LANGEBAAN – The National Sea Rescue Institute’s newest offshore rescue craft was blessed and named at Club Mykonos on Saturday, carrying the names of loved ones honoured through donations and supported by a new corporate partnership.

Rescue 4, which serves Station 4 Mykonos and the West Coast, was named Spirit of Shoprite Sixty60 in recognition of sponsorship from the Shoprite Group. Chaplain Maryke Venter blessed the vessel, and Ilze Bylos, Chief Marketing Officer of the Shoprite Group, named it.

The craft carries names of people honoured through the NSRI’s Celebrate a Life campaign, with donations made in their memory or celebration helping to fund its construction. The names appear within the vessel’s RESCUE lettering and will remain visible throughout its operational life.

Nic Stevens, Station 4 Mykonos Station Commander, said the vessel represents significant progress since the station moved to Club Mykonos in 1999. The station, which began operating in Saldanha in October 1968, initially worked from three shipping containers at Mykonos before a purpose-built base opened in February 2004. A new Station 4 base was completed in February 2026.

“We’ve come from our beginnings in 2004, with a container and a second-hand 5.5-metre boat, to where we are today with this world-class vessel and station,” Stevens said.

Mike Vonk, NSRI Chief Executive Officer, said the vessel reflects contributions from individual donors and corporate partners. “Each name represents someone very special. Some celebrate a life still being lived; others remember someone deeply missed,” he said.

The tributes include a donation celebrating a wedding anniversary, recognition of a mother who supported sea rescue, and a husband’s tribute to his wife who helped him through recovery from a serious accident. One family continued their mother’s support of the NSRI after discovering her donations following her death.

Rescue 4 follows other Celebrate a Life vessels, including The Legacy at Hermanus and Bay Guardian at Gqeberha. Part of the vessel will carry Checkers’ teal branding through December before returning to the NSRI’s red colours.

More about the NSRI

The NSRI is a registered non-profit organisation with volunteer rescue crews on call 24 hours a day, supported by donations and sponsorships. Station 4’s operational area covers Elandsbaai to Vondeling on the West Coast.

• The NSRI emergency number is 087 094 9774. This is a 24-hour national emergency number that connects to NSRI’s Emergency Operations Centre, which will dispatch the appropriate station – including Station 4 Mykonos – based on your location and emergency.

For life-threatening emergencies at sea or on inland waters anywhere in South Africa, call this number immediately.

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