sea rescue summer 2012
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Sea Rescue magazine showcases the rescue efforts of the NSRI volunteers, and features crew and station news and fundraising efforts.TRANSCRIPT
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congratulationstorsten henschel,
volunteer rescue swimmer, national sea rescue institute,
station 23, wilderness.
winner of the 2012 centrum® guardian of the year
Torsten won R65 741 for his base station. The crew will use this money to renovate the fl oor of the NSRI Wilderness base and build a garage to house
one of the rescue boats at Sedgefi eld, where regular rip currents occur.
Thank you to all the voters for their contribution towards this donation.
centrum® salutes all the remarkable men and women in the emergency services!
nominateEmergency Services Personnel and Volunteers are invited to nominate their crew and colleagues for the
2013 Centrum® Guardian of the Year. Tell us the true stories of courage, passion and determination!
Website : www.centrumguardian.com Email : [email protected] Tel : 078 342 0652
Centrum® – helping our Guardians live life at 100%Terms and conditions apply. For full terms and conditions visit www.centrumguardian.com.
Marketed by: Pfi zer Consumer Healthcare. Applicant: Pfi zer Laboratories (Pty) Ltd. Co. Reg. No.: 1954/000781/07. 85 Bute Lane, Sandton, 2196, South Africa. Tel: 0860 Pfi zer (734 937). For a list of ingredients, refer to product labelling. CEN335
LETTERS
THANKS FOR AN INSPIRING MORNING Our most sincere thanks for a delightful morning at the nursery. Janet Burgess, your talk on NSRI’s brave volunteers was very thought-provoking, while Eric’s very informative contribution left us all eager to get going on fertilisers and weed control.
The muffins and scones that we had for tea were amazing, so thank you to your staff in the café. We enjoyed a super morning together in the winter sunshine and left feeling renewed and relaxed.Our sincere thanks to everyone concerned.From us all at Waterfall Gardens, via Jan and Brian Warren
SPREADING THE WORD Thank you, Rhona Manack, for a very interesting talk the other night. Your enthusiasm was infectious, and the interest you generated can be measured by the fact that people are talking about the NSRI as a local organisation, not just a coastal one.
Thank you for you efforts and well done.God bless you, and keep up the good work.
John Molloy
FROM FELLOW RESCUERS Thanks for the magazine. It’s good to hear about all the other volunteer and rescue organisations in South Africa. We at the Off-Road Rescue Unit (ORRU) are land-based, and also work and interface with all the official departments and organisations. This is just to let the NSRI know that you are not alone. Keep up the good work. Johan Dalhuijsen, Fluor SA (Pty) Ltd
ASSISTING SAWDNIt is so heartening to know that there are people like yourself and others who really care about nature and the environment.
Well done, I salute you all! You make me proud to be a South African.Karien van der Vyver, Consular Services
Congratulations to Jimmy Baigrie for writing the winning letter. We do hope you will enjoy your Slaley hamper!
WINNING LETTER
Although our 23-year-old son, Nic, and a fellow hiker, Herman, from the Eden to Addo Initiative had us covered when your team reached us, we were all very grateful that Mark and his crew took over in supporting me back over the rocky and steep remaining sections from the Witsand beach.
As a sailor, NSRI minor donor/magazine subscriber, Rotarian and general Cape Town layabout, I have been involved with NSRI functions, fundraisers and friends over the years, and have always noted the positive approach and team spirit of the NSRI personnel on duty. That Sunday was no exception. Having called for help early rather than late due to deteriorating weather (and legs!), we were made to feel more like friends returning from a beach party than invaders of Sunday-afternoon recreation and family time for your whole team. And every step of the way, I had three of the team within an arm’s length to support and secure me when needed.
Please do convey to everyone involved the great gratitude and respect of my wife, Ingrid, and myself. Teams that do the easier tasks with complete attention to technical and human detail will be better for it by far when the difficult rescues arise.
Volunteerism is essential for human life in society, and Mark and his team exemplified the value it adds for us all.
Again, many thanks.Jimmy Baigrie
SEA RESCUE • SUMMER 2012/13 05
A WELL-ORGANISED JOINT WORKSHOP IN PEI want to share my appreciation for the warm welcome my team and I received when we met with Station 21 (St Francis Bay), Station 37 (Jeffreys Bay), Transnet National Ports Authority PE and the Ngqura team at Station 6 (Port Elizabeth).
