The naming of a new rescue craft in Still Bay earlier this month was especially meaningful because its namesake, Marlene Barnes, was recently given the all-clear (remission) after battling bone cancer.
Marlene Barnes and members of the National Sea Rescue Institute’s Still Bay station attended the blessing ceremony for the new vessel, which Western Cape Disaster Management donated.
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The JetRIB ‘Marlene’ is the fifth of its kind donated to the NSRI by the Western Cape Disaster Management (WCDM), an organisation that shows its appreciation for its female employees by naming each vessel after a woman who works at one of its centres.
Since 2015, WCDM has also helped pay for equipment, training, an all-terrain vehicle, and different NSRI water safety projects.
‘In attendance were the Executive Mayor of Hessequa, Grant Riddles, Station Commander of NSRI Station 31 (Still Bay), Jean du Plessis, his crew, various representatives from the NSRI and Western Cape Disaster Management, as well as myself and, of course, Marlene,’ says NSRI Operations Manager Deon Langenhoven.
Following a speech made by Station Commander Jean du Plessis and crew member Jan Henop’s blessing, Marlene was invited to pop the cork on a bottle of bubbly and officially name the boat with a spray of celebratory fizz, to applause and cheers from the audience.
The JetRIB is a one-of-a-kind rescue vessel developed by the NSRI in collaboration with Droomers Yamaha: a four-stroke Yamaha VX1050 Jet Ski with an extension hull and Hypalon pontoons.
It is not only safer (removing the propellers from the water eliminates the risk of propeller-related injuries to both crew and casualties), but it is also more environmentally friendly, as it does not require two-stroke engine oil.
Because boats with propellers cannot be used in flooding conditions due to debris in the water, the JetRIB was critical to the NSRI’s rescue efforts during the KwaZulu-Natal floods.
In honour of her namesake, the JetRIB ‘Marlene’ will now assist the Station 31 crew in saving even more lives.
The NSRI thanked Western Cape Disaster Management for their ongoing assistance and congratulated Station 31 on the addition of the new JetRIB ‘Marlene.’
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Picture: National Sea Rescue Institute