There has been a year-on-year jump in the number of rescue calls to Marine Rescue NSW in the Hunter, Central Coast, Lake Macquarie, and Port Stephens areas.
It mirrors the statewide increase in calls to the rescue agency for help this boating season (October 1, 2022, to April 25, 2023) compared with the same period in 2021-22.
The figures, released by Marine Rescue NSW on Friday, are broken down into an area that includes Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens, Central Coast, Terrigal, Newcastle, Lemon Tree Passage, Tuggerah Lakes, and Norah Head.
According to the data, there were 1011 rescues in that area this boating season compared to 826 in 2021-22.
Lake Macquarie had the highest number of rescues during the most recent season (465), followed by Port Stephens (206).
There were 54 rescues at Lemon Tree Passage and 38 at Newcastle.
Statewide, there were 3236 rescues.
"It's been a really busy summer for our members and we have seen a consistent theme across a lot of our rescues," Commissioner Alex Barrell said.
"We continue to see a lot of boaters running out of petrol, experiencing mechanical and engine failure and our message to boaters is to continue to check your equipment, make sure your boat is in good working order before you head out and importantly always check the weather conditions.
"We've seen an increase of around 20 per cent of boaters logging on over VHF marine radio or through the Marine Rescue app.
"The fact that you log on and that Marine Rescue is tracking your voyage means that if you don't return as planned rescue services will start looking for you."
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