Colleen McCabe is the executive Director of the Brighton Auxiliary Rescue Unit. She has been with BARU for two years. She works in Cobourg and runs a sailing school in Gosport in the summers.
Brighton Auxiliary Rescue Unit (BARU)
Volunteers saving lives on the water 24/7. They are a registered charity.
They work with 424 Squadron, OPP, Brighton Fire Department, Cobourg Coast Guard.
In 2020 they purchased a new boat with the support of the community. A boat design for rescue on the water. Their old boat was not designed for the purpose and use of rescue. This new boat is a Firestorm 30 built in Kingston, did service in the US. They bought it last year. It can do 40 knots on the water with twin jet drives and shallow draft of two feet. They are fully equipped. Some items on hold while the raise more funds. New in 2021 they have bow mounted LED search light, deck and docking lights, and power crane winch. The boat cost them $145,000 last year plus HST.
In 2020 they were busy. Even though it was a shortened season, they responded to 13 calls. In a normal year it is 8 to 10. There were lots of boats on the water last year.
In 2021 they have been able to launch their boat three weeks early. They already responded to a call when a fishing boat capsized. 424 beat them to the scene by a few minutes. No loss of life.
During COVID they have had to modify their training program. Normally they train once every two weeks. Now in smaller groups, different groups train weekly Their training funding from CCGA is down but they are adjusting.
They now have a certified level 1 and 2 trainer.
They have a new web site: brightonmarinerescue.ca
They have a campaign on Oldies 100.9
They were recipients of Tim Horton's Smile Cookie Campaign in 2020
They organized a food drive for the Brighton Fare Share Food Bank in 2020.
There calls on the water have gone up and their response times have dropped, possibly due to more volunteers working from home.
They have 20 volunteers including 5 new staff. They have year and a half to train staff. Sometimes they train with 424 Squadron and others.
During COVID they are only allowed to have 5 on board at a time. Staff are cross trained in the different positions and roles.
They focus on training and safety. They make sure their crews go out with proper trained and experienced staff on board. They evaluate the weather before they go out. Safety if priority.
She thanked Rotary for our support last year to purchase the new boat.