Bay Watch
New RIB boosts Marine Rescue Jurien Bay fleet
Following on from the completion of Cape Rose, Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services awarded Dongara Marine its second contract to build a new search and rescue vessel, this time for Marine Rescue Jurien Bay.
Now in service the 7.0 metre Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) was named Bay Watch following a community naming competition won by five-year-old Marcus Robartson.
The boat has an aluminium hull which is fitted with a foam-filled, D-section collar supplied by West RIBs. The vessel’s superstructure comprises a console for helm and navigation, forward of which is a forward half / cuddy cabin.
The console and forward section of the aft deck are sheltered overhead by a carbon fibre hardtop, custom manufactured by Dongara Marine to provide a longer lasting and more effective solution to the traditional canvas canopy.
The helmsperson and navigator are both provided with Shockwave suspension seats, with protection from the elements provided by a wraparound windscreen and clears.
Geraldton Marine Electronics provided a comprehensive suite of navigation, communication, and surveillance equipment including 12-inch Simrad multi-function displays with remote controls, Simrad radar, and a gyro-stabilised FLIR colour multispectral marine camera.
Fitted with twin 150hp Yamaha outboard engines, the boat achieved speeds well above 35 knots during trials.
Bay Watch was designed by Southerly Designs taking into account input from local marine rescue volunteers the vessel was custom-built and equipped by Dongara Marine to meet their needs and NSCV Class 2C survey requirements for operations with two crew and four additional personnel.
The vessel is intended for Marine Rescue use including but not limited to search, rescue, and vessel towing operations. The primary intended area of operations is in coastal and restricted offshore areas (up to 30 nautical miles off the coast) from the home port of Jurien Bay.
Introduced to the Marine Rescue Jurien Bay Group’s fleet in December 2021, the RIB complements the group’s existing rescue vessel, a larger power catamaran named Crikey.
The Dongara Marine-built RIB has the advantage of being trailerable, improving response times for incidents in the Cervantes area, south of Jurien Bay and enabling the Group to provide support for neighbouring Groups at Lancelin and Port Denison. Dongara Marine providing a road trailer custom designed and built by Duralite Trailers for this purpose.
The Jurien Bay volunteers are one of 37 Marine Rescue WA groups situated along Western Australia’s coastline from Esperance in the south to Kununurra in the north. They have been formally approved under Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) Act. A further two Marine Rescue groups – at Christmas and Cocos (Keeling ) Islands – are Commonwealth-funded.
For more information on Volunteer Marine Rescue Western Australia (VMRWA) visit www.vmrwa.org.au or its Facebook page.
Footnote: Following completion of Bay Watch, DFES and Marine Rescue Jurien Bay confirmed an order for another, larger RIB with Dongara Marine.
“We’re extremely pleased that the volunteers who use this boat have had a say in how the vessel is designed and built. That way when it comes into service the boat is suited to the local conditions and to the needs of the volunteers who will ultimately use it to keep the community safe.”
Darren Klemm AFSM - Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner
