KNYSNA NEWS - Chris van Staden and George Parkes have spent the majority of their time as National Sea Rescue Institute volunteers together despite starting their respective NSRI service careers 10 years apart.
Parkes started out in September 1979 at the age of 16, and took to the volunteer work like a fish to water.
But he soon went off to boarding school which was followed by university studies and a stint in the army which led to a five-year period when he wasn't able to stand as a permanent fixture in the Knysna NSRI Station 12's volunteer service.
Van Staden, on the other hand, moved to Knysna in 1987, and two years later joined the NSRI at age 35, where he met Parkes – who had been back by then serving permanently for five years. He had grown up in the old Transvaal, and had a deep and passionate love for water, the ocean, and community service, which were key role players in him joining the NSRI as a volunteer.
Saving human lives
While Van Staden stated that every rescue they've embarked on has been important and memorable, a period in August 2000 stands out in particular for him.
On 13 August 2000, he and the Station 12 team (including Parkes) were called out at about 06:00 to a boat which had started sinking on the western side of the Heads.
There were 11 men on board the boat, and eventually they got nine onto the NSRI rescue craft while two refused to let go of their sinking boat. They managed to get them off just seconds before the boat disappeared completely, ultimately saving the lives of 11 men.
What really made that period memorable, however, came the week thereafter when a whale had beached in the lagoon right up on Leisure Isle. Parkes was again involved here, and so was the entire Knysna community as it would turn out.
Whale rescue
Because of the tide situation at the time, they were unable to tow the whale back out into the water, so it had to stay beached overnight. "The entire community came out with water tanks and pumps to help keep the whale alive through the night," Van Staden said. The following day when the water was high enough, he and the NSRI team were able to get the whale out into water deep enough to swim and eventually to herd it back to open waters.
But what really shocked Van Staden was the reaction to the whale rescue. "There was such an immense response to us saving a whale – the whole community got involved, media wanted to talk to us, but literally a week before we had saved 11 human lives in an extremely difficult operation and there was no such response," he said. "It was just absolutely astounding how people cared so much about a whale, but nowhere near as much for their fellow man. It was really eye-opening."
Van Staden and Parkes were both handed their service commemoration awards for 30 and 35 years' service respectively, at the NSRI's 52nd AGM and Awards Evening in Durban on Friday 31 May.
'We bring you the latest Knysna, Garden Route news'
