For the convenience of our members and the community, here are some useful links.
Local Weather and Tide Reports
Boating and Fishing Resources
Boating Equipment and Safety - EPIRBS
An Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) is a small electronic device that, when activated in an emergency, can help search and rescue authorities pinpoint your position.
Once activated, EPIRBs continuously send out a signal for at least 48 hours. Search and rescue authorities respond to all EPIRB activations—you must only activate the EPIRB in an emergency and you must tell them immediately if you no longer need help.
All boats operating beyond smooth and partially smooth waters or more than 2nm from land in open waters must carry a 406MHz digital EPIRB.
Operators of lightweight craft have a choice if they want to carry an EPIRB or a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB). If you choose to carry a PLB in place of an EPIRB, it must:
- be GPS enabled
- float
- be worn by the operator
- comply with AS/NZS 4280.2:2017
- be registered with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA)—registration is free and must be renewed every 2 years
- be in service.
Lightweight craft means off the beach type craft, human powered canoe and kayak, small sailing vessels (less than 6m in length) and personal watercraft.
EPIRBs must:
- comply with AS/NZS 4280.1:2017
- be registered with AMSA. Registration is free and must be renewed every 2 years. You will also need to tell AMSA when the beacon ownership or boat details change.
Disposing of EPIRBS
All marine Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) have a limited life and should be replaced or refurbished before their expiry date, which should be noted on the label attached to the beacon, but they need to be disposed of in a safe manner.
Every year there are incidents of EPIRBs being accidentally activated after ending up in landfill or left somewhere where children can play with them. When this happens the registered owner of the EPIRB can be held responsible for the costs involved if emergency services were deployed in response to the false signal so owners should ensure that their old EPIRB is no longer active before disposing of it.
You can check with the manufacturer if they have a battery disconnection procedure to follow otherwise it's best not to attempt it yourself as lithium batteries, which all EPIRBs use, can be dangerous to work with and they also need to be taken to a disposal facility. You can bring your expired flares to VMR Bribie at 4 Marine Pde Bellara, and we will dispose of them.
BEFORE you bring them to VMR Bribie, you MUST deregister the EPIRB on the AMSA EPIRB registration site.
Boating Equipment and Safety - FLARES
Flares must be carried on all vessels and personal watercraft (PWC) that operate beyond smooth water limits, except for tenders that don’t need registration. Two orange smoke and 2 red hand flares are needed as part of the safety equipment for these boats.
Your flares must be in date. Flares have a life span of 3 years and must be replaced before they expire. The expiry date is printed on the flare.
Always read the instructions and make sure you understand the manufacturer’s directions before storing your flares on board your boat.
Flares should be stored in a dry place where they will be easily accessible in an emergency.
The red and orange flares allow a distress signal to be seen during the day and at night-time.
There are severe penalties for misuse of flares including—the cost of labour, risk incurred or loss sustained as a result of misusing flares.
Disposing of Flares
Make sure you dispose of expired flares correctly.
They must be disposed of in the special collection bins provided by the Queensland Department of Transport at various locations. There is a disposal bin at the VMR Bribie Island base, so just drop your expired or unwanted flares off at our base at 4 Marine Parade, Bellara and they will be safely disposed of.