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Virgin Islands Search and Rescue (VISAR) is a voluntary organisation dedicated to saving life at sea. It is internationally recognised by the International Lifeboat Federation (ILF) as a full member. It deals with an average of three emergency calls a week, and is heavily involved in organising public awareness courses and education programmes in an effort to keep these call outs to a minimum.
VISAR operates two high-speed rescue craft (Rigid Inflatable Boats) based in two locations. Spirit of Tortola, an Arctic 22, is stationed in Road Town, Tortola and Gorda Peak, an Atlantic 21, is stationed in Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda. VISAR has crews on permanent stand-by, day and night, but it also relies on many auxiliary volunteers and boat owners in the islands to provide additional search and rescue support when necessary.
With the significant growth in charter yachting and boating in the BVI, the demand for VISAR’s services has steadily been increasing, and along with it the need to upgrade VISAR’s boats and equipment and to raise the standards of crew training. Although VISAR is a volunteer organisation, which provides a valuable and unique service to the BVI, it receives only a small annual subvention of US$5000 from the Department of Disaster Management, so please do donate to this worthy BVI charity.
See below for ways in which you might help make the seas continuously safe. |
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Ways to Donate
Keeping an emergency team on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week requires a huge amount of daily funding, even though the team may not be called out each day. VISAR’s daily electricity and phone bill comes to US$15 just to keep their eyes and ears open.
Clearly, the upkeep of equipment and dealing with the emergencies themselves puts a much greater strain on the team’s coffers. It costs US$100,000 per annum just to maintain and operate VISAR’s two rescue boats.
Donate/Become a Member of VISAR, by following the aforementioned link and filling in the relevant details. Regular giving allows the team at VISAR to plan ahead with the funds they receive, so this can be the most efficient and rewarding way to help out.
Alternatively, donations can be sent to the address below – please give generously...
Virgin Islands Search & Rescue
Fisher’s Lane
PO Box 3042
Road Town, Tortola
British Virgin Islands
Tel: +1 284 494 HELP (4357)
Fax: +1 284 494 6613
UK residents may donate with Gift Aid, adding an extra third to your donation at no further cost to yourself - with a little help from the tax man! Please email David Brunskill on visartrustuk@visar.org
Please quote, "The DefinitiveCaribbean Charity Support Scheme in all correspondence." If you are paying by cheque, please make cheques payable to ‘Virgin Islands Search and Rescue.’ |
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VISAR's History
Founded in 1988, VISAR was modelled on the famous Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the world’s oldest lifeboat service. There is a wide range of NGOs in the BVI, but none offer a similar service to VISAR. VISAR works closely with BVI Customs, the Marine Police and Marine Services Department, as well as cooperating with the Royal British Virgin Islands police, fire and ambulance services and the US Coastguard in the nearby US Virgin Islands.
VISAR’s headquarters was established in October 1988, and their dedicated Base Station/Boat House facility in Road Tortola opened in 1997. VISAR has had a satellite operation on Virgin Gorda since 1991, with an auxiliary craft from July 1995, and a lifeboat delivered in 2000. In 2003 a Portacabin was purchased to serve as a temporary station for the Virgin Gorda crews.
The Virgin Islands Search and Rescue Trust was formed at the beginning of July 2003. As a registered British charity the VISAR Trust was subsequently approved by the Inland Revenue to be a recipient for Gift Aid. This makes it ideal for UK residents who would like to make donations in Pounds Sterling, as these donations attract UK Tax benefits. |
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Objectives
VISAR’s primary objective is:
To carry out the operation of an air-sea rescue organisation anywhere within or without the British Virgin Islands either by volunteers or otherwise for the purpose of providing a marine organisation that will wherever human life is at peril carry out such rescue operations as the widest interpretations of this clause will allow.
This can be more simply phrased as 'To save lives at sea and assist those who find themselves in distress while in the waters of the British Virgin Islands.' |
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Programmes
VISAR Responder Training: All active duty lifeboat crew are expected to maintain set levels of training, which include first aid certifications, boat handling and navigation skills in addition to ‘specialist’ search and rescue techniques such as search patterns and advanced boat handling.
Public Education (local): This area of VISAR’s activities is focused very closely on children and is undertaken in conjunction with the Marine Services Department and the Ministry of Education. Each year a ‘travelling road show’ visits the Territory’s primary schools and teaches children about water safety and marine conservation/protection issues. Adults are targeted through cooperative community based programmes such as Safe Boating Week, which usually takes place in October.
Public Education (visitor): Due to the highly transient nature of the visiting population, VISAR has yet to find any effective means of reaching visitors, let alone ‘educating’ them. VISAR’s profile with bareboat charter groups is highly dependent upon how the individual companies deal with safety and distress coverage in their boat and chart briefings and through their booking packages. There is a move by the Government towards placing safety notices on the most heavily used beaches, but this has yet to progress beyond the discussion phase, in which VISAR is actively involved.
