Marine Rescue Raby Bay

It's not all breakdowns, searches and medevacs. Being a volunteer can also get you some pretty good seats to the airshow it seems. Over the weekend volunteers from Marine Rescue Raby Bay along with other MRQ and Coast Guard vessels supported Queensland Police and Queensland Ambulance as a standby unit on the water. Whilst it does mean bobbing around for 8 hours at a time, the photos one of our crew sent though seem pretty impressive.

Last night MRQ Raby Bay was activated by Water Police to assist in the search for a missing person and their vessel.

Multiple search and rescue units from different bases searched until the early hours of the morning.

We are thankful for those volunteers who donate their time to help people in distress at all hours of the day or night whenever they are asked.

Edit: as has been noted in the media, Mr Tillema has been located. Our condolences to his family and friends.

Another night time activation, only this time he's smiling. Could it be that he's happy with the new livery and MRQ branding that was added to the vessels today, or perhaps he just got ribbed too much about not smiling in the last one. Why not both? The new colours and logos on the boat does look nice. And it was such a scenic night on the water too.

RBIV preparing for a night navigation assessment for one of our skippers.

Spoiler alert: He passed. Congratulations Derek.

Crew5 became the first rostered boat crew since transitioning to MRQ. With 15-20 knot winds forecast it was unlikely to be a busy day on the ramp.

The crew made the most of the new uniforms and getting a group shot in front of RB2.

Then skipper Fran successfully passed her unrestricted towing assessment and senior crew Phil passed his Trainee Skipper assessment. Alas their respective crews kept themselves focused and no photos were taken.

The rest of the day was spent with the usual cleaning and training work, although a report of a vessel on fire in the anchorage led to a rapid deployment to check. Everything was fine as it was just a skipper cleaning his boat with a pressure washer and the spray looked like white smoke.

Oooh those MRQ beanies are nice and warm on the 1am activations.

Well the flag may have changed but the service hasn't. As our first tasking under MRQ, skippers John and Bill retrieved an unattended tender with RBIII at QPS request.

These pair are part of our weekday on-call crew and regularly respond to mid-week activations.

The sun is rising. A new day dawns. The new MRQ flag flies on the flag pole (although there is hardly a breath of breeze to make it flutter). But it's business as usual for radio officer Graeme on his 5am shift.

Today marks the next chapter for our unit as we officially begin operating as MRQ Raby Bay.

While our name has changed, the heart of the unit hasn't. The same dedicated volunteers who have proudly served the local boating community for decades remain committed to keeping people safe on the water.

We proudly acknowledge the incredible legacy of Volunteer Marine Rescue Raby Bay and thank everyone who has contributed to its history. As we look to the future, we're excited to continue that tradition under the MRQ banner.

One coast. One crew. One MRQ. 💙💛

⚓️ Marine Rescue Community ⚓️

On behalf of all members at Volunteer Marine Rescue Raby Bay, we are deeply saddened by the tragic events involving our brothers and sisters at Marine Rescue Ballina.

This is incredibly hard to process. Our crews are more than just volunteers; we are family. When something like this happens, it is felt by every one of us across the entire marine rescue community.

It does not matter what colour uniform we wear or which state we serve in, we are all volunteers united by the same purpose: saving lives at sea ❤️

We understand that the situation is still unfolding, and that privacy for the squadron and the families involved is paramount. During this time, we stand back with respect but we stand firmly beside you.

No one should ever lose a brother at sea.

To those grieving, please know this: we are so deeply sorry for your loss, and we stand ready to support you in any way we can: today, tomorrow, and in the days ahead.

Volunteer Marine Rescue Raby Bay - standing by ⚓️