Gavin Riddle reports from New Zealand:Damn fine get together we had just after Easter down here in NZ. We have never really been known as a crowd who needed an excuse to have a get together, but when my brother Bruce and his wife Dee-Ann (and their kids) came over from Sydney for a visit, we thought it would be a good idea to get the old crew together. Medium rare scotch fillet infused with blue cheese and garlic on the webber and a couple of beers and wines went down a treat!With the exception of my wife Lynne, we were all active crew and when we added up our combined service on the PE Station, we seemed to think we topped out at just over 80 years.Between us, we've served as crew, coxswains, senior coxswains, ops controllers, deputy station commanders and even our own station commander (Colin...'Charlie Alpha' to those who know him!), 3 medics and some flight crew, so not a bad mix. These days however, we spend our time on the water for recreational purposes as opposed to rescue purposes.Alan and Des are in New Plymouth (western North Island), were are in Cambridge (central North Island) and Colin is in Tauranga (eastern North Island). Bruce and Dee are in Sydney.
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For close to two hours, two experienced paddlers clung to their capsized surf-ski off Simon's Town, battling 40-knot winds and 2-metre swells with no way to call for help. On Saturday, 12 September, NSRI Simon's Town crew brought them home safely. ...
On Saturday afternoon, NSRI Simon's Town launched a dramatic sea rescue after two experienced paddlers capsized in gale-force winds and rough seas off Fish Hoek, spending close to two hours battling exhaustion and hypothermia before being found. ...