Easter weekend marked the close of the 2025/2026 NSRI lifeguarding season, wrapping up sustained effort from lifeguards across South Africa’s coastline. Looking back, Lifeguarding Operations Manager Rebecca Carter-Smith describes it as “one of our most demanding, but also one of ...
In December 2024, while visiting family in Kuruman, Reagan Gellant received a phone call that no parent should have – his nine-year-old son suffered a non-fatal drowning incident at Meiringspoort and was being rushed to the hospital. Reagan later learned ...
For many students at Rhodes University, learning to swim has never been a simple or accessible opportunity. Despite the presence of a campus swimming pool, many students have had little or no exposure to swimming lessons or water safety education ...
When 335 young people gathered at the recent Western Cape Scouting-in-Schools leadership development Camp, they expected just a week of Scouting, leadership and fun. With the support of the NSRI, many left with an additional life skill that could save ...
Earlier this month, Rescue 4, a new Offshore Rescue Craft (ORC) built for NSRI Station 4, Mykonos, went into the water for her sea trials – the final proving ground before she begins saving lives off the West Coast. Worth ...
The NSRI has reached a significant milestone in its long-standing commitment to drowning prevention. By joining an international Public Rescue Equipment (PRE) working group, the NSRI is now part of a global effort to establish shared standards for life-saving equipment ...
When NSRI Regional Operations Manager Danie Verwey hit the road for a two-week crew development course up the West Coast, he didn’t expect a moment so moving it would reshape his perspective on what it means to “save lives, change ...
When Petro Meyer joined the NSRI on 1 September 2018, she couldn’t have imagined she’d one day be teaching in a swimming pool that arrived inside a shipping container. But her enthusiasm had already put her ahead of the curve. ...
In Plettenberg Bay, the sound of a siren drifting across town carries a meaning that locals understand instantly. It signals that the NSRI are responding to an emergency at sea. Cars pull over, conversations pause, and people turn their attention ...
Earlier this month, the NSRI’s new Mykonos rescue vessel, Rescue 4, went into the water for the first time, marking a major milestone for the station and for the organisation’s Class 1 replacement programme. It is the second-last of the ...
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