It has five weeks since the opening of the new Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving Club and all indications show that the building committee, have given both the members and the community a club in which they can take pride.
Already wedding functions have been held in the beautiful Ocean View Function Room and the local jazz club has also held its first evening of jazz.
A positive response to comments regarding the acoustics of the club have been taken on board and as from 9 March this will be addressed. A possible noise reduction of some 40-50 per cent is possible.
Also, a wide range of beverages are available including 30-plus boutique beers: supporting this is a menu that will please the palate.
With the ever- increasing cost of running a surf club the success of a supporter club is of the most importance: hopefully the days of our volunteers knocking on doors and begging for a donation will become nothing more than a fading memory.
Noosa medal haul
At the recent branch first aid, champion lifesaver and beach patrol titles contested at Mooloolaba, Noosa performed well.
For the Noosa first aid team legendary coach Lenore Grice once again showed why she is in the Hall of Fame. Her team finished with a total of six medals in the four divisions; four gold and two bronze. In the four divisions Noosa won all four gold medals; winning the gold in all divisions was indeed an outstanding performance.
In champion lifesaver Noosa finished with one gold and two bronze and in patrol competition one silver and one bronze, thus giving them a total of 11 medals; overall a great performance. For Sunshine it was their quietest performance of all time winning only one medal, a bronze in champion lifesaver.
Swim for Shirley
It is that time of the year again: the Shirley Strachan and Bruce Warren Memorial Swim.
Under the sponsorship of McDermott Aviation, this swim has become a tradition in the Noosa Club and now in its 19th year, it is always the biggest swims on the Noosa calendar.
The date for this event is 8 March and members wishing to take part are required to register at the beachfront of the clubhouse from 7am on.
The swim which is over a distance of 1.2km will start in Little cove at 9am sharp. On entering the water swimmers will swim to the Noosa Main Beach Rock Wall then back to Main Beach finishing line, directly in front of the clubhouse.
This event was originally started by John McDermott of McDermott Aviation in memory and respect of his great mate Shirley Strachan; former lead singer of the Skyhooks who died tragically in a helicopter crash.
The swim was organised and run for many years by Noosa lifesaver Bruce Warren and wife Sandy: then after Bruce sadly passed away his wife stepped up as organiser and has continued to do an incredible job. Bruce drove the event to ensure that a high standard of swimming was maintained throughout the club; and this he achieved.
Remember 8 March, 7am sign on and 9am start Little Cove.
Cool in crisis
On a recent Sunday afternoon the alarm was raised by Surfcom, that an off-duty lifeguard had dragged a semi- conscious swimmer from the surf at the southern end of A bay; he was requesting support and an 02 unit.
Noosa immediately sent an IRB crew and Sunshine an SSV (Side by Side Vehicle) with 02 unit. Also Wave Runner19 driver Riley Mitchell, on a roving patrol also arrived. With the above teams plus the arrival of the Helicopter Rescue the role of a team co-ordinator became vital.
This was handled by Riley Mitchell: his cool- headed performance plus the team work of both Noosa and Sunshine crews, resulted in the successful evacuation of the swimmer by rescue helicopter.
With the RT (Response Time) to lonely unpatrolled beaches, being of the utmost importance, the performance of these volunteer people shows that we have highly dedicated teams able to handle any situation.