The team really went out of their way to make us feel at home. The discipline displayed by all the ladies and gents who attended the SAR workshop was really amazing. Every one had given up their family time to be with us at Station 6.
It was worth it; we enjoyed your company, everything was well organised for the purposes of the workshop, and the enthusiasm from everyone to improve on what they are already doing in the spirit of saving lives was amazing.
Keep up the good work, ladies and gentlemen. Nontsindiso Tshazi, Head: Centre for Sea Watch and Response, Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, Cape Town
Station 10 (Simon’s Town) crew assist with a whale rescue in False Bay on Madiba Day
NO TIME TO LOSEeTHEKWINI LIFEGUARDS DIDN’T HESITATE TO ASSIST WHEN A BOAT CAPSIZED AT OASIS BEACH IN DURBAN. ALL IN A DAY’S WORK, THEY MIGHT SAY, BUT IN THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE 11 PEOPLE WERE SAVED DUE TO
THEIR BRAVERY AND QUICK THINKING. ANDREW INGRAM FINDS OUT MORE
Main photograph: eThekwini Municipal Lifeguards Kuben Patter, Jace Govender and Manzi Siphiwe were the heroes of the day. Top series: Lifeguards and Sea Rescue crew righting the RIB after all 11 casualties were rescued.
J ace Govander and his team of eThekwini Municipal Lifeguards had started their day’s duty at 08h00 as usual. It was a gorgeous Durban winter’s day: the sun was
shining and the temperature hovered in the low 20s. It was the sort of day that makes Durban such a great place to visit out of season.
Being a Tuesday, there were a few people on the beach but it was hardly crowded.
Jace had finished with his morning chores, his team of lifeguards were at their stations and he was in his double-cab bakkie, heading for his first meeting of the day, when his radio crackled to life.
The tone of voice from the Country Club lifeguards had Jace’s attention at once, and the message galvanised him into action.
‘Boat capsized in the surf at Oasis Beach.’Jace switched on his siren and put his foot down on the
accelerator. He swung off the road and onto the beach, engaging 4x4.
At Battery Beach, about 400m from the capsized boat, two of his colleagues, Manzi Siphiwe and Kuben Patter, were waiting for him, torpedo buoys in hand, and as he slowed down, the two lifeguards swung onto the back of the truck.
Jace stepped on the petrol again.‘It was not far to drive on the beach; it probably took only
a minute or so,’ said Jace.Stopping opposite the upturned hull being battered by
waves, the two men on the back jumped off and ran into the surf, their torpedo buoys trailing behind them as they started to swim to the people who had been tossed into the water as the boat capsized.
‘There were life jackets bobbing around all over the place,’ says Jace.
As his lifesavers started to pull their first two casualties out of the water, Jace was on his cell to Netcare911 asking for medical back-up, and then on his radio to his base station, asking for the NSRI to be called urgently, before he too went into the water.
What seemed like a long time was actually only minutes and, looking up, the men in the water were happy to see their Country Club lifeguard colleagues arriving with Malibu rescue boards.
The boat that had capsized was a 7.3m rigid inflatable boat (RIB) Bafana, operated by a boat-charter company from Durban’s Wilson’s Wharf, and the people in the surf were tourists, two from Germany and nine from the Netherlands.
‘I pulled the last guy out, and asked the skipper if everybody
was accounted for... but he wasn’t sure. Then the guy said that his girlfriend was missing,’ said Jace.
‘I scanned the water. No life jackets were visible so she was either under water or under the hull.’
The upturned hull was being pushed onto the beach, as Jace realised that the woman could well be trapped under it.
‘I said to Manzi, “Follow me,” and ran to the boat.’
The men pushed it into deeper water and as soon as he could, Jace dived under the pontoon.
‘I saw a hand and the orange of the life jacket and pulled her out.’
It was the missing woman.Manzi then also dived under and he found another person
trapped, and with a huge effort he, too, was pulled to safety.When the boat capsized, the two casualties were trapped
by their life jackets. It was impossible for them to swim under the pontoons to safety without help.
Asked afterwards what it was like diving under the hull in the surf, Jace is quiet for a few seconds before he says, ‘We are trained to swim in the surf zone.’
It required an extraordinary effort from the lifeguards – not only finding the two people in a tangle of ropes while holding their breath, but they then had to pull them from under the upturned hull against the resistance of a life jacket.
