Rodney Stevens, Clarence Valley Independent
They’re the eyes in the sky saving lives – drones – and Yamba Surf Lifesaving Club is fortunate to have some of the latest technology and highly skilled pilots controlling these amazing aircraft.
Chances are, if you went to Yamba’s Main Beach or the Yamba Ocean Swim over the holidays, you would have seen a drone, monitoring swimmers’ safety and alerting lifesavers to any problems.
Clarence Duty Officer Far North Coast Surf Lifesaving Peter Sweetman said Yamba Surf Club had been involved in the surf lifesaving Unmanned Aerial Vehicle UAV program, training 18 highly skilled pilots, since its inception in 2018.
“At that stage a company called Little Ripper had a concept of using drones in surf lifesaving and they showed us the capabilities of a drone operation at Ballina’s Shelly Beach, then they came to Yamba and did a demo for us as a rescue operation,” he said.
In 2019, Mr Sweetman said the DPI became involved and the concept of the drones shifted from just being a rescue tool to shark investigation, and the ability to identify different sharks and take actions on the beaches to provide safety.
When it came to recruiting pilots, Mr Sweetman said he reached out to the community as there are a lot of skilled locals including ex helicopter pilots, nurses and medical specialists who would provide invaluable experience.
“A lot of people were interested so I ran a training course and we have run several of the courses since,” he said.
“Some of these people didn’t have their bronze medallion and weren’t members of the surf club, so they were encouraged to do training in resuscitation and radio operations.”
Now, Mr Sweetman said some of the local pilots have also attended TAFE and obtained a higher Certificate III in Aviation (remote pilot) qualification.
“The club has three different types of DJI drones that we operate, the Mavic Pro 2 which is used most commonly, the Mavic M300 which requires a higher level of qualification as it can carry defibrillators or other rescue equipment, and the M30 which is used in adverse wet weather or windy conditions,” he said.
“We have had drones patrolling Main Beach during the holidays seven days a week.
“The drone pilots who work with the surf lifesavers are all paid.”
Due to Yamba being on a flight path between Evans Head and Sandon River, drones operated by Yamba SLSC members are restricted to 100 metres maximum elevation.
The technology has already proven it can save lives at Yamba more than once, Mr Sweetman said, it is also called on regularly by the police and surf lifesaving has a memorandum of understanding with the SES regarding drone assistance.
“In the early days when we used the DJI Phantom 4 drone there were particularly difficult seas at Main Beach, a drone went out and spotted where three people were stuck in a rip and the lifesavers and other board riders could see where the drone was, so they were able to paddle straight out and pick the three of them up,” he said.
“We have assisted the police on a number of searches, one was a missing fisherman down at Sandon, a search for a missing person at Lake Arragan and the most recent one was a search for a missing boatie at Iluka, where we searched the river for four days.”
This article appeared in the Clarence Valley Independent, 18 January 2023.
