Today, sadly, we changed to an Australian White Ensign flag at half mast to honour the life of service of one of our great patrolling members, Henry John Rantzen, who passed away peacefully this morning.
John was born on 18 March 1934 and joined the club in 1981. He became a radio controller for the club in 1990, and when the separate Radio Officer role ceased, he gained his bronze medallion in 1997 (at the age of 63). He then rapidly became a Patrol Captain of Patrol 6 in 1999, and Assistant Chief Instructor (1999-2002). Over time he completed 52 awards and became one of our most skilled captains. In 2003, I made him a mentor Patrol Captain, working with the new captains to learn the skills needed on a busy beach.
Since SLSA started tracking hours in 2005, he completed 884 hours of patrolling, and 34 hours in the season