‘It’s our job. We are used to it,’ said Jace.‘All of the tourists were taken to hospital,’ said Chris Botha,
one of the Netcare911 medics who arrived to help. ‘The woman who was trapped under the hull spent two days
in ICU. She had a lot of fluid on her lungs and was suffering from near-drowning symptoms.’
The bravery of Manzi and Jace in diving under the hull in the surf certainly saved two lives, and who knows what would have happened if the lifeguards had not been so quick in their response to the capsized boat. SR
SEA RESCUE • SUMMER 2012/13 11
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WHEN THE BOAT CAPSIZED THE TWO CASUALTIES WERE TRAPPED BY
THEIR LIFE JACKETS. IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO SWIM UNDER THE
PONTOONS TO SAFETY WITHOUT HELP
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PLATINUM PARTNERSHIPS
GOLD PARTNERSHIPS: BAGTECH INTERNATIONAL • DE BEERS MARINE • FISHING DIVISION (FOODCORP) • FREDDY HIRSCH GROUP • ITALTILE • LUSITANIA MARKETING SERVICES • MACS MARITIME SHIPPING • OCEANA • SAPPI LTD • SFG ENGINEERING • SVITZER SALVAGE AFRICA • TMS SOUTH AFRICA LTD • TWO OCEANS MARINE • VIKING FISHING
NSRI’S HEAD OFFICE IS FUNDED THROUGH OUR FAITHFUL PLATINUM SPONSORS. ALL OTHER DONATIONS CAN THEREFORE BE SET ASIDE FOR RESCUE WORK.
14 SEA RESCUE • SUMMER 2012/13
NEWSBULLETIN BOARD
PAYING IT FORWARDWhen we are no longer able to use our equipment, we like to pass it on to other deserving causes.
IN THE
The Big IssueDuring the recent rains in Cape Town, NSRI Marketing Manager Andrew Ingram became concerned about the dedicated The Big Issue vendors who were selling their magazines at the traffic lights despite the downpour. We had recently ‘retired’ some of our foul-weather gear from active service. (The gear protects our rescuers when out at sea and consists of a thick padded jacket with hood and matching dungaree pants.) Since this clothing had been donated to us, we were happy to pass it on to another good cause, The Big Issue vendors.*The Big Issue is a non-profit organisation that creates jobs for unemployed, homeless and socially excluded adults.
Up for retirementn Station 20’s (Shelly Beach) rescue craft Caltex Discovery came up for retirement recently. This craft has performed exceptionally, and although she has come to the end of her designed life as a rescue vessel, she is still in very good nick. We felt that her legacy should continue and, with Caltex’s blessing, we have donated her to the SA Sea Cadets. She will be stationed in Gordon’s Bay.n As a member of the IMRF (International Maritime Rescue Federation), we share information and equipment with our fellow rescue organisations around the world. We have been blessed a number of times, and now have the privilege of blessing the Asociación Honoraria de Salvamentos Marítimos y Fluviales (ADES) in Uruguay. Early next year we will be donating two rescue boats that are due for retirement and which we have not been able to sell. As always, the receiving organisation will approach a shipping company for free shipping of these donated assets.
BULLETIN BOARD
While on a visit to the US Air Force, our Sea Rescue Helicopter Unit (SRHU) was invited to take part in the 2012 Pararescue Rodeo and won the Bootlegger Boat Run! Top: The winning team (from left): Marcus Oshry (PE), Graeme Watson (Table Bay), Brad Thomas (Plettenberg Bay) and Kevin Warren (PE). Above: It was rough out there – Kim Germishuys took this picture of the team during the race from a jet ski.
Boat club members support Station 34 Over the years, members of the Yzerfontein Boat Club have been very supportive of their relatively young NSRI base, Station 34. Being from a predominantly small fishing village, the guys all know one another and understand the commitment made by the volunteer staff, who have worked hard to get things up and running. During recent years, the club members have helped raise funds to purchase waterproof radios, survival clothing, dry suits and trauma boards, and have also organised various cash donations. Recently they raised R27 000, which will go towards the building of the new NSRI base.
