Yamaha WaveRunners on Bondi rescue

The performance of Yamaha WaveRunners and Rhino work vehicles makes a fundamental difference in essential life saving work, say the lifeguards at Bondi Beach say.

“As professional lifeguards employed by the local Waverley Council, our aim is to provide the safest environment possible for our beach visitors,” said Terry McDermott, Waverly Senior Lifeguard and Media Officer for the Professional Ocean Llifeguard Association (APOLA).

“We have a stated objective of using the best equipment available. In the case of our PWCs we believe the Yamaha FX HO is the ultimate in surf lifeguarding.”

More than 50,000 people visit Bondi beach on a typical summer day and on busy days the professional ocean lifeguards are often required to provide rescue support outside of the immediate patrolled beach area. Speed is of the essence in these situations and according to McDermott, the Yamaha WaveRunner has numerous attributes that make the old rubber duckie (IRB) virtually obsolete.

“The PWC with rescue sled is a true single person operation. It can operate in shallow water, much closer to the beach than an IRB. The PWC with rescue sled is more manoeuvrable in the surf and tight situations amongst swimmers. And above all it is quicker. We use PWCs to save lives, so we demand the very best in performance and reliability. The Yamaha FX HO delivers on both counts.”

The FX HO is large enough to allow for mass rescues and has a lot of power thanks to its new 1.8lt EFI four-stroke engine. The FX HO is also used for a wide variety of routine work including regular patrol work to herd swimmers back to the designated patrol zones and shark surveillance.

There are 35 Waverly Council lifeguards on the roster at Bondi Beach and every one of them is qualified and trained to operate the Yamaha WaveRunner. At Bondi alone, Waverly Council lifeguards are responsible for more than 2000 rescues each year.

“The work that is undertaken by Waverly Council lifeguards in association with APOLA and their members is extraordinary by any measure,” said Iain MacLeod, National Sales Manager for Yamaha WaveRunners. “We are proud to be associated with Waverly Council lifeguards in association with APOLA and support them in their exceptional work.”