RIB Force and Mercury helping with kids at risk
by Mercury Marine 15 Jun 2020 22:41 UTC
Handover - SAILS at Bayside collecting their new RIB © Mercury Marine
A volunteer-run, not-for-profit outreach arm of the Anglican Church in the Brisbane-Redlands Bayside area, SAILS uses sailing and kayaking as a way to help people connect with their community and deal with a range of issues... particularly young people, but also refugees suffering from trauma, and military veterans.
"When the gents from SAILS walked into the shop looking for some help, I was more than happy to get involved because they do so much great work," said Mike Orsmond, who owns RIB Force in the Gold Coast City Marina.
Those gents, including Ian Carr, were in urgent need of a new safety boat so they could continue their good work.
"We purchased our old boat second-hand about ten years ago and it wasn't repairable to suit our needs, so we had to suspend sailing activities," Ian said. "RIB Force was recommended to us and that turned out to be very good advice because Mike was honest, genuine and very keen to help... and did the right thing by us financially."
Doing everything to stretch SAILS' budget, Mike quickly got them back on the water in a great all-rounder.
"We had a good talk about what they needed so I recommended the Aurora Adventure V450 console RIB - powered by a 40hp FourStroke outboard - which Mercury Marine were happy to supply at a discount after I explained what a good cause this was," Mike said.
With about 70 volunteers, four 4.5m catamarans and 15 kayaks, SAILS at Bayside touches the lives of some 500 people every year.
That's why getting a new safety boat was so important.
"When we had the official handover of the boat, we were all very impressed with its performance," Ian said. "With the four-blade Vengeance prop on the Mercury FourStroke, the boat really got up and went - it was fabulous."
Ian and his colleagues were also impressed with the technological upgrade that comes with a new engine.
"It certainly provides you with a sense of confidence having an engine which can self-diagnose problems," he said.
"We had our last boat for ten or so years and I have every belief we'll have this one for even longer."