Lower Herbert Neighbourhood and Marine Watch

07/06/2026

Congratulations on the opening of the Sea Ranger Base at Dungeness/Lucinda. Fantastic to have this base locally. Great day for opening day too

07/06/2026

Four blokes on a fishing trip to Bramble Reef had fuel line problems on the return trip, and their motor died about 10 nautical miles north-east of the end of the sugar conveyor belt, last Thursday morning.

A call to Lucinda Coast Guard ensued, and a crew was organised to take our secondary vessel "JJ" out to find them and tow them back to Dungeness.

With very little water on the sandbar, and the tide dropping rapidly, we couldn't use our larger vessel, but the smaller RHIB made it ok.

Conditions were not good, with a strong south-westerly wind whipping up a nasty cross-swell and white-caps on both the run out, and worse on the tow back, however the distressed vessel was safely returned to the boat ramp.

Stay safe on the water.

06/06/2026

HELP Inc. would like to thank our community who have supported us in our HELP Raffle Nights at Lucinda Hotel, thank you everyone. We are proud to have been able to support our Lucinda Coastguard and the tremendous work they do as volunteers.

A new trailer for our RHIB "JJ"

Being a not-for-profit charity organisation, Lucinda Coast Guard depends on grants and donations to operate our vessels.

Our secondary vessel "JJ"' s boat trailer, after 15 years of sterling service, was fast approaching its use-by date, and needed to be replaced.

The wonderful crew at HELP, (Halifax Emergency Liaison Partnership), who hold fundraising events to support emergency services in the area, offered to donate the cost of a new trailer, an offer we are very grateful for.

At the Lucinda Point Hotel last night, Commander Steve and Admin Officer Coral met with the HELP team to do the official presentation of our new trailer.

Thank you to all the members of the HELP team, your work is wonderful and a credit to our local community. The new trailer will keep "JJ" operational for many years to come.

04/05/2026

Across the world, on May 4, we stand united by a profound sense of remembrance and respect.

International Firefighters’ Day is more than a date.
It is a shared global moment — a moment to pause.

To remember and honour the lives of those who have passed.
To commemorate the courage and commitment of those who serve today.
To educate and inspire those who will serve in the future.

This day provides us with space to reflect on courage, on service freely given without expectation, and on lives lost while protecting others.

A life lived in service of others is never forgotten.

The legacy of those we honour does not fade with time. It lives on in the values they embodied and in the communities they protected.

Wherever May 4 finds you today, we thank you.

www.firefightersday.org

13/04/2026

A family day out turns bad

Last Sunday morning a couple with 3 children took their Shark Cat over to Pelorus Island for a swim and snorkel, but then discovered that their steering mechanism had failed, and they could not steer the boat. Lucinda Coast Guard received the call for help at 8.15 am, and the Commander rang around to find a crew.
Our rescue vessel "JJ" was soon launched, and headed over to Pelorus, a trip of around 30 minutes on a good day, and soon had a tow line attached.
The return trip to Dungeness was a very slow one, as without steering, the towed vessel swung all over the place, but the professional volunteer crew knew what they were doing, and everyone was safely delivered back to the boat ramp, having just scraped over the sandbar on a dropping tide.

Please stay safe on the water.

07/04/2026

We were all looking forward to a nice, quiet Easter Sunday morning, but it was not to be.

At 7.30am a call came in from three men who were motoring an 8 metre alloy second-hand ex pro-boat from Mission Beach to Townsville, and had overnighted on a mooring near Yank's Jetty on Orpheus Island. The solenoid on the engine would not engage the flywheel, and they were unable to start it up.

We rang around and obtained enough bleary-eyed and hungry volunteer crew members, who then missed breakfast as they hurried to the depot.

Our larger vessel "Snow Stafford" was launched, and headed out in rather nasty sea conditions, with the strong south-easterly wind producing a large swell and choppy seas. They bashed over to the islands and turned south, arriving at Yank's Jetty after a 45 minute trip.

A tow line was soon attached, and the return trip to Dungeness ensued, with the wind and swell behind them, making conditions a lot easier to handle.

The alloy ex pro-boat was safely delivered to the public pontoon, so the owners could arrange repairs, and our crew completed the wash down and refuelling procedures, so all was ready for the next call-out. They got home in time for a late breakfast/lunch.

03/04/2026

Last Sunday morning our Training Officer had a planned training exercise ready to go, when a call to the Bat Phone created a sudden change of priorities.

A young lady called, saying her boyfriend and three others had gone to the Reef fishing early Saturday, but had not returned at the end of the day. There was no answer from the mobile phones on the boat, and by 6 am on Sunday she was extremely worried. We met up with her and her parents at Lucinda, to get as much information as we could, but this is where we drew a blank.

No one knew where exactly the boat was going. The Great Barrier Reef runs north / South for 100 kilometres in our area of operation, and is up to 40 kilometres wide.

No one initially knew what boat they were in, what size, what colour, what registration. They didn't know if it had a marine radio.

In short, we had no idea of where to go to search for them, and our radio calls went unanswered.

We launched our primary vessel "Snow Stafford", with 4 crew members, with instructions to head towards Bramble Reef, because it is the nearest reef to Lucinda. Just as they were heading out across the bar, the rather distraught young lady's phone rang, and it was the boyfriend.

It turned out that the wind, swell and tide had created really bad conditions on their way back the afternoon before, so they had to run with the swell, eventually finding refuge in Zoe Bay, and spent the night on the beach.

Unfortunately there is no phone or radio reception in Zoe Bay, so they couldn't call home, until after daylight when the boyfriend managed to get to Hillock Point, and got through.

In consultation with Townsville Water Police, we diverted our vessel over to Zoe, transferred two of the people to our vessel, while the other two drove their boat back to the Dungeness ramp with our vessel following to make sure they got home safely.

The message is clear: if you are going to sea, make sure beforehand that someone knows where you are going, has all of the boat details, and knows when you are due back.

We can't find you, if we don't know where you are.

Join our Marine Assist Membership, it's free, and we will have your boat and trailer details at hand, along with personal contacts. Also, you can text your trip details to our Bat Phone at any time on 0429 778 110 or call us on marine radio channels 16 or 81 on weekends and public holidays from 8am to 5pm.

Save your loved ones a lot of grief, and stay safe on the water.

06/03/2026

🟢All Clear
Issued: 1600 HRS - 6 March 2026

Maritime Safety Queensland advises:
A weather event has passed and recovery is underway.

Ports are now open to all traffic: Ports of Mourilyan, Cairns and Half Moon Bay, Innisfail, Clump Point, South Johnstone and Lucinda.

• Mariners are advised:
- to navigate with caution, maintaining a sharp look out for debris.
- to consult the latest Notices to Mariners for updated information on Port depths and conditions.

For more information:
• The Extreme Weather Event Contingency Plan is available on the Maritime Safety Queensland website:
www.publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/maritime-safety-extreme-weather-contingency-plans
• Incident updates are available on the Maritime Safety Queensland dashboard: https://www.qldmaritime.msq.qld.gov.au/
• Monitor marine conditions with the BOM at http://www.bom.gov.au/australia/meteye/
• Monitor your local government dashboard for further warnings and advice - where possible consider implementing your extreme weather contingency plan.

02/02/2026

10/01/2026