VOLUNTEER

THE BASICS
You must be over 18 and reasonably fit and healthy.
You must be reliable and willing to commit time and effort to helping others
You must value the opportunity to learn new skills
You must live locally to be boat crew – no further than the township of Proserpine (doesn’t apply to radio operators)

QUALS & TRAINING
You do not require any certificates to volunteer as all training is provided, however you must be fully committed to complete essential training courses within required time frames.

EXPERIENCE
You do not need to have any specific experience to volunteer, however any prior experience you bring to your role may be useful. Radio operators with prior radio experience will adapt quickly to our radio room environment. Boat crew with prior boating experience may experience some challenges, as working on an emergency rescue boat is not in any way similar to a fishing trip! 😊 However, familiarity with boats and the environment will obviously ensure that the new learning required will progress quickly.

HEALTH AND FITNESS
A self-assessment of your own health is required at induction. Obviously boat crew require a higher level of fitness than radio operators due to the nature of the role. Any possible issues can be discussed during the induction process. Given than many volunteers are in the retirement phase of their life, aids for hearing and the wearing of glasses is quite acceptable.

BACKGROUND CHECKS
All volunteers are required to obtain a Blue Card (Working with Children) – this is organised during the induction.

Our dedicated active crew, both boat crew and radio operators, play a vital role in ensuring the safety and well-being of our boating community. There are personal benefits too i.e.

• Getting active: Get engaged, both mentally and physically, while enjoying the beauty of our coastal environment.
• Build friendships: The opportunity of working with like-minded individuals who share your interests.
• Learn new skills: Gain personal growth with new knowledge, skills and qualifications.
• Personal fulfillment: Experience the satisfaction of contributing to a cause that truly matters, knowing that you’re making a difference.
• Add to your social calendar: Join our monthly member’s meeting and social event, where all volunteers are encouraged to bring their ‘significant other’ and in a casual and social environment, mix and mingle! 🙂

1. Registration: Complete the registration form on this page, and select either Boat Crew or Radio (not both).
2. Online Induction: You will receive an email from a Training Officer, providing you with a login/password for our online Induction.  This induction will introduce you to VMR Queensland as well as VMR Whitsunday, and will provide information about many aspects of becoming a volunteer.  It will answer many of your questions.
3. Chat with Training Officer: Once you have completed the induction (it takes approximately 1-2 hours, depending on your experience), a Training Officer will phone you within 24-48 hours for a chat, and to answer any remaining questions.
4. We meet you: The next stage is a face-to-face induction where you will meet some of our Training Crew, fill out the necessary paperwork and hear about the training, how activations work and other points relevant to becoming a new Trainee.  This takes about one hour for radio operators.  Those volunteering for boat crew however, will immediately go on to be inducted onto both of our vessels, with a complete run through of equipment.  For boat crew, the whole induction will take approximately 3 hours, and is usually scheduled for a morning.
5. You’re a Trainee: At the end of this two-stage process, you will officially be a VMR Trainee and will get started on your training and study schedule. 🙂

This is one of those questions that has a ‘it depends’ answer.  🙂

RADIO OPERATORS
The time commitment for radio operators is much less than for boat crew.  There is initial online and face-to-face study to gain the Marine Radio certification, however after that the commitment required is only 5 hours per month – a morning or afternoon on weekends.  There is no ongoing study or training.

BOAT CREW
Time commitment for boat crew is necessarily more as there is a higher requirement of skill level and qualification.

• Qualifications:  From the time of induction, Trainees have six months to gain all the required qualifications, which contain both theoretical and practical aspects.  This means that there will be additional time required for study in the first 6 months.
• Boat Training:  This is a regular commitment of every Thursday afternoon from 4:30pm until about 6:30pm.  It is ongoing.
• Activations:  Once you have completed 6 Thursday boat training sessions, you are eligible to assist with activations.  There is an expectation that you will be available to be called at least one day per week, and ideally more.  This does not mean that you are guaranteed to go out on the boat…merely that you make yourself available to go out to assist should an emergency call come in.

VMR is a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) which provides a number of fully accredited courses to our volunteers.
Following are the courses available through VMR Whitsunday:

RADIO OPERATORS
Transmit and receive Information by marine radio (MARC043) – Required
Provide First Aid (HLTAID011) – Optional

BOAT CREW
Shipboard Safety Skill Set (MARSS00008) – Required
Seamanship Skills (MARN008) – Required
Provide First Aid (HLTAID011) – Required 
Transmit and receive Information by marine radio (MARC043) –Required
Cert 2 in Maritime Operations (Coxswain Grade 1 Near Coastal – MAR20321) – Optional
Coordinate Search and Rescue (MARF036) – Optional (Skippers only)

Many of our new volunteers already have a First Aid Certificate…or a Coxswain Cert ll….or a Marine Radio license.  In this case, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is readily available. Mention this at your initial chat with the Training Officer, and bring copies of your certificates to your Induction (or email them).

This only applies to Australian qualifications however.  If your qualifications are from overseas, it will be necessary for you to seek recognition through a relevant Australian authority eg Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).

This practical training is compulsory for Boat Crew only, and is a rotating series of 11 modules, held weekly on Thursdays at 4:30pm. It is ongoing and most of the sessions are conducted on our vessels at Coral Sea Marina.

Following are the topics covered during these boat training sessions:

1. General boat knowledge – learn to recognise, locate, and use all the equipment on board either boat.
2. Phone, Radio, Terminology – learn about the terminology used on the boats and also while using the VHF radio.
3. *DRILLS: Fire, Collision/Flooding – learn what to do in emergencies
4. Ropework – learn about knots and lines
5. Helmsmanship, Search & Rescue – learn about driving the boat and setting up search patterns
6. Towing – learn how to set up lines for a tow, throwing the heaving line etc
7. Dinghy, Anchoring/Mooring – learn about safe anchoring and how to launch and drive the tender
8. *DRILLS: MOB (Man over board), Fuel spill – learn more about emergency situations, and what to do
9. Pumps & Bilges – learn all about pumping water out of a sinking boat
10. Plotter/RADAR – learn about the modern instrumentation we have on our boats.
11. Navigation/Weather – learn basic navigation eg calculating speed and time, and meteorology.

* Note that modules 3 & 8 (Drills) are a legal requirement and compulsory for all crew to repeat every 6 months.

Boat training is scheduled every Thursday from 4:30 – 6:30pm.  This training is for Boat Crew(i.e. not Radio Operators) and regular attendance is compulsory. While we understand occasional absences due to unforseen work commitments, ill health etc, there is an expectation that all boat crew will attend.  This training is how our volunteers rightfully earn the reputation of ‘working like a well-oiled team’! 🙂

If you are unable to attend training on a regular basis, unfortunately you are unable to volunteer as boat crew.  But how about volunteering as a radio operator instead!  This role is also crucial as our radio room crew are in a pivotal role, acting as a communications conduit between a boat in trouble and our Search and Rescue Coordinators. It is an equally important role but the time commitment is considerably less.

This is essentially your decision but it is recommended that you refer to other FAQ items including the descriptions of time commitment and the required qualifications.

Some of our volunteers do have full-time employment, however they are willing to devote much of their free-time to VMR and usually do not have other considerably time consuming commitments eg young families or sporting schedules to work around.

If you are very keen to be part of VMR but do not have a lot of free time, perhaps consider volunteering as a radio operator instead.  This role is also crucial as our radio room crew are in a pivotal role, acting as a communications conduit between a boat in trouble and our Search and Rescue Coordinators. It is an equally important role but the time commitment is considerably less.

You’ll find lots of information here:  https://vmrwhitsundays.com.au/about-us/activations/