Surf Life Saving WA operates two helicopter services, the metropolitan based Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter and the South-West Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter.

Both these services patrol the coast to keep an eye out for distressed swimmers, medical emergencies and rip currents, support surf lifesaving services and other agencies on the ground and perform marine life surveillance for sharks and other creatures.

Flight times and length of patrols will depend on a range of factors including weather conditions, beach usage and events and other environmental factors. The helicopter will be in the air for a minimum of 3 hours per operational day, however this will be determined by the aforementioned factors and flight times may vary from day to day. The helicopters will be on stand-by all day to carry out searches and surveillance as required.
 

Patrol Schedule

The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter will patrol the following dates:

Weekends:

• Dates: September 1, 2012 to September 30, 2012

Monday to Sunday:

• Dates:  October 1, 2012 to April 30, 2013

The South-West Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter will patrol the following dates:

Monday to Sunday:

• Dates:  November 19, 2012 to February 3, 2013

Patrol Area

The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter will mainly patrol the broader metropolitan area with flight paths between Dawesville in the South to Yanchep/Capricorn in the North. Patrols will also include sweeps of Rottnest Island.

The South-West Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter will patrol the South-West coast between Bunbury and Margaret River.