BULLETIN BOARD
Rescuing the chukkiesOn the afternoon of Friday 31 August, Station 30 (Agulhas) was called when gale-force winds threatened to sink chukkies in Struisbaai Harbour. Two had already broken their moorings and others were at risk of being swamped. Our rescue volunteers worked for two hours using the 4.7m I&J Rescuer II to take crew out to these boats and then assisted them to get the boats out of the water.Words of encouragement that we received from our supporters:Well done! Knap gedaan! – Cornelis HamNice to see ’the little guys’ getting helped. Not always about the ‘big sea drama’. It’s great to know you guys are there for all ocean users. Good one, guys and girls! – Charles KohlerHats off to you guys! Lovely to see. Makes my heart happy! – Shannon WeyersThat was such a gale. Well done for saving those boats! – LauraAs a life member of NSRI, I am always very proud of all the volunteers when I read tales of their heroic deeds, large or small, out there in the worst of conditions helping to save life and limb, whenever it is necessary! Well done! – Vic Procter
NSRI CEO Ian Wienburg was invited to attend the International Maritime Rescue Federation’s (IMRF) Mass Rescue Conference in Gothenburg, Sweden, in June this year. The aim of the conference was to highlight the challenges facing rescue personnel involved in mass rescues on the water.
Around 200 delegates from around the world gathered on the opening night on a ferry in the Gothenburg Harbour inlet. Their meet-and-greet was, however, shorter than expected. As Ian explains, ‘We were expecting the normal drinks and introduction, when we were instructed to “Abandon ship!”’ All delegates were given life jackets and shown to the blow-up platform where they were ushered into one of two large life rafts.
‘It really was no fun,’ explains Ian. ‘Once we were in the life rafts, it was virtually impossible to move. Then we really had to improvise as there was a mock casualty on board who had to be evacuated by helicopter; we tried to form two rows to pass the person along to get them to the entrance… It was extremely difficult, even though we were in sheltered waters.’
This unusual conference introduction really put it all into perspective for the delegates, says Ian. Being the casualties in this instance forced everyone to work together. ‘And it set the tone of the whole conference, as we were now the recently saved.’
‘More and more liners are taking to the oceans and seas, with as many as 4 000 souls on board,’ Ian concludes. ‘So this conference is becoming more and more important for rescue teams.’
Mass Rescue Conference
Thank you to Belinda Benson of Harcourts in Simon’s Town for the donation of new carpets, which were fitted to Station 10’s training room. She is pictured here holding the cheque with station commander Darren Zimmerman
BULLETIN BOARD
18 SEA RESCUE • SUMMER 2012/13
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LIFE BOAT CIRCLE
Life boat Circle is a society for retired persons.
For more information, contact Margaret McCulloch on 082 990 5976 or email
THANK YOU FOR THE DONATIONS RECEIVED
SPECIAL OCCASIONS• Margaret Arendse (birthday) • Julie Christiansen (birthday)
• Julie & Vernon Christiansen (wedding anniversary)
IN MEMORY OF LOVED ONES• Mr RV Marcoolyn, Kloof • Mr Cyril Rand, Essex, UK
• Terry Henry • Ginger Brown • Mr JD Moore
ASHES LOGOur respects were paid and the details of the
following scatterings recorded in the ship’s log:
• Vernard Spockter, Station 3 (Table Bay) • Jan Willem Gerard Thoolen off Rooi Els, False Bay
• Lavinia Juanita Smith in Simon’s Bay
Janet Burgess and members of KwaZulu-Natal’s Life boat Circle attended a fun morning event held at Two Acres Tea garden. Despite heavy rain and mist, all the invited members arrived.
Margaret McCulloch from Cape Town recently visited Probus Clubs in the Cape Winelands. Pictured here (top) are members of the Probus Ladies’ Club in Somerset West, and (above) a group from the Probus Men’s Club in Stellenbosch.
20 SEA RESCUE • SUMMER 2012/13
Spreading the water-safety message
WATERWISE
28 SEA RESCUE • SUMMER 2012/13
A s a relatively new member of the WaterWise education team (for the Cape Winelands area), Desiree Pinetown has certainly made her time count. Desiree joined
WaterWise at the beginning of August and after a week of training, gave her first class at Ronwe Primary School in Paarl. And since then nearly 5 000 children have heard her WaterWise message.
A passion for teaching and the tragic loss of a relative to drowning fuelled Desiree’s desire to get out in the field and become actively involved in education, as she puts it, ‘outside the classroom’. And the WaterWise programme offered her the perfect opportunity to combine her skills as a professional teacher with her wish to uplift children and encourage them to excel at life and their future careers.
It’s a holistic view that is proving to be ‘very successful and very inspiring’, says Andrew Ingram, NSRI marketing manager and WaterWise supervisor.
