The group is based in the Northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. Together with sister group Cockburn the two independent groups are part of an alliance to provide sea rescue services to Western Australian police. These 2 groups are independent charities as opposed to most other Sea Rescue groups in Western Australia which are part of DFES. WVSRG is a registered charity and Public Benevolent Institution with "Not for Profit" and "deductible gift recipient" status. Money donated is used to improve services and equipment, the group states they have no paid personnel and that they are not a part of any government department but rather an independent group of volunteers. The group accepts donations and sponsorships from private industry as well as some grants from local government. In addition they raise money through occasional fundraising events and providing boating courses to the general public such as the WA "Recreational Skippers Ticket" or "Marine Radio".
Services provided
WVSRG provides :
Boats
The rescue group currently has three rescue boats: Both larger boats in the current fleet are capable of operating in rough weather and far out to sea. Green1 is capable of 30 knots, and Green2 is capable of over 45 knots. Both boats are extensively equipped with SAR, First aid and towing equipment - e.g. both boats have radar, multiple slaved consoles with GPS/Radar/sounder, Radio Direction finders for VHF and 27Mhz, extensive radios, Forward Looking Infra Red camera for night searches, Defibrillators, and back board. Both boats are manned by volunteers on weekends and public holidays, then during nights and weekends crews remain on call-out alert in shifts if required. Green 3 is also capable of working offshore in rough weather as a RIB. She is also useful in that for rapid response she only needs a crew of two to operate. This gives WVSR inshore, fast response inshore/offshore and large/long range offshore capabilities. Broadly equivalent to 2-3 RNLI Stations as Green3 is essentially an Inshore lifeboat with Green2 and Green1 all weather boats.
Radio
The WVSRG HQ is located at Ocean Reef boat launch. It is both a meeting hall, training centre and radio tower. The radio tower is manned every weekend and when not manned operators monitor the radios remotely from other locations. The tower overlooks ocean reef boat launch and handles safety logging of boat traffic in and out of Mindarie Marina, Ocean Reef and Hilarys. The group has a high radio antennae and can consequently receive marine VHF from a relatively long distance.
Notable Rescues
The group carries out over 300 rescues per annum on average. Some notable callouts include :
Valentine's Day 2013 - Green 1 rescued a vessel on the rocks at little island at night in high winds. Water Police had grounded out and couldn't get in close enough and were discussing helicoptering the 4 men on board. The local knowledge of the WVSR skipper allowed him to get his boat in and tow the casualty off.
July 17, 2013 - A 73-year-old yachtsman got into trouble in heavy seas and high winds. Water Police cutter Cygnet V searched at sea with 2 experienced WVSR skippers on board as crew for local knowledge. WVSR Green1 and Fremantle VSR R100 were also called out and stood by as backup. WVSR also put out shore units which ultimately found the man.
