The phone rang at 5.40pm. It became ‘the darkest night’ in these marine rescuers’ history

The sun had gone down when the call came in about 5.40pm that a yacht was in distress on one of Australia’s most treacherous coastal bar crossings.
The local branch of the volunteer marine rescue organisation that is now mourning two of its members had already closed for the night. But the Marine Rescue NSW Ballina unit commander Peter Hill did what thousands of volunteers around the state do when emergencies strike, and rushed to respond.

Ballina locals pay their respects outside the Marine Rescue Centre in Ballina after two rescuers – Frank Petsch, 62, and Bill Ewen, 78, died while trying to save a stricken yachtsman.AAP, Supplied
“As soon as that call for the boat came out, I came into the base … we opened up and we dealt with it,” Hill said on Wednesday.
So began what is now being called the darkest night in the organisation’s history.
An onlooker raised the alarm about a stricken yacht approaching the South Ballina breakwall and contacted Marine Rescue.
A risk assessment was conducted by the boat’s skipper, Ballina’s 2026 Citizen of the Year Geoff Hutchinson, and the decision was made to enter the water.

Marine Rescue Unit Commander Peter Hill at the Marine Rescue Centre in Ballina.AAP
Out went Ballina’s flagship rescue vessel BA30, with six volunteers on board.
The 10-metre boat, built to traverse the often-choppy bar crossing, had only entered service about six months earlier. It was acquired thanks to record-high state government funding and $150,000 raised by the local community.

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BA30 capsized as it crossed the bar in 2½-metre swells, trapping some volunteers inside the hull and throwing others into the water. Four made it to shore. Two lost their lives.

The Marine Rescue boat BA30 washed up on the beach at South Ballina.Nine News
Bill Ewen, 78, and Frank Petsch, 62, are being mourned as heroes whose community contribution will never be forgotten.
“We are hurting … this community is hurting,” Hill said on Wednesday.
Ewen was coming up to 10 years in service with Marine Rescue NSW. A highly respected crew member, he loved volunteering and will be terribly missed.
“You had to have a crowbar to get [Bill] off the boat,” Hill said.
In a statement, Ewen’s family mourned the devoted family man who served his community with pride.

The Ballina coastal bar is considered one of the most treacherous in the country.Natalie Grono
“We are devastated at the loss of a much-loved husband, father and grandfather, but take comfort from knowing that he passed doing something he loved. We are so proud of him,” the family said.
Petsch had joined the Ballina unit in January 2024 and had quickly progressed to the rank of coxswain restricted.
“If you needed anything done, Frank would say yes. He was a very strong man,” Hill said, and then, his voice quavering: “I can’t believe he’s gone.”

2:24
Three killed in yacht disaster off Ballina

Three people have died during a rescue attempt off the NSW North Coast.

The yacht collided with the breakwall, broke apart and sank. The body of the sole occupant, a 54-year-old man, was later found on the sand.
Three of the injured rescuers remain in hospital.
“They’re in reasonably good spirits, considering what they’ve been through. They are badly injured,” Hill said.
Among those in hospital is Hutchinson, named citizen of the year in the local shire’s Australia Day awards for his exceptional service as a volunteer, having attended 37 rescues in the previous 12 months alone.
That included saving two fishermen from a sinking trawler of Lennox Head after a 3am Mayday call, and leading a four-day search for a missing Queensland Police officer off Broken Head.
Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib said the Ballina community was reeling from the tragedy.
Locals were gathering at a memorial site to lay flowers, reflect and pray.
“That was a mark of respect for these fallen heroes … that speaks to the very heart of this community,” Dib said.
“It speaks to the very heart of that volunteering spirit.”
The state government in 2023 approved a $73 million rescue capability grant over four years for Marine Rescue NSW, more than the combined totals of grants to Surf Life Saving NSW, Volunteer Rescue Association NSW and Surfing NSW.
Dib previously called it “the largest investment they have ever received”.

Ballina Mayor Sharon Cadwallader on Tuesday.Natalie Grono
There might be more funds on the way. It’s unlikely the capsized, beached BA30 vessel will be salvageable. An attempt was due to be made on Wednesday afternoon to retrieve it.
Premier Chris Minns pledged to ensure Marine Rescue has what it needs to keep the community safe.
“I want to give them the commitment that we’ll make them whole and we’ll fund whatever they need to ensure that their team has got the infrastructure and the boats they need to perform rescues,” he said.
Marine Rescue NSW Commissioner Todd Andrews said Monday’s tragedy was “the darkest night” in his organisation’s history.

Marine Rescue NSW Commissioner Todd Andrews.AAP
“There’s nobody that’s going to want to step foot on that vessel ever again,” he said on Wednesday.
Andrews said the agency’s volunteers undergo an enormous amount of training.
“You can’t just come to Marine Rescue and step on a boat,” he said.
“Generally, the people that come to Marine Rescue and do want to do the vessel side of our business are experienced mariners in the first place.”
The organisation’s voluntary composition is not unique. The State Emergency Service, Rural Fire Service, Surf Life Saving NSW and Volunteer Rescue Association NSW are similarly dependent on people signing up to respond to emergencies and disasters.
In exchange, they are praised for their selflessness and service to the community, including by those who don’t necessarily agree it should be a job for volunteers.
Some have also questioned the appropriateness of relying on a cohort that skews toward an older demographic. Of the six rescuers who embarked aboard BA30 on Monday night, the youngest was aged 55.

A volunteer embracing Ballina Mayor Sharon Cadwadaller amid mourning for two marine rescue volunteers.Natalie Grono
But the organisation’s volunteers are trending younger. The average age of Marine Rescue NSW volunteers has decreased from 71 to 61 in the 10 years to 2024, according to a state government review of emergency volunteering published that year.
MRNSW is among the smallest of the state’s five predominantly volunteer-based emergency services, with a membership of about 3500. More than 70,000 people volunteer in the NSW Rural Fire Service, while Surf Life Saving NSW has more than 75,000 members, though about 30,000 of them are part of the children’s nippers program.
Increasing retention and the diversity of members is part of the rescue organisation’s three-year strategic plan, now in its final year.