Desiree’s lessons cover water safety near pools, dams, rivers and ponds, rip currents and how to get out of them, and basic bystander CPR. But then she also gets the other teachers involved. ‘I ask the language teachers to incorporate my demonstration into the learners’ creative writing classes. And during life orientation and arts-and-culture lessons, we organise for learners to make posters and banners to promote water safety. In this way, they can display them at school and also promote water safety in the community,’ she explains.
Desiree aims to visit three schools a week and, to manage the lessons, she divides the pupils into four manageable groups. ‘This way you get the children’s undivided attention,
and there’s no disruptive behaviour,’ she smiles.The responses she has received have been more than
overwhelming. ‘We really should give children more credit,’ she says. ‘They are intelligent and can quickly grasp important concepts.’ She has also seen that for those youngsters who have witnessed drownings or near drownings, the demonstrations are a way for them to process the trauma of the experience. While they might still not be able to talk about the event, ‘the water safety tips give them something positive to hold onto’.
The workshops, she believes, are of critical and integral value to learners who come from rural areas. ‘It’s a step in the right direction as it will encourage both the learners and their teachers to overcome their fears.’
To this end, Desiree is grateful for TNPA’s commitment and for the company’s contribution that has made it possible to spread water-safety awareness and empower young people to rise above their circumstances. SR
Water safety is incorporated into all aspects of the learners’ classes
Children get to practise basic bystander CPR
Desiree Pinetown inspiring learners during her water-safety workshops
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13593 MITSUBISHI NSRI SEA RESCUE MAGAZINE AD_5.indd 1 2012/10/29 5:25 PM
There are three main types of skin cancer – basal-cell skin cancer, squamous cell skin cancer and melanoma, with the latter getting the most publicity. Referring to a form of cancer that starts with a flat, pigmented lesion, it can occur anywhere on the body or face, not just in pre-existing naevi (moles), says Professor Norma Saxe, a dermatologist from Cape Town.
She adds that people with a very fair skin, red or blonde hair, freckles and numerous pigmented naevi are more susceptible, and that they need to avoid sun exposure, use high-factor sun-protection creams and cover up with protective clothing. Furthermore, genetics – and gender – also come into play: ‘Melanoma develops in a person with a genetic predisposition, together with excessive sun exposure, and studies have shown that the most common sites of melanomas are the lower extremities in females and the trunk in males.’
Although skin cancer is most prevalent in white people, brown-skinned people are also prone to sun-related damage – especially around their eyes, nails, feet and on scars, where the skin’s tissue has already been damaged. You’re at a higher risk if you have a tendency to burn easily and get blisters, or if you have large or irregular moles.
Warning signsProfessor Saxe explains that there are a number of symptoms that can point to melanoma, including the following irregularities on moles:
n Asymmetry (irregular arrangement of colour) n Irregular border (outline) n Irregular mixtures of the colours black, grey, brown, red or white n An increase in size (diameter).
Although she says that melanoma development is usually a relatively slow process – ‘possibly a year or more’ – it can occasionally form in just a few days or weeks. Once again, this highlights the importance of early detection through regular skin checks and screenings.
In the case of skin cancer, surgery is always the first line of treatment, explains Professor Saxe. She adds that during surgery, an adequate margin needs to be excised to make sure it’s all completely removed. ‘Further treatment depends on the stage or depth or thickness of growth of the melanoma. But usually, if the melanoma is in a severe stage, the most likely treatment would be a high dose of Interferon.’
Safety firstIn terms of preventative measures, Professor Saxe points out that it’s interesting that outdoor workers seem to develop an immunity to developing melanoma, ‘possibly due to the effect of sunlight thickening the outer layer of the skin’. However, depending on their skin colour, they’re still likely to develop basal- or squamous-cell skin cancer, she says. ‘They should wear a hat and protective clothing whenever possible.’
13593 MITSUBISHI NSRI SEA RESCUE MAGAZINE AD_5.indd 1 2012/10/29 5:25 PM
I ’m going over some technical data on a logistics project when my mobile phone interrupts us. My phone is on silent. Only contacts in my ‘Rescue’
category will ring out loud. I answer immediately.Shoreco tells me we’re being tasked: a ship is
foundering with a crew of 20 some 95nm northwest of Saldanha. Am I available?
I make hurried apologies and walk out to my car, phoning my wife and then the office to give them warning that I’m on a call-out. I take my settings off silent and mentally start all the checks.
