The Port Alfred Easter Festival is fortunate to have NSRI Station 11 at the event. Chris Pike and his team were on board and running water safety throughout the six days of surfing. This included the bodyboarding and Granny Grommets events. Their safety vessel was in the water every day at first light. The team stuck it out for the full six days. There was massive surf, howling wind, driving rain and, at times, freezing conditions.
Team On Duty
The NSRI had a whole team operating. They had members in the water, on the pier at the head, closer to the beach, and with a vehicle in the car park for all the events. These were the Royal St Andrews Hotel SA Open Champs presented by Rip Curl and the Rip Curl GromSearch and Cup presented by Royal St Andrews Hotel. It included the Kowie Granny Grommets free session. There was also the West Beach Warfare Bodyboarding Challenge. This took place on the other side of the river.
As a way of paying this NGO, Royal St Andrews owner and the driving force behind the entire Port Alfred Easter Festival, Justin Bekker had an idea. He decided there would be a donation from the proceeds of ticket sales at the two-day Bands Innie Bush Music event. In 2024, the donation to Station 11 was R100k.
NSRI Station 11 Water Safety
“As far as NSRI Station 11 goes, not only does the town rely heavily on the brave souls who volunteer to keep our waters safe, but they also provide our water safety during the Festival.” Bekker said in an interview for the Port Alfred Easter Festival magazine. “There are a lot of costs involved in maintaining and running the station. Furthermore, there is equipment, patrolling the coastline and rivers, and developing life-saving skills in volunteers and the community. So, this is why donations to the station are very important. They do a lot for our town. Therefore, we decided to support them by donating some of the ticket sales made at Bands Innie Bush.”
Kowie River
The crew working at the surf events were friendly but very much with their game faces. Vessels competing in the Species Spectacular fishing event entered and exited the Kowie River while surfers were entering for their heats. Everything ran smoothly with all parties, and the task was well done.
Thanks to NSRI Station 11 for an awesome job of looking after our surfers and bodyboarders.
Further reading: Kowie Granny Grommets at the Port Alfred Easter Festival
