After years of the old faithfuls taking to the water, the team realised it was time for some better boats.
‘‘We’ve had these boats since 2013 and they were good for the jobs they needed to do, but we needed an upgrade,’’ squad president James Mackenzie-Ross said.
‘‘We applied for a grant through the Victorian Emergency Services Equipment Program in about September/October last year and approached Xtreme Marine, told them what we wanted to do and they’ve done an awesome job.’’
The grant was approved and that’s when the plans began.
Xtreme Marine was able to provide the team with new boats, equipped with Mercury SeaPro engines and command thrust gearbox, as well as new trailers to transport the boats — a step up from the two stacked trailers they previously had.
‘‘A high trust engine will give the guys enough push, especially in a rescue situation,’’ Xtreme Marine representative Paul Eade said.
‘‘If it’s high currents or they need to rescue someone from the water, it’s really going to be fit for purpose for what these guys need to do.’’
The team is now able to provide the assistance at the highest standard and the squad couldn’t be more thankful.
‘‘We really want to thank the guys at Mercury and Xtreme Marine,’’ Mr Mackenzie-Ross said.
‘‘We really appreciate them helping us out and getting everything sorted so quickly.’’
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