Marine rescuers call for improved radio coverage in large blackspot

Australia Broadcast Center

26-05-2025

Nestled on the Great Barrier Reef between two of Australia's most popular boating destinations, the Keppel Islands and Whitsundays, is a dangerous radio blackspot zone leaving boaties with no communication for days on end.
The sprawling Clara Islands Group near Shoalwater Bay, about 100 kilometres north of Yeppoon on the Capricorn Coast, is a boating paradise, with crystal-clear waters and picturesque tropical isles that dot the coastline.
But the popular offshore fishing haven and safe anchorage location for ocean commuters can be deadly when the weather turns, with no phone or radio communication coverage.
Coast Guard volunteer Darryl Prizeman said the area had been a serious concern for a long time.
"The area effectively north of Yeppoon to Mackay is probably the most remote in the state," he said.
"We have had [boating] disasters up there and for comfort and for families, time is critical in those situations."
In November, a 67-year-old sailor was winched to safety after his trimaran ran aground on South Barron Island near Shoalwater Bay. He had activated an emergency beacon to raise the alarm.
In bad weather, if mariners are forced to take shelter, the blackspot can also mean loved ones panic and volunteers' lives are put at risk.
"We can have family ring up from all over the country and say … 'We haven't been able to contact them,'" Mr Prizeman said.
Mr Prizeman, based at Keppel Sands, has been a member of the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association for more than 30 years.
He said his squadron was frequently required to locate "overdue" or potentially missing vessels because crews were unable to log off with marine rescue authorities.
From Yeppoon, where the nearest marine rescue base is located, it is a five-hour return boat trip to reach the Clara Group — if the weather is good. It can take much longer.
"We're always concerned that we're putting our volunteers potentially at risk to get up there and find out they're just sheltering from the bad weather, sitting on their back deck and they're sipping their chardonnays," Mr Prizeman said.
The Squadron Commodore is helping to lead a new project to improve VHF [Very High Frequency] radio coverage in the large blackspot zone.
The group, along with Queensland's Water Police, is lobbying for a new VHF working channel, with repeaters strategically located to better access the blackspots and sheltered anchorages.
Sergeant Shaun Halson, from Yeppoon Water Police, believed the new channel, 78, recently approved by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), would help prevent potential tragedies at sea.
"A lot of these tragic incidents happen very quickly," Sergeant Halson said.
"They're lucky to grab their safety equipment and valuables, let alone grab their EPIRB [Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon] to put out a mayday call, whereas quite often the VHF radio is right there on the console to get a call out."
Since 1966, the land surrounding Shoalwater Bay has been under the ownership of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), for the purpose of military training exercises.
Sergeant Halson said the ADF was collaborating with the group on the site chosen in the area for the repeater station.
He said the necessary government approvals and processes had also been supported and endorsed to date.
One of the main barriers is the establishment of the new VHF repeater infrastructure on Clara Group, just east of Island Head Creek, due to its remote location.
A repeater is a stand-alone receiver and transmitter and in essence acts as a ranger extender, like a home internet booster.
The site can only be accessed by helicopter and Sergeant Halson said the project also came at a cost.
More than $100,000 of funding has been committed but there is a shortfall of about $150,000.
"This project is vital," Sergeant Halson said.
"Search and rescue is our responsibility, and until we can prove that boaties are safe and well, we have to act as if the situation may not be.
"We're heading into a busy time now with yachties or luxury boats heading north to the Whitsundays and further and then vice versa at the end of the winter period they're heading back south."
This is not a new concept. A similar project on Penrith Island, off the coast of Mackay, for VHF channel 83 has produced successful outcomes.
"We know the solution. We know what we want. We know the how, the where, the when," Sergeant Halson said.
"It's just a matter of actually getting the funds to finally make it happen."