Westpac Life Saver helicopter drops by Narooma Surf Club's open day

Narooma SLSC president Brendan O'Mahony organised the open day to welcome current members and attract new ones.

He said membership had taken a bit of a hit in recent years with the bushfires, COVID and last summer's bad weather.

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On the day there were tents, inflatable rescue boats (IRBs), surf boats, all-terrain vehicles (beach buggies), and drones - plus an unexpected helicopter.

"The life saver helicopter just happened to be in the area patrolling, saw what was going on and dropped in," said Mr O'Mahony.

The aerial excitement continued when Sean Ladlow, the club's volunteer drone coordinator, did a couple of demonstration flights with his drone.

Mr Ladlow also belongs to the Department of Primary Industries' drone program for shark detection and surveillance, which is an alternative to shark nets.

During the summer he is paid to operate drones whenever patrols aren't on duty.

The club runs several training programs including basic bronze medallion course, surf rescue certificate, IRB crew and driver courses, jet skis and drones.

There is also Nippers for kids aged five to under 14 and Silver Salties for those aged 65 years and over.

It promotes physical activity, social connections and involvement in the surf lifesaving community.

"They don't have to be great swimmers but they can use the club as a place to meet people and they can become as involved with the club as they like, such as manning the barbecue, which would free up some of our members ," Mr O'Mahony said.

"There are lots of people in Narooma with the know-how and ability who we would love to help us out," he said.

"We are looking for patrolling members but also anyone with any skills who can assist us with running the club."

Beach patrolling for the 2022/23 summer starts on the first weekend of November.

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