From Broken Hill to Dublin
By Charmian Frend, Marine Rescue Middle Harbour
I was fortunate enough to be offered a chance to attend one of the Careflight Trauma Care Workshops through being a member of Marine Rescue. I joined Middle Harbour two years ago.
Various locations were offered and the Sydney spots quickly filled so I joined the Broken Hill session on 3 December 2023. Growing up in Central West NSW I wasn’t unfamiliar with country life but it was really interesting to see the differences between what we see in “the big smoke” and the country.
I arrived at the SES Depot on Sunday, and as the only one in a Marine Rescue blue uniform amongst the orange SES and the yellow RFS I got a few strange looks.
Once introductions were made the two presenters went through the theory of the course with all of us. After having done a lot of first aid/resus courses beforehand these guys were great. They kept it simple and practical. It was easy to see the reasons for dealing with trauma the way they showed us.
We then split into two groups and were challenged with real life traumas that may be common to come across. The hands on approach to these were great. They really made you think about not having a complete emergency kit and to use what was around you to do the same job (e.g. a stick and a shirt sleeve to create a tourniquet).
Being run in a remote area, the trainers acknowledged that ambulances were not going to be just around the corner and that you as a first responder would likely be there without medical assistance for a while. The course accounted for this in its presentation.
This was by far the most practical and useful emergency care workshop I have done. The two presenters – Tara and Mick – were fabulous and real. They didn’t pussyfoot around with what we may encounter, and challenged us to think outside the box and work together as a team to use what resources we had available.
The location and the facility was perfect for the day and it was especially good to be able to work with other volunteer organisations. Highly Recommended.
Just over a month later I was on the other side of the world – UK – catching up with family. Whilst in London I got in touch with the RNLI base on the Thames to try to visit but as construction was being carried out the base was only accessible via boat and so visits were on pause.
In my spare time I like to swim in cold water. In August 2020 I completed a 1600m and a 2000m swim within three days in the Snowy Mountains. Both of these were in water around 3.5 degrees. Not many have done this.
I had pre entered a swim in Dublin known as the Eastern Bay Ice Mile which was on 3 February in a 40m sea water pool. For it to be a true Ice Mile the water had to be under 5 degrees. To prepare I swam a few times around the UK in water ranging between 2-7 degrees. The 2 degrees was in the serpentine in London’s Hyde Park. There was definitely ice. Having survived that I figured I was OK to give Dublin a go.
On the day of the swim the water was disappointingly 8 degrees so it wasn’t going to be my 3rd official Ice Mile but I did do the 1600m in 28 mins. It was such a good fun event, safely and well run and the people were amazing.
One of the reasons I entered was that they raised money for the RNLI. There were a couple of RNLI members there with whom I had a great chat about our respective set ups. Their fundraising is done by separate volunteers, and the support for the organisation in both Ireland and the UK was huge. Dun Laoghaire Lifeboat Station was the closest base to where I was, but unfortunately it was a bit far away to get to in the couple of days I was there. Next time.
The biggest thrill for me was at the end of the swim I was presented with a RNLI bright orange t-shirt for being a “fellow” member. I couldn’t stop smiling.
So aside from having met such great people here since becoming a MRNSW member, I managed to be a part of a joint training exercise in the far west of NSW and within six weeks be on the other side of the world meeting fellow volunteers in Dublin.
Next – Flood rescue training.
Thank you Marine Rescue.
Charmian Frend
Crew Member Marine Rescue Middle Harbour