NSRI seeks rescue boat sponsors

AFTER living out more than double her projected lifespan, NSRI Station 19’s nippy 7.3m rescue boat ‘Spirit of Round Table’ is due for replacement.

Built in 1990, through being lovingly looked after and having been stripped down and rebuilt a number of times, the boat has far exceeded its 12 year life expectancy.

But now she really needs to retire and be replaced by a custom built, standardised 8.5m craft.

However, this can only happen if local sponsors will lend their financial support.

Celebrating its 40th year of existence, Sea Rescue Station 19 at Richards Bay operates from the Tugela River 72km in the south to the Mozambique border 230km to the north.

The seas along this stretch of coastline are notoriously hazardous and the new 8.5m craft will offer significantly improved protection and a greater range of operation.

NSRI buys 80% of their rescue boats locally, supporting South African suppliers, and the boat will be built in the Gemini factory in Cape Town.

All NSRI rescue boats become ‘floating billboards’ for sponsors after whom the honour of naming the vessel is given for the lifespan of the craft.

Standing in the well-equipped and spacious rescue base and looking down on an immaculately maintained Station 19 fleet, it is hard to imagine that 40 years ago the founding six volunteers operated out of a shed and used a garden hose pipe as their shower.

Since then, many lives of both local residents and visitors have been saved.

None of this would have been possible without the generous and loyal support of donors and sponsors, and it is those to whom the NSRI is again looking to make a contribution towards the new rescue boat.

Please call NSRI’s Stuart Moerdyk on 021 4344011 or 082 9384490 with offers of assistance.

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