INCONSIDERATE boaties are arguing with crews as they try to launch rescue boats from Masters Avenue at Victoria Point.
Victoria Point VMR vice commodore Neville Mills said ramp congestion caused dispatch delays, with some people complaining about queue jumps by crews based at the site.
This has led VMR to campaign for its own pontoon there.
Mr Mills said it was only a matter of time before rescues were slowed.
“Most people are understanding, but we often get (frustrated) comments from people that they’ve been waiting,” he said.
Mr Mills said rescue vessels were pulled 600 metres by tractor to the nearby ferry terminal when the area became too busy, with some people leaving their boats docked at the ramps as they parked up to two kilometres away when no closer car and trailer bays could be found.
Commodore Doug Mackenzie said volunteers did not have authority to intervene when problems arose, but often acted as peacekeepers when boats returned for retrieval.
He said vessels could be seen circling the area while waiting to join the queue to get back, with broken-down craft towed by VMR also at risk of bumping into those afloat nearby.
“It can sometimes take 25 minutes to get a boat back in,” Mr Mackenzie said. “The ramps are inadequate for peak times.”
The group’s executive officer Del Mirams said an application for a seabed lease at the Victoria Point site, which is lapped by Moreton Bay Marine Park waters, was lodged with state government last week.
About $250,000 would be needed to build the pontoon if the lease was approved.
Mr Mirams said the VMR would apply for grant money to fund the project as the volunteer organisation relied on any help it could get.
Redlands One Nation candidate Jason Quick pledged $3.4 million to help the group out, should he be elected in.
The announcement has come after Mr Quick launched an e-petition at state parliament’s website in July, calling for the state government to fund a ramp for exclusive Victoria Point VMR use, as well as money for base upgrades.
The petition has been signed by 32 people.
Redlands MP Matt McEachan said he did not know what the VMR would do with $3.4 million, but supported the base’s pontoon project.
“I am ... trying to get the pontoon achieved in the quickest and most efficient way,” he said.
A council spokesperson said council had advised Victoria Point VMR on how to progress their application.
About 15 rescues and 38 training patrols by the Victoria Point VMR were recorded from June to the end of August, but number of call-outs could rise as the weather warms.
