Celebrating the women of the NSRI

The women of the NSRI serve with determination, skill and compassion – not to break boundaries, but because they belong here.

“You don't think, ‘Oh, I'll be the first woman to be a Class One.’ That never crossed my mind,” said Carmen Long, Class 1 Coxswain at Hout Bay. “I just joined because I wanted to be part of something.”

Women across the organisation, from lifeguards to coxswains and station commanders, are leading operations, training new recruits, and responding to emergencies with courage and clarity.

“Being a Class One Coxswain is not a joke,” said Lifeguarding Operations Manager, Rebecca Carter-Smith. “You're responsible for the whole operation at hand and you're responsible for a R25 million rescue vessel.”

It’s a role that comes with sacrifice. “It sometimes means missing your sister’s birthday… but sometimes missing a special moment is worth the lives that you are going to save,” Rebecca added.

For Brett Ayres, NSRI’s Executive Director of Rescue Services, the strength of the organisation lies in its diversity — of gender, age, background and role. “Diverse teams of all kinds bring a collective way of thinking, approaching, and seeing problems that contributes to a better outcome.”

Women in the NSRI have shown that there’s no single path to leadership — and no one mould that defines the “right” person for the job.

“Anybody can make a difference,” said Coxswain and previous Station 21 St Francis Bay Station Commander Sara Jane Smith. “You’ve just got to get to the station nearest to you and they will bring it out in you.”