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Central Coast Division of the Patrol was formed in 1971. Initially it operated its marine radio services from a caravan on the waterfront at Gosford adjacent to Iguana Joe’s (The old Aquatic Club). The Division moved to its present location in Goodaywang Reserve, at the end of Kurrawa Avenue, Pt Clare. in 1975, on land provided by permissive occupancy from the Dept of Lands and with agreement from Gosford City Council The original building was constructed with help from the Federal Govt. ‘Red Scheme'. Barry Cohen MP officially opened it on 16 August 1975. By 1994, The Division had outgrown the original building and additions were made including a boatshed, a training room and an office for the Division Commander. Changed training requirements lead to a need for further additions and changes in 2004. These included a new roof, replacing the original asbestos fibro, enlarged training facilities, additional toilet, washroom, workshop, and a bunkroom. Part of the finance for these changes were provided from the Australian Govt Regional partnerships Programme. Jim Lloyd MP opened the completed renovations on 12 June 2004.
Soon after the move to Pt Clare the Division took over responsibility of the Terrigal Haven Radio Base from Broken Bay Division. Central Coast Division began operations at Terrigal Haven on 26 December 1976 as ‘Coastal Patrol Terrigal’. In addition to its operations at the principal Pt Clare base. During 1979 and 1980 the Division took care of the MV Krait that had been restored by Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol members and was used as a training vessel by the Patrol. For the history of the Krait see the Krait page. Disaster struck Terrigal Base on the 26 July 1996. The entire building and its contents were destroyed by fire. Like phoenix, and after a lot of hard work by the members, a new building rose from the ashes. The new marine radio base officially opened in January 1998 by Jim Lloyd MP.
Initially the Division provided marine radio monitoring only on weekends, but as demand and Patrol membership grew the radio monitoring expanded to 7 days a week. At first all search and rescue activities were carried out using vessels owned by members. At one stage the Division had 12 privately owned vessels on its ships register. In 1988 the Division purchased its first corporate vessel, a 7.3m De Havilland Trojan, designated Centaco 1. The vessel was second hand. All refurbishing and fit-out was undertaken by the members. Hi Torque Marine provided sponsorship and Centaco 1 became ‘Hi Torque Rescue’ until she was sold in 2001 following launch of a replacement vessel. The Division signed a contract for a purpose built lifeboat in 2000. Gosford Lifeboat, ‘The Spirit of Federation’ began her sea trials on 24 November 2000 and was officially commissioned for Patrol service 26 July 2001. The 7.5m vessel has a 310 HP diesel with Hamilton Jet power.
Currently, in 2005, Central Coast Division has over 100 members who give freely of time as volunteers to provide radio monitoring 12 hours daily Monday to Thursday, and continuous 24 hour radio coverage Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays. Search and Rescue crews are on duty or on call to man the rescue vessels 24 hours a day.
(TRAINING VESSEL)
The annual cost of running the Division, despite the volunteer labour exceeds $44,000 every year. A major component is fuel for the Patrol lifeboats, closely following by utility costs such as phones and electricity. The funds for operating Central Coast Division come from donations (some from grateful boat owners who have been assisted), a little Corporate sponsorship and from ongoing fund raising efforts by our members.
In addition to the funds needed for Operations, equipment and facilities must be constantly updated or replaced due to technology changes and wear and tear. During the last six years the Central Coast Division has had to replace its primary lifeboat (cost $155000), refit its Pt Clare Radio Room and replace its marine radio antenna mast ($15000), replace asbestos fibro roof and refurbish the 30 year old base ($125000).
Membership of MRSS has other benefits too. Coastal Patrol provides marine education and training on boating and related subjects such as Seamanship, Basic and Coastal Navigation, Seaman's Meteorology, First Aid and Marine Radio. Cost of these courses is reduced by 10% to financial members of MRSS.
For your own safety, if you have a boat, with a marine transceiver installed you should be a member of Coastal Patrol's Marine Radio Safety Service. As a MRSS member your safety becomes our concern. When you join you will be allocated your own radio 'call sign'. When you go out for a days outing you use your radio call sign to log on with Coastal Patrol. All your boat details are pre-registered, so you simply advise the duty radio operator how many people you have onboard, where you are going and when you expect to return. These details are recorded and remain 'active,' until you return and log off. If you do not log off or call in to tell us you are safe the Coastal Patrol begins a search to determine whether you need help. You can call in at any time to vary your estimated time of return. If requested, the Coastal Patrol will call your family to tell them the fish are biting and you will be staying out longer, or to pass along other important messages.
As well, you can call in at any time to obtain an update on the weather; the latest Bureau of Meteorology forecast is always at hand at the base or you may want details of tidal information. Coastal Patrol broadcasts weather warning information as soon as it is received by fax from the Weather Bureau. While you are. 'logged on' Coastal Patrol is on standby. Standard operational hours are Monday to Thursday 0600 to 1800hrs; Friday 0600 to Sunday 1800 hrs continuously. On Public Holiday weekends the Base is open from1800 Sunday until 1800 Monday continuously.
The Coastal Patrol conducts regular courses for the training and benefit of its own members and for the general public. Full details of duration, dates and fees may be found by contacting the base any time during opening hours - basically daylight hours. Numbers will be linited so it is advisable to book as soon as the requirement becomes evident. The courses are
Marine Radio
First Aid
Seamanship Courses
Basic and Coastal Navigation Courses
Meteorology
Boat License Seminar ( +Testing )
The Patrol has several activity streams that allow for a wide range of fitness and skill levels for members of all ages. While the key focus of the organisation is boats and boating not all members wish to be involved in sea going duties. Some members choose to undertake only Marine Radio duties, others elect to be involved only in administration, fund raising or public relations activities.
Central Coast Division operates with five watches, a midweek watch Monday to Friday between 0600 hours and 1800 hours, and four rotating weekend watches that operate from 1800 hours Friday to 1800 hours Sunday and Public Holidays. The time commitment for members choosing to work midweek is about 4 hours weekly, usually at the same time on the same day each week. For those choosing weekend duty the commitment is for one weekend each four weeks.
The Patrol is almost totally self-funded, relying on the local community for support. Members must be prepared to assist in fund raising activities when requested. Those who assist with Administration participate when available any day of the week. Members attend a monthly Mess Meeting, for information sharing and an interesting guest speaker on subjects of relevance to Patrol activities. All members undertake an Induction Course (half day) and must obtain a Marine Radio Operators licence. Those wishing to undertake boat duties must have a current Boat Drivers licence. All members must have competency in First Aid. There is a joining fee and an annual membership fee and cost is currently about $1 per week.
Point Clare NSW 2250,
Australia
PO Box 6058, West Gosford, NSW, 2250
Phone: (02) 4325 7929. Fax: (02) 4325 1806
E-Mail : centaco@hotkey.net.au Web Site : www.coastalpatrol.org.au
Call Sign: Coastal Patrol Gosford (VMR215).
Operating hours: Mon - Thur 0600 to 1800.
Friday 0600 continuous to Sunday 1800.
Public Holidays 0600 to 1800 & continuous if on Friday or Monday.
Standby Rescue Crews available on callout all hours every day of the year.
Terrigal Base Terrigal Haven
Operates basically daylight hours on week-ends
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