Search and Rescue Queensland was developed as a necessity to increase the offering to the people of Queensland with the downfall of management of the other two ocean rescue services in Queensland. Being a part of one of the others for 9 years, the lack of innovation, the struggle to gain revenue, and the infighting are some of the major struggles they face.
After leaving the organisation, taking a step back to look at what is required moving in to the future, then creating a business plan and revenue model, I then offered to manage both the Coast Guard and the Volunteer Marine Rescue under the Search and Rescue Queensland umbrella, fully funding their operations, they declined.
After some fine tuning, adjusting to be a stand alone organisation, we upgraded the Australian Watercraft Registry online platform to accept and manage the members of the public government registration requirements. This is an important step as a new revenue model, and allows us to offer heavily reduced waterside assistance memberships while maintaining a buoyant business in challenging times and allow for growth not only to buy more vessels, but also grow in to other parts of the state, and develop the new rescue innovations in technology and equipment.
I’ve custom built this system to openly outperform any other offering of rescue service, I’m not here to compete, other organisations won’t even be in the ball park once we commence operation.
Being a private business, we can do most whatever we like, we just have to meet the rule of law, and the commercial operation requirements of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Vessel choice, supplier, engine choice and areas of geographical operation are our own choice.
Having a rich family history of emergency service, we think bases that only opening on daylight hours on weekends only is fucking bullshit. In our minds, in our professional qualified opinion, thats not an emergency rescue service, that’s a boys club or a Men’s shed, and is a complete misrepresentation of service.
We hope as an informed member of the boating public, your care for yourself, the members of your family, your passengers on your craft, your craft itself, fellow boat owners and the environment that you’ll look seriously and carefully at our offering, and join our programs.
The Smith boys – since 1941
The Smith Family’s service to Queenslanders started in 1941 when Frank Henry Grayson Smith joined the Fire Service in Brisbane. His son Darryl joined the Metropolitan Fire Brigade after a short stint post school at the Chermside Post Office. They’ve attended unmeasurable incidents in South East Queensland during their careers.
Once such incident was the Boondall Bus Crash, where Darryl’s fire appliance was the second emergency vehicle on the scene, only beaten by an ambulance through the traffic. The incident was a mass casualty event, due to the nature of the situation and the age of the passengers.
Darryl was awarded a Certificate of Commendation by the Fire Commissioner Peter George ret. on the 27th of March, 2001. “For displaying outstanding skill and dedication during extreme circumstances“.
Darryl’s Son, Adam Frank Smith is the founder of Search and Rescue Queensland and intends to carry on the service to Queensland.
The Australian Watercraft Registry
The Australian Watercraft Registry is the parent company of Search and Rescue Queensland, they handle all of the registration payments and funding to Search and Rescue Queensland. Think of them as the administration side of a business, while Search and Rescue Queensland do the actual “work” out on the water.
The Australian Watercraft Registry has been operating for 5 years and was originally created as a need to identify non-government registered craft that would often be found unattended on our waterways, or washed up on a beach.
The need to identify a craft to it’s owner has to be done as quickly as possible in the “Golden Hour” of a search and rescue mission. The golden hour is the first hour after a situation has been identified, and it’s this time your best chance of survival exists.
There are many factors that go in to a successful search, but identifying the person, the type of incident, knowing particulars of the location such as weather and tide information, having a skilled equiped crew with the appropriate craft, and the qualifications to operate the craft and provide life saving advanced first aid techniques are all critical in striving for a successful outcome.
For the last 3 and half years the Australian Watercraft Registry has been supplying a Safety Boat to paddlesport events in South East Queensland. Previously these events relied in members of the sporting clubs manning their own private recreational vessels in an attempt to meet the need of a safe event. The Australian Watercraft Registry IRB attended these events and saved approximately 50 people per year. Our success at these events was because we were always “just there”, rather than a rescue boat having to be called and conduct a search.
The Australian Watercraft Registry offers a range of safety products, these include paddle craft I.D tags, Race stickers for events, GME safety equipment like GPS EPIRBs, PLB’s, VHF Radio equipment and manages the registration requirements for Search and Rescue Queensland.
We run the best system for craft I.D. on the planet.