Cape Town - The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) is appealing to members of the public to take extra precautions when visiting the coast over the coming days.

The emergency rescue organisation said that is due to inclement weather, which has resulted in the SA Weather Service (SAWS) issuing an Orange Level 6 Warning for Damaging Winds over much of the Western Cape.

The NSRI warning also comes days before the new moon Spring tide, which peaks next week on September 3, creating rough sea conditions that would cause dangerous surf and shoreline conditions.

NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon said: “The NSRI is appealing to the public to be cautious around the coastline with storms around the coast, along the Northern and Western Cape coastline and spreading up the East Coast. Extreme caution is advised.”

Alongside its appeals for the public to exercise caution when visiting beaches, the rescue institution also reiterated its call for the public to download and utilise its safety app, the NSRI SafeRTrx.

The app available on the iOS App Store and on Google Play store, allows users to send out emergency alerts when in difficulty and also works as a locator device for rescue teams.

In a recent incident, the NSRI duty crew in Simon’s Town rescued a surf skier who activated an emergency distress call using the NSRI SafeRTrx.

According to NSRI Simonstown station commander Simon McDonnel, the NSRI duty crew was activated by the EOC on Monday, September 26, following the NSRI SafeTrx activation from a local male surf skier off-shore of Millers Point, near Simonstown.

McDonnell said: “NSRI Coastwatchers were alerted to start scouring the coastline while a CMR rescue vehicle, in the vicinity of Millers Point at the time, searched along the coastline towards Simonstown. The NSRI SafeTrx pings were lost at that stage, and calls to the man indicated his cellphone was off.

“It remains unclear what caused this. Fortunately, our team then received a call from the man's wife indicating that he was in distress near Roman Rock Lighthouse.

“The crew, arriving at our NSRI Simonstown station 10 rescue launched the rescue craft, Donna Nicholas, while the rescue craft Jack&Irene was prepared to be launched.”

McDonnel said due to rough sea conditions at the time, the team experienced limited visibility and could not detect the man from high vantage points along the coastline.

“Eventually, our team was able to spot the man approximately one nautical mile south of Roman Rock Lighthouse.

“NSRI rescue swimmers were deployed into the water, and they swam the man to the rescue craft, and he was safely recovered. The man’s surfski was also recovered,” he said.

Cape Argus