More and more people are finding they have time on their hands, just as Jane Lewis, Bill O'Brien and Jo Coffee did.
The trio are just a small sample of the now 135-strong volunteer force at Marine Rescue Central Coast.
Volunteers will be celebrated during National Volunteer Week (May 20-26).
Jane was once an architect, working as an academic in the faculty of architecture at University of Melbourne.
"I retired from the university after so many satisfying years, but found I needed social interaction," said Jane.
"Not just meeting up with friends for lunch, but something to keep the brain in check."
Then she discovered Marine Rescue.
Jane, who is also a qualified boat licence instructor, is often rostered for a three-hour shift in the radio room at the Point Clare headquarters of Marine Rescue during her weekend watch schedule every four weeks.
"When I arrive for duty, I'm comfortable in the knowledge that I'm catching up with friends and am going to contribute something to society - whether it be a call for assistance from a boater who's having engine problems, or someone we helped the day before who phones in to say thanks," she said.
Bill O'Brien, who had a neighbourhood milk run, enjoys the friendship that comes with the job but said there are special rewards.
"It's the friendship, definitely, but when you do a job where you save someone's life, that's when you realise how important it is," he said.
While there can be a lot of downtime in the radio room, he said there are also moments when "it's pretty full on", recalling an incident when a man radioed in from further up the coast to advise his boat was sinking.
Bill and fellow radio operator