Safer Waters is a unique service in Northern Ireland, established in 2020 to provide a Safety Boat service for water-based community events. The service is there to support events such as Sailing, Swimming, Paddle Boarding and Windsurfing that have no safety cover of their own or may need additional resources. Safer Waters is based in Bangor Marina and serves all communities as they will travel by sea and road to any coastal or inland location.
With several big event commitments this year, such as the Irish Youth Sailing Championships in April at Ballyholme Yacht Club and rescue and mark laying for Bangor Town Regatta in June hosted by Royal Ulster, Safer Waters is currently looking for members to join the dynamic team, both on and off the water.
Mike Meharg who heads up the organisation says he is already getting calls for event coverage this year. “Following a very busy and successful first year of operations during which we supported over nine hundred participants on the water we are receiving calls already. To help meet these commitments we could do with more members to crew our boats as well as provide shore support and communications. If you would like to try something exciting and a bit different, why not get in touch and we will take you through what we do. We can provide formal training through our RYA recognised Training Centre in Bangor Marina as well as free in-house training – all are welcome. Please visit the link below or message us if you are unsure of how you could help. You are welcome to come along and meet us at one of our training evenings”.
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