scenes to ensure our crews are ready when the pager goes off.

Training nights cover a huge range of skills. Some evenings focus on medical training, where crew members learn how to assess and care for patients until they can be handed over to ambulance staff. Other sessions cover navigation and chart work, reading weather forecasts and sea conditions, understanding tides and currents, handling a vessel safely in challenging wind and sea states, and operating marine electronics and communication equipment.

Practical training is equally important. Using a mock-up of our rescue vessel, crews practise setting up towing lines, deploying equipment, recovering people from the water, and ensuring every piece of gear is exactly where it needs to be when seconds count. We train on jump-starting vessels, responding to mechanical failures, conducting shoreline searches, man-overboard recoveries, radio communications, and, of course, the search and rescue techniques that form the core of what we do.

On paper, last Tuesday's training was scheduled to be a straightforward chartwork exercise. Crew members were asked to bring along their charting equipment and prepare for an evening of plotting positions, bearings and search patterns.

Or so we thought.

About fifteen minutes into the session, the training officer had organised the pager to be sounded.

"A group of Sea Scouts conducting their own training exercise at Stanmore Bay had reportedly witnessed two kayakers capsize. The kayakers had been unable to re-enter their craft before drifting apart from them, and the Scouts had subsequently lost sight of both paddlers. Fortunately, because the Scouts were undertaking navigation training themselves, they were able to provide compass bearings to the last known position of the kayaks. "

The rostered crew immediately sprang into action. Several volunteers raced to prepare Hibiscus Rescue Two for launching while the remaining crew in the boat club began working through the information provided. Charts were spread across tables as bearings were plotted and calculations made. Crew worked out the approximate location of the casualties, estimated drift, and determined the likely course the rescue vessel would need to take.

At the same time, another team collected medical equipment, warm clothing, torches and handheld VHF radios before heading to Stanmore Bay Beach to begin a shoreline search.

Back at the shed, one of our skippers, the Training Officer, and a crew member who had recently completed her VHF radio qualification established Incident Control. Their role was to coordinate communications, monitor the progress of the search teams and ensure information flowed efficiently between everyone involved.

Once Hibiscus Rescue Two arrived on scene, Incident Control directed the crew to commence a sector search pattern. The search had already been calculated and plotted by the team back at the boat club, demonstrating how valuable chartwork and planning skills can be during a real rescue operation.

After several minutes of searching, the crew located their target.

Floating in the water was "Ruth Lee", our rescue training mannequin. Recently purchased thanks to the generous support of the Four Winds Foundation, Ruth Lee is an incredibly realistic training aid. Weighing approximately 40 kilograms when dry, she behaves much like a real casualty in the water, allowing crews to practise recovery techniques in a safe but highly realistic environment.

Meanwhile, the shoreline search team had made a discovery of their own.

Hidden amongst the beach environment was one of our volunteer crew members, Andrew, playing the role of an injured casualty requiring assistance. The team assessed his condition, provided immediate care and coordinated his recovery before transporting him back to the shed.

With both "casualties" recovered, the exercise moved into its final stage. Ruth Lee and Andrew were assessed by the crews before being handed over to a higher medical authority for further treatment.

What had begun as a simple chartwork lesson had transformed into a full-scale search and rescue scenario involving navigation, communications, incident management, vessel operations, shoreline search techniques, casualty recovery and medical response.

The exercise highlighted just how important realistic training is. By creating scenarios that closely mirror actual incidents, volunteers gain valuable experience making decisions under pressure, communicating effectively and working together as a coordinated rescue team. These are skills that cannot be fully developed in a classroom alone.

One of the most heartening aspects of the evening was the response from our local community. As crews searched Stanmore Bay Beach with torches, several members of the public stopped to ask if assistance was needed and offered to help. Others noticed the activity from nearby homes and walking tracks and took an interest in what was happening.

Later, local community Facebook pages were filled with questions from curious residents who had spotted rescue crews, torches and vessels operating after dark. While the exercise may have sparked some intrigue, it was also a wonderful reminder that our community genuinely cares about what happens on our coastline and appreciates the work of its volunteer rescue service.

At Coastguard Hibiscus, we are incredibly fortunate to be supported by a community that understands the importance of being prepared for emergencies on the water.

And if reading this sounds like something you would enjoy being part of, we'd love to hear from you.

Whether you have extensive boating experience or are completely new to the maritime environment, Coastguard Hibiscus is currently recruiting. We provide training, mentorship and opportunities to learn a wide range of skills while making a real difference to the safety of people on the water.

You don't need to be an expert to join—just someone willing to learn, contribute to a great team and help your community when it matters most.

After all, you never know what might happen on a Tuesday night at the boat club. Sometimes what starts as a lesson on charts can turn into an unforgettable adventure.