My mind is a blur of lists and procedures, all of them automatically streaming as my body goes through the paces of getting mobile and driving towards the airbase. Incoming text messages from Shoreco keep me informed of who the crew is and to which helicopter team I am assigned. I dig out my security pass card and put on my unit peaked cap. I’m going to be airborne again.
This is what months of training, hours upon hours in the pool, session upon session of HUET training, boat jumps and drills have prepared me for.
The guard at the gate is expecting me, and in my mirror I see another crewman follow me onto the base. I’m the second one to arrive, but already the gear is neatly stacked outside the door.
Nearby there is more focused activity and a sense of purpose in the base as a tug draws an Oryx to the hard stand. It is tail number 1237. My favourite.
As our crew gathers, Shoreco’s text messages keep coming in and our RO is replying as he feeds back our progress. We discuss details as we suit up. Buddies check each other.
A new text comes in. As I read it, I get a renewed sense of urgency and people around me are moving with a calm swiftness seen only in well-seasoned emergency personnel.
An engine spools up into life and the whine indicates that an Oryx is running up. This means the winch man is going to test his line fully; we have just been ratcheted up to a new priority.
34 SEA RESCUE • SUMMER 2012/13
ON A SORTIEANDY CONNELL REMEMBERS A RESCUE THAT LEFT A LASTING IMPRESSION
CREW STORY
36 SEA RESCUE • SUMMER 2012/13
WHILE STILL ON THE VULNERABLE LIST, IT’S ENCOURAGING TO NOTE THAT THE NUMBER OF OYSTERCATCHERS IS CLIMBING, EXPLAINS NATURALIST GEORGINA JONES
T he African black oystercatcher is a familiar sight on Western Cape beaches, with its glamorous dark plumage and vivid red legs, eyes and bill. So striking
were the legs to the early naturalists that the genus it belongs to is known as Haemotopus – which means blood-red legs. There is some dispute about the number of species in the genus, but somewhere between seven and 12 species inhabit shores and lagoons around the world, the bulk of them in the southern hemisphere, and two are known in South Africa.
One, the Eurasion or common pied oystercatcher is a rare vagrant that is occasionally blown down south from its normal northern hemisphere habitat. When it is seen here, it is shy and tends to stick to sandy shores, though it can sometimes be seen in groups with local oystercatchers. It’s impossible to confuse with the African black: although it has the blood-red legs of the genus, its chest and belly are white. The African black is known only from Namibia and along the West Coast of South Africa to Mazeppa Bay in the Eastern Cape, even though these birds have recently started to breed in southern KwaZulu-Natal. And in this last fact lies a story.
African black oystercatchers are among the rarest coastal birds in the country, with precise numbers unknown, but
estimated somewhere around 6 000 birds. They are listed as near threatened and are especially vulnerable to human disturbance since they make their nests on the ground just above the high-tide mark and breed in the summer when most people like to visit the coast.
That their population is recovering and their breeding range is expanding is the result of human intervention, both expected and accidental.
Local oystercatchers are long-lived birds, the largest of the world’s oystercatchers. They are monogamous, forming breeding pairs that may stay together for many years, even decades. When breeding, they are territorial and are likely to make their rather casual nest-scrapes in almost exactly the same place year after year. These nest-scrapes are usually several metres above the high-tide mark, in sandy areas near rocks or pieces of kelp. Here the female lays her clutch of one to (rarely) three greenish grey-to-black speckled eggs. Hatching usually occurs in slightly over a month, after which both parents forage to provide food for the downy grey chicks.
Because they nest on the ground near beaches, oystercatchers are vulnerable to human disturbance. Off-road vehicles can destroy nests by driving over them, or crush
IN THE WILD
COASTAL WARRIORS
chicks sheltering in vehicle tracks. Domestic dogs eat eggs and chicks, and may cause adults to leave the nest, as do vehicles and walkers. This may result in predation of the unprotected eggs or chicks by gulls or snakes, in eggs overheating or the chicks dying from too much heat and sun exposure. Unattended chicks may also drown. Since oystercatchers are long-lived, they breed only slowly and nesting success fell drastically as more people spent time on nesting beaches.
South Africa has protected nesting sites, banned off-road vehicles on beaches and excluded dogs from beaches at certain seasons, and a dramatic increase in nesting success has been the result. Even today, nesting success outside of protected areas is about one third of that inside reserves. Protection works. But this isn’t the whole story behind the increase in the oystercatcher population.