Dollar per Person: At present each of the charter companies in the BVI is asking each of their clients to donate one dollar per person as a way of giving something back to the marine life. This currently raises about US$55,000 per annum, but includes donations from only a third of the 160,000 people who ‘holiday afloat’ in the BVI. |
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Achievements
It is very difficult to estimate how many people have not got into trouble as a result of any of VISAR’s Public Education Programmes (nobody would ever hear about it) or how many have managed to get out of trouble because of them. Nor could VISAR claim that the incidence of boating related accidents is on the decline. The statistics certainly don’t reflect that. However, the success of VISAR’s activities can be measured by its continuing growth throughout the BVI, and its tremendous assistance record.
VISAR has successfully delivered SAR assistance in the BVI for the past 15 years, saving more than 100 lives and helping a further 2000 to safety. |
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Needs
VISAR’s ability to do what it does, as well as it does (or better…or, God forbid, worse) is defined entirely by the success of its fundraising activities and the number and calibre of people who volunteer their time. Money can’t do it alone, and neither can volunteers.
Crucially, VISAR needs:
A boathouse for the Spanish Town base, to allow for full storage facilities for crew gear and equipment as well as a training room, operations centre and an administration office. Cost - US$200,000.
A purpose-built search & rescue RIB of Arctic 22 type. Cost - US$130,000.
A specially built and equipped 30ft search and rescue RIB capable of 50 knots, greater operating range, enhanced safety equipment and additional crew and casualty space. Cost - US$300,000.
Currently VISAR is having the devil’s own job finding protective suits that meet their responders’ needs.
VISAR is in constant need of supplies like Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), Global Positioning Systems (GPS units). Even with the best will and most efficient maintenance programmes in the world, these things fail and become obsolete. |
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Staff
The people who actually do the SAR, who are prepared to get out of bed at 3 in the morning, and employers who allow their staff to drop everything and run, these are the people who matter. They are the ones who deliver SAR.
There are around 35 volunteer crew members at Road Town, consisting of 3 teams of boat crews and coordination, as well as 8 responders in Spanish Town. Crews have a nominated helmsman and all members have achieved a basic level in seamanship and search and rescue techniques. All members have also attained the PADI medic/First Aid & CPR certification and are trained in the use of AED’s. Some are progressing through the Pan American Health Organisation’s Ambulance Driver’s qualification.
VISAR’s only employee is Alex, and she is the person with most frequent contact with outsiders (such as donors or visitors to the Headquarters). As Alex puts it, she is the ‘grease on the wheels, if you like, but I’m not the person who matters – it’s those above.’ |
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Getting Involved
It is unfortunately not possible to introduce visitors, even those on an extended trip to the BVI, into a VISAR team. What makes the emergency response units so successful is their teamwork, the personal knowledge of the men and women who are on the ‘shout’ and their understanding of one another. They know each others’ strengths and weaknesses, and how they will react and respond under pressure. This cannot be accomplished using people who are visiting on holiday.
However, there is a small number of people who visit the BVI annually for an extended period and who do get involved with VISAR, normally in roles such as teaching first aid, helping with database design and with the development of the VISAR website. If you would like to volunteer your services in this or a similar capacity please contact Alex by email.
VISAR is happy to give someone the ‘nickel tour’ of the base if they call or email ahead, to see what VISAR is about firsthand.
UK domiciled VISAR members and supporters who wish to make contributions to the VISAR Trust are encouraged to contact the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, David Brunskill at:
10 Kingston Park,
Pennington,
Lymington
SO41 8ES
Email: visartrustuk@visar.org.
The Board of Trustees also invites individuals and companies interested in supporting the Trust to contact them at:
Challoner House,
c/o Messrs Rooks Rider,
19-21 Clerkenwell Court,
London EC1R 0RR. |
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Contact Us
Virgin Islands Search & Rescue
Fisher’s Lane
PO Box 3042
Road Town, Tortola
British Virgin Islands.
Tel: +1 284 494 HELP (4357)
Fax: +1 284 494 6613
Email: admin@visar.org
Website: www.visar.org
Emergencies only:
Within the BVI: SOS (767 – similar to the 999 number, but comes directly to on-duty rescue coordinator)
Outside the BVI: +1 284 499 0911 |
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This feature page is sponsored by DefinitiveCaribbean as part of the DefinitiveCaribbean Charity Support Scheme supporting Caribbean charities. We hope you will give generously to this excellent BVI charity that does so much to save lives around the British Virgin Islands and please remember to mention DefinitiveCaribbean when you contact or make your donation to VISAR.
Thank you for your interest. |
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