It was the quietest January in five years for Marine Rescue NSW.

But the state’s marine rescue volunteers still carried out 21 rescues each day on average, safely returning 1670 people to shore last month.

Marine Rescue NSW Commissioner Alex Barrell said rescue in the Illawarra were down from the same time last year, a win he attributes to skippers being better prepared before hitting the water.

“Boaters are getting the message to prep now and boat later,” he says.

“They are making sure their vessel and safety equipment are in good working order. They are carrying enough clean fuel, monitoring the weather and conditions, and logging on with Marine Rescue NSW.”

Logging on allows volunteers to initiate a search if a boater fails to return on time. 

“Almost 9000 vessels Logged On with Marine Rescue NSW last month,” says Commissioner Barrell. “Every boater should make logging on part of their pre-launch routine, it only takes a minute to log on using the free Marine Rescue NSW app or VHF Channel 16.”