Oystercatchers, despite their name, don’t often eat oysters. They do eat shellfish, though: mainly mussels and limpets. Because their main prey is found in the intertidal zone, oyster-catchers must be active at low tide and therefore forage both day and night. Stormy seas can make it more difficult for them to find food and it might be winter storms that ensure that their breeding season is the summer. Their prey is also difficult to get at, so fledglings have to be fed for some time after hatching. Females are slightly larger than males and have longer, more pointed beaks. They tend to specialise in eating mussels, while males, smaller and with shorter more chisel-like beaks, tend to prey on limpets, though neither sex eats one group exclusively.
Also, there are differences in how they forage around the coast. On the West Coast, where their prey is abundant, oystercatchers are relatively common, and spend only about a third of low-tide time foraging. Even when rearing two chicks, adults spend less than two thirds of the available time foraging.
On the south and east coasts, life is more challenging. Here, adults must forage longer to satisfy their dietary
requirements: close on two thirds of available foraging time is required to feed an adult, and two egg clutches are very rare and extremely unlikely to result in successful fledglings. Unfortunately, the south and east coasts are warmer and more attractive to people as holiday destinations, which means that exactly where life is hardest for oystercatchers is where the effects of human disturbance is the greatest.
Why then is the population increasing so much? Nesting-site protection can only go so far. The answer to this seems to have begun back in the 1970s, when an alien mussel was introduced to Saldanha Bay, probably from ballast water. This mussel is the Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, and it has taken to our coast with enthusiasm, resulting in a superabundance of food for oystercatchers. It grows higher on the shore than native mussels do and has a less sturdy attachment to rocks, so it is both easier to remove and available to the birds for longer periods of time each day.
All of which has resulted in a dramatic increase in oystercatcher numbers, even though many birds don’t get to breed very young. Since breeding pairs are territorial and juveniles are highly likely to return to their nesting sites to breed, there often isn’t space for them, and many birds are between six and 10 years old the first time they get to breed. They still like to eat limpets, though, and choose them in greater numbers than limpet abundance would suggest.
Limpets are having a tough time of things as a result. The Mediterranean mussel crowds them out of rock space, which they can cope with as they settle on the mussel shells as juveniles, but they are grazers and still need algae beds to feed on. So as long as their shores are less than three-quarters covered with mussels, limpets can still survive. But add selective oystercatcher feeding pressure to the mix, along with increased numbers of oystercatchers, and the future for native limpets looks bleak. SRPH
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Main photograph and above: The eye-catching black African oystercatcher, characterised by its red legs, eyes and beak. Top right: Oystercatchers must wait until tides are low enough to forage for their prey. Above right: Because oystercatchers nest on beaches, the chicks are vulnerable to beach goers, domestic animals and the elements.
SEA RESCUE • SUMMER 2012/13 37
STN 18 • MELKBOSSTRANDStatCom: Rhine Barnes (082 990 5958Craft: Spirit of the Vines – 6.5m RIB, Men’s Health Rescuer – 4.2m Zapcat, Discovery Rescue Runner 4Needs: 48-inch flat-screen TV for training
STN 19 • RICHARDS BAYStatCom: Cornel du Toit (082 990 5949Craft: Spirit of Richards Bay – 12m rescue craft, Spirit of Round Table – 7m RIB, Rotary Ann – 4m rescue craftNeeds: Painting and waterproofing of boathouse interior
