Sydney Branch boasts the services of two Offshore Rescue Boats. These are an integral part of Sydney Branch's Support Operations Group and are on call 24 hours a day, all year round. Both Offshore boats perform patrols on the Sydney beaches during the summer months to further assist the regular beach patrols. Manned by voluntary crew members from the various Sydney Branch Surf Clubs, the groups rely on corporate sponsorship and community support for the continuation of their services. All aspects of Surf Life Saving Australia and Sydney Branch must maintain an outstanding level of professionalism. The Offshore Rescue Boat is no exception with all crew members highly qualified and proven in a diverse range of skills. Volunteers on the ORB patrols all come experienced from regular Surf Club patrols and often dedicate many hours to Surf Life Saving activities. Each ORB is backed up by an extensive 24 hour communications network, four wheel drive support vehicle and access to other emergency services including all Surf Life Saving Australia, Westpac Lifesaver Helicopters, Water Police and Coast Guard.

Offshore 2 (ORB2)Offshore 2 is located in the Sutherland District 'Offshore 2' patrols the region from Botany Bay to Otford (Royal National Park). The group is based at Woolooware in the Sutherland Shire with water access to the Port Hacking in Gunnamatta Bay. A recently upgraded boat shed houses the 8 metre long 'Noosa Cat'. Made in Queensland, this catamaran vessel has been popular with Australian rescue crews for many years, with the NSW Water Police using a similar craft. The boat is powered by two 200hp motors and has an operational area of 14 nautical miles out to sea, however the boat can patrol further if required. The foam interior of the boat's hull is designed such that the boat will remain afloat even if every separate compartment has been punctured. Further details on Offshore 2 can be obtained at the following link: http://www.offshore.org.au/

Offshore 3 (ORB3)Offshore 3 is located in the Randwick District “Offshore 3” and patrols the coastline between Botany Bay and Sydney Harbour and beyond if required. The group is based at Malabar in the Randwick District with water access to Long Bay with and within a close proximity to Botany Bay and Sydney Harbour which is within the patrolling area and also provides alternative launching options during large seas. The group, over these years raised funds in conjunction with Randwick City Council to purchase the existing craft. The configuration of the existing craft, a 6 metre Noosa Cat is powered by twin 140hp Yamaha outboards. The Noosa Cat’s call sign to all surf lifesaving clubs and to the boating public alike is “Offshore 3”.Further details on Offshore 3 can be obtained at the following link: http://www.offshore3.com.au/

What happened to 'Offshore 1'? It has never existed. Offshore 2 and 3 were named after their corresponding Districts (being District 2 and District 3). The names of these two Districts eventually changed to the 'Cronulla-Sutherland District' and the 'Randwick District' to better identify the locality of the areas. The radio call-signs 'Offshore 2' and 'Offshore 3' have been retained because they are phonetically easier to understand in two-way radio communications.

The LifeSaver Rescue Helicopter Service was established by Surf Life Saving Australia in 1973. The Southern Region of this Service, which incorporates Sydney and Wollongong, is one of three regions operating in New South Wales. Combined, the Southern, Hunter and Northern Regions provide a total of seven rescue helicopters. Lifesaver 1, the Sydney based rescue helicopter, operates out of Kingsford Smith Airport at Mascot and is an integral part of Surf Life Saving Sydney's rescue support services.

The major sponsor of the service is Westpac Bank, originally the Bank of New South Wales (which started the scheme with a donation of $25 000). From this beginning, the current helicopter, a Kawasaki BK117 B2 model, services the Southern Region by way of emergency airlifts, transportation of critically ill patients, quick response medical treatment and search / rescue operations.

It is plainly obvious how such a service can be of valuable and life saving importance to Surf Life Saving Sydney, as well as other Surf Life Saving Branches, within it's area of operation.

Lifesaver 1 is staffed seven days a week at it's LIttle Bay headquarters. All medical crew members with the Southern Region Life Saver Rescue Helicopters are trained in basic life support (BLS), advance life support (ALS), trauma management and pre-hospital on-scene care. A better team is hard to find when it comes to saving lives!

Sponsorship and Government grants allow this service to remain a 100% Free Community Service, whose only purpose is to save lives. The enormous cost of maintaining such a helicopter rescue service runs into the millions of dollars. Community support and donations for this worthy cause are therefore greatly appreciated, and have no doubt helped save thousands of lives already.

No, it's not a station that plays surfing tunes. 'Surfcom Sydney' is the central hub of communications within Surf Life Saving Sydney branch. In a nutshell, it is a central radio room and communications switchboard that operates during patrol hours every summer. Surfcom Sydney co-ordinates all the life saving services when rescues are underway. By basing all communications in one central location, this service becomes responsible for monitoring all radio frequencies and traffic, keeping communications log books, signing patrols on and off and calling in all the necessary services when needed. One important factor in having Surfcom Sydney co-ordinate all rescue services, is that this responsibility is taken away from the rescue scene so that patrol members on the beach can work on the problem at hand. For example, once Surfcom Sydney has been notified of a particular situation, the radio operator can dial for an ambulance, direct Duty Officers to the scene or call in support craft such as the Offshore Rescue Boat or Lifesaver Helicopter if required. Being away from the action keeps the operator clear and cool headed so they can think the situation through.

Surfcom Sydney radio is currently located at the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Base at La Perouse. The radio room is manned voluntarily by members of the fifteen branch surf clubs. Usually two operators will spend a morning or afternoon session monitoring radio traffic and co-ordinating rescue services.