Volunteer Marine Rescue Hervey Bay provides the boating public in Hervey Bay waters with a highly professional rescue service, available on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Our dedicated  Rescue Vessel Commanders, crews and Radio Operators are all highly trained, with vessels and crews prepared to go out in all weathers, day or night.

The Squadron operates from its Base at Urangan Harbour, from where it covers an area that stretches from Boonlye Point in the Great Sandy Strait to Theolodolite Creek, north of Woodgate ... and east to Breaksea Spit and Fraser Island.

Providing this service requires exacting training, and is costly.  During 2005 our Radio Room received 33,021 radio calls from vessels operating in our coverage area.  Our rescue vessels spent 292.6 operational hours on the water, using 13,447 litres of fuel (rescue operations only - these figures do not include seatime and fuel used in training.)  During this period 119 vessels and 304 people were returned to safety.

Our Rescue Vessels are "Tackle World Rescue"- an 8.2 metre Noosa Cat with a top speed of 37 knots ... and "Boat Club Rescue" - a 7 metre Noosa Cat, top speed of 43 knots.

A common misconception is that V.M.R. is State funded like the Police, Ambulance or Fire Services.  We are not.  In fact  we receive very limited Government assistance, and depend almost totally on community support through membership subscriptions, sponsorships, donations and fundraising events to cover equipment, running costs and maintenance of our two rescue vessels.

Another misconception is that V.M.R. is something like a cross between the Water Police, Fisheries Inspectors and Boating Partol.  The truth is, we have no policing role in any capacity whatever.  Volunteer Marine Rescue Hervey Bay is, as our name suggests, a 100% Volunteer organization, dedicated to the preservation of life at sea.  Our Squadron works in conjunction with the Water Police on a variety of activations including Search and Rescue ... and with the Queensland Ambulance Service on Medivac missions, which can include evacuating an accident victim, medical or injury patient from a vessel at sea, or from Fraser Island.  On these activations we carry a Q.A.S. Officer or Paramedic on board.

In order to continue to provide this valuable service to the boating public, V.M.R. Hervey Bay needs your help.  For a very low annual fee you can become a member.  Members who own a boat pay just $42.00, or for an additional $33.00 per year the SO$ option gives you your first two assistance calls, free, per year within our area of operations.  Members who do not own a boat can still support the Squadron for just $11.00 per year.  

Membership benefits include reduced towing charge if you need assistance on the water, a  copy of our free magazine "Rescue One" mailed to you each quarter, and regular free radio training and boat safety courses.  In addition to this you have the peace of mind of knowing that we have your details such as boat name and description, trailer registration and contact phone numbers stored on our computer system, should you get into difficulties. 

We strongly recommend that all boat operators log on with our Radio Room whenever they go out on the water. 

Trained Radio Operators monitor VHF channels 16, 73 (local area) and 22 (north of Fairway Beacon) ... 27 MHz channels 88 and 91 ... HF channels 2,182 and 2.524 ... and EPIRB frequency 121.5 MHz.   Our Radio Room is manned daily between 0600 and 1800 hours, and after hours VHF channel 16 is monitored by Brisbane Harbour for emergencies only.

Mobile phones should not be relied upon as a substitute for a marine radio.  They are not designed for marine use and have proven unreliable at sea.  The best form of communication on the water is VHF Marine Radio.  If you are considering purchasing a VHF radio please remember that you are required by law to have a certificate to operate the set.

V.M.R Hervey Bay runs regular courses throughout the year to enable you to obtain the Marine Radio Operators Certificate of Proficiency.  These courses are FREE to members.