STN 20 • SHELLEY BEACHStatCom: Mark Harlen (082 990 5950Fuel sponsor: CaltexCraft: Caltex Endeavour – 7.3m RIB, Caltex Challenger II – 5.5m RIB, Spirit of Le Jenmar I – 4m rescue craft, Discovery Rescue Runner 8Needs: Portable screen for data projector
STN 21 • ST FRANCIS BAYStatCom: Marc May (082 990 5969Fuel sponsor: CBF Motors, HumansdorpCraft: Spirit of St Francis II – 8.5m RIB, Eikos Rescuer I – 5.5m RIBNeeds: Sea bags for crew
STN 22 • VAAL DAMStatCom: Dick Manten (083 626 5128Fuel sponsor: SasolCraft: Harvey’s Fibreglass – 5.5m RIB, Discovery Rescue Runner 11 Needs: Waterproof camera
STN 23 • WILDERNESSStatCom: Hennie Niehaus (082 990 5955Craft: Spirit of Rotary 100 – 5.5m RIB, Serendipity – 4.2m rescue craft, Die Swart Tobie – 4.2m RIB, Discovery Rescue Runner 1Needs: Varnishing of rescue base
STN 24A • LAMBERT’S BAYStatCom: Ron Selley (082 922 4334Craft: Private vessels are used for rescues
STN 25 • HARTBEESPOORT DAMStatCom: Rod Pitter (082 990 5961Fuel sponsor: SasolCraft: Afrox Rescuer II – 5.5m RIBNeeds: Office equipment, medical supplies
STN 26 • KOMMETJIEStatCom: Tom Coetzee (082 990 5979 Craft: Spirit of Winelands – 5.5m RIB, FNB Wavescapes – 4.7m RIB, Discovery Rescue Runner 7Needs: 2 air hoses (8m) with connections
STN 27 • VICTORIA LAKE, GERMISTONStatCom: Graham Hartlett (082 441 6989Fuel sponsor: SasolCraft: Vodacom Rescuer V – 4.7m RIBNeeds: Whiteboard for training
STN 28A • PORT ST JOHNSStatCom: John Costello (082 550 5430Craft: Walvan Rescuer – 4.2m rescue craft, Freemason’s Way – 5.5m RIB
STN 29 • AIR SEA RESCUEStatCom: André Beuster (082 990 5980 Craft: PJ1 – collapsible 4.7m, PJ2 – collapsible 4.7m Needs: Toolbox, concertina-type safety gate, extractor fan
STN 30 • AGULHASStatCom: Reinard Geldenhuys (082 990 5952Craft: Vodacom Rescuer VII – 8.5m RIB, I&J Rescuer II – 4.7 RIB Needs: Data projector for training room
STN 31 • STILL BAYStatCom: Enrico Menezies (082 990 5978Craft: Spirit of St Francis – 7.3m RIB, Colorpress Too – 4.2m rescue craftNeeds: Toolbox with tools, long stepladder
STN 32 • PORT EDWARDStatCom: Mick Banks (082 990 5951Craft: Wild Coast Sun Rescuer – 7.3m RIB, Discovery Rescue Runner 6Needs: Sponsor to repaint exterior, interior and floor of base
STN 33 • WITSANDStatCom: Attie Gunter (082 990 5957Craft: Queenie Paine – 5.5m RIB, Falcon Rescuer – 4.5m RIB, Discovery Rescue Runner 9Needs: Lockable stationery cupboard, hand-held GPS
STN 34 • YZERFONTEINStatCom: Rudi Rogers (082 498 7330Craft: Rotary Onwards – 7.3m RIB, Spirit of Iffley – 4.2m rescue craft, Discovery Rescue Runner 10 Needs: Funds towards new boathouse
STN 36 • OYSTER BAYStatCom: Mark Mans (083 653 6387Craft: Pierre – 4.7m RIB, Oyster Bay I (jetski)Needs: 4x4 tractor (can be second-hand), heavy-duty trailer
STN 37 • JEFFREYS BAYStatCom: Rieghard Janse van Rensburg (071 896 6831Craft: Loved 1s 24: – 4.2m rescue craft, two jet skis, Discovery Rescue Runner 12Needs: 32-inch flat-screen TV for training, LED waterproof torches
TO REACH NSRI AFTER HOURS, PLEASE CALL MERIEL BARTLETT ON 082 994 7555 OR CRAIG LAMBINON ON 082 380 3800. FOR GENERAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL NSRI’S HEAD OFFICE IN CAPE TOWN ON (021) 434 4011.
BE
TT
ER
HA
LF
Chaparral cuts right to the chase. Founder
Buck P
eggs’ lifelong passion for building
premier quality, perform
ance minded boats
has continued right up
until now. The
ultimate threesom
e - equal parts bowrider,
sport boat and cruiser.
The pride of Robalo started in 1968 and
continues in your heart. The strength and
stamina of R
obalo fulfi ls all your demands.
Isn’t it time you start your love affair w
ith
Chaparral and R
obalo?
For enquiries on Chaparral or R
obalo please contact your nearest H
onda M
arine dealership
or go to w
ww
.chaparralb
oats.com or w
ww
.robalo.com
.
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Durb
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046 624 1189 | Port S
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andb
urg 011 789 4934 | S
odw
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264 61 381 600 | Harare +
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uto +
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1THREAD_4335_NSR