Since the beginning of February, Marine Rescue Port Macquarie have responded to nine calls for help from boats on the water according to unit commander Greg Davies.

“February and March have been fairly consistent for us, we had nine calls for help,” Mr Davies said.

“That said boat users were very well behaved over the Easter period and we recorded no call outs or calls for assistance.”

Mr Davies said that with the school holidays coming up, it is important to be careful on the water.

“After the heavy rain we have had lately there is still a lot of debris in the rivers and in the ocean so people need to be really cautious when they go out,” he said.

“We are still finding quite a lot of logs, trees and branches washing up on the beaches and in our rivers.

“So even if it looks fine people need to be aware that there is a lot going on under the water.

“A lot of our call out recently have been due a lack on engine maintenance so it is vital boats are checked before going out.”

He said that when taking boats out it is always advised to log on with the Marine Rescue radio base.

“Every time you go out on the water we want people to log on with us on Chanel 16 so that we can make sure everyone stays safe on the water.”

Every skipper is responsible for the safety of their vessel and all on board.

Some important tips include: