Encounter’s key role in air-sea search

The Ulladulla lifeboat Encounter played a key role in a night time search-and- rescue operation that involved two rescue helicopters and a RAN warship on June 25.

The drama unfolded when Sydney Water Police contacted the Ulladulla RVCP base seeking help finding a stricken vessel with three persons on board off Bateman’s Bay.

Bateman’s Bay’s ocean-going rescue vessel was out of action and conditions at Narooma bar prevented the local lifeboat putting out to sea.

Encounter was tasked to find the boat after an EPIRB-activated distress call was received by satellite in Canberra’s marine search and rescue co-ordination centre.

This was relayed immediately to Sydney Water Police who called Commander Doug Musker on his mobile phone. Doug was preparing to have a farewell meal with crewmen from the visiting Cornish vessel Spirit of Mystery when he took the call.  Dinner was off and the hunt was on.

The EPIRB (Electronic position-indicating radio beacon) had pinpointed the distressed vessel’s position as about 15 nautical miles east of Bateman’s Bay.

Encounter set off in pitch darkness to the given position – aware that the troubled vessel would have drifted further south by the time they reached her.

Because of the accuracy of the EPIRB position report, the SouthCare rescue helicopter and another chopper from Victoria were quickly above the scene.

And just before Encounter reached the spot, the RAN frigate HMAS Newcastle arrived and stood by the troubled vessel.

In what Commander Musker described as a textbook example of inter-service co-operation between the choppers, the warship and Encounter the open boat was taken in tow by Encounter and slowly taken into enclosed waters off Bateman’s Bay where a shallow-draft local RVCP vessel able to cross the bar took over the tow.

Encounter arrived back in Ulladulla shortly before 4am leaving the exhausted crew only a few hours sleep before escorting Spirit of Mystery and her crew out of Ulladulla Harbour bound for Jervis Bay and Sydney.

Lifeboat Encounter in Sydney-Hobart drama

When it was learned the yacht Merit had managed to take all 14 rescued crew members from Georgia on board, Encounter was asked to rendezvous with the yacht. The original police plan was to transfer the survivors to Encounter by life raft.

But with the rough seas  and the wind reaching up to 30 knots, it was considered safer to request Merit to continue to Bateman’s Bay with the survivors. The crew of Merit deserve the highest praise for the successful operation.

Encounter was then instructed to search for the abandoned yacht which was then a possible hazard to shipping.

As it was also a potential hazard to Encounter, the search was completed slowly, using a searchlight on the bow.  Although the crew recovered a number of items from Georgia, there was no sign of the yacht itself and it has since been confirmed sunk.

RAN Trophy to Ulladulla

The Coastal Patrol's Ulladulla division has won the prestigious Royal Australian Navy Trophy for its performance in the past year.

The award - for best all-round marine rescue unit in NSW - was presented to the division's delegates to the RVCP AGM and Operation Conference in Port Stephens at the weekend.

It is only the second time the trophy has been awarded and Commander Doug Musker said it was recognition of not just the division, but the townspeople who have supported the RVCP throughout the year.

"This trophy belongs not just to our volunteers but their loyal supporters in the Milton Ulladulla district. They make it all

possible and it's good to be able to reward them with achievements like this," he said.
"Our crews, radio operators, fund-raisers and admin people have all made a wonderful effort in the last 12 months and deserve the recognition this award brings."

Searchmaster Keven Marshall, Commander Doug Muster and Operations Officer Neil Atkins with the RAN shield

Ulladulla ready for new era in marine rescue

Ulladulla will have  centre stage at the Australia Day celebrations on Sydney
Harbour in January.
The lifeboat Encounter has been given the honour of leading the waterborne
cavalcade of rescue craft on the nations biggest day of the year.
With a local crew, and new livery to herald the start of her career with Marine
Rescue NSW, the vessel will be at the forefront of attention from thousands of
visitors and local sightseers.
Pride of place for the lifeboat will mean the entire Ulladulla district will share the
limelight on the big day on January 26.
By that time, the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol vessel will have undergone a
transformation on the Ulladulla Harbour slips to become the South Coast pride
of the Marine Rescue NSW fleet.
The NSW Government has endorsed the move to amalgamate the Royal
Volunteer Coastal Patrol, Volunteer Marine Rescue Association and Australia
Volunteer Coastguard.
That change has been taking place gradually in recent months, but in Ulladulla
is part of a general rejuvenation for the organisation that has served the district for 35 years.
An influx of keen new members has brought new faces and additional skills to
the volunteer base.
Although the organisation has traditionally relied heavily on retired volunteers, a
new trend has emerged with some new members still active in the general
workforce.
With support and encouragement from fellow members, they have managed
to merge their work and volunteer responsibilities and bring a welcome
transfusion of new blood to the Ulladulla division. A significant benefit of the new organisation is that members will no longer have to buy their own uniforms and pay for training courses, as they did with the RVCP.

Encounter with the first coat of paint on her her new all-white superstructure.
The other main change will be to the red striping which will also carry a new roundel