If you go boating or sailing and value your life, join coastguard.

We are there for all sorts of reasons that might include:

• training boat owners and enthusiasts in all aspects of boating, navigation and first aid
• pumping out a sinking boat
• picking up survivors from the sea
• pulling a board-sailor to safety when his strength has left him
• rescuing the kids in their inflatable boat when they have been blown offshore
• towing a disabled boat to safety
• pumping water onto a boat in flames
• applying CPR to someone suffering a heart attack
• evacuating sick ,injured or distressed persons to the nearest medical facility
• jump starting a resistant battery
• or searching for signs of a missing boat in this part of the largest ocean on the planet.

The task at hand can be exciting and dangerous, challenging and testing, or fun, filled with camaraderie, but ultimately hugely rewarding. And almost all of this is done by 700 volunteers who give more than 212,000 hours of service annually, in order to save lives at sea.