The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) is a voluntary non-profit organisation in South Africa tasked with saving lives through drowning prevention. It operates 49 bases (as of November 2023) comprising coastal stations, inland stations on dams, auxiliary stations and lifeguard units. There are crews on standby at all hours. There are over 1000 volunteers equipped with sponsored rescue craft, rescue vehicles, quad bikes and tractors, supported by an operations department at the head office.[2]
Following an incident at Stilbaai near Mossel Bay on the south coast of South Africa in 1966, in which 17 fishermen drowned after three fishing boats sank in a storm, Miss Pattie Price of Simon’s Town whose own life had been saved by a RNLI lifeboat in the English Channel, wrote a series of letters to the newspapers to advocate for the formation of a sea rescue organisation in South Africa.
Captain Bob Deacon and Ray Lant were the first volunteers to respond to this call and in 1967 the South African Inshore Rescue Service (SAISRS) was started, with a 4.7m inflatable boat donated by the Society of Master Mariners. The SAISRS was later renamed to National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) and continues the tradition of operation by volunteers.[3]
List of NSRI Stations
Kleinmond slipway with NSRI station 42 tractor and boat trailer
Kleinmond slipway and jetty seaward side. NSRI station 42 boat alongside
The NSRI has used a wide range of rescue vessels and types of rescue vessel over the years.
JetRIB, Four-stroke Yamaha VX1050 Jet Ski with an extension hull and Hypalon pontoons.
RL 36, 9m deep V, Cold moulded wood:
Pearl van Riet, Station 9
Brede class: (RNLI design)
Spirit of Safmarine. Station 10,
This section needs expansion with: describe the history of the vessel types in use and the characteristics of each type. You can help by adding to it. (January 2021)
Offshore Rescue Craft class
NSRI Station 10's new offshore rescue craft in April 2021 off Miller's Point
The first vessel of the offshore rescue craft (ORC) class vessel was procured from a French boatyard in 2019 and stationed at Durban. The vessel has a 14.8m long composite hull with a 4.8 m beam, and is suitable for search and rescue operations up to 50 nautical miles offshore.[5] The second vessel of the class was finished from an imported set of mouldings and delivered to Station 10 (Simon's Town) from Two Oceans Marine in Cape Town in April 2021. It will be kept ready to launch at a few minutes notice on a cradle in the boathouse.
The rest of the series will be manufactured in Cape Town under license using moulds taken off the second boat's mouldings. The vessel is longitudinally subdivided into forepeak, forward accommodation for survivors, tank space with heads, engine room and steering flat. The superstructure is on the main deck and comprises a watertight wheelhouse, which provides a high centre of buoyancy for self-righting, and has a raised exterior steering position on the port side. The transom has a ladder for boarding from the water and two small platforms just above the waterline. There is a substantial towing bollard on the quarterdeck and a gap in the stern rail at the top of the ladder which also serves as a fairlead for towing lines. The crew seating includes safety belts and shock absorber mountings to mitigate vertical acceleration shock loads.
A track with sliding cars runs around the wheelhouse just below the handrail, providing secure but mobile harness clip-off points for crew working on or traversing the side decks. The handrails on the foredeck and side decks are inset to avoid damage when alongside large vessels in a seaway. There is a small but sturdy davit on the port side suitable for hoisting survivors on board, in clear view of the exterior control point.
Structure is fibre reinforced plastic composite, partly foam cored and partly solid skin with foam cored frames. Structural glass fibres are used for most of the layup, with carbon fibre stiffening where most effective. High density core material is used in heavily loaded components such as engine beds.
14-02, "Donna Nicholas", Station 10, Simon's Town, April 2021
14-03,
Gallery
External views of the vessel
Profile from port
Bow
Stern
Port bow
The upper deck
View from port quarter
Quarterdeck railings
Towing gear
Flying bridge
Superstructure from aft
View forward from flying bridge
Deck fittings
Davit
Engine room soft patch
Handrail and jackstay track with car
Anchor gear and pulpit rail
Liferaft and forward escape hatch
Engine freshwater flush connection
Wheelhouse interior
Helmsman's seat
Navigation table
Wheelhouse exterior watertight door
Port side seating
Crew seat detail
Navigators instrument panel
Passenger accommodation
Forepeak and anchor locker access
Survivor seating port side
Galley area and companionway ladder starboard forward
Seating and watertight door starboard aft
Companionway ladder and doorway starboard
Deckhead escape hatch with drop-down ladder looking aft
Tank space
Starboard tank space
Heads in port tank space
Port tank space
Engine Room
View from forward watertight door
Starboard engine and gearbox
Port engine and gearbox
Port engine aft
Starboard exhaust
Steering flat
Port steering ram, tiller, rudder stock and link bar
Electro-hydraulic steering motor
Emergency tiller stowed against transom, emergency exit above
Pink Bouy initiative
An NSRI Pink Buoy at a beach with its post and signage.
As part of the NSRI's Drowning Prevention program, starting in 2017, the NSRI started placing Pink Rescue torpedo buoys in strategic locations including inland rivers, dams, and beaches.
Not only are they used for rescues when lifeguards are not around, but they act as a reminder to be careful when you are in the water if there are no lifeguards around.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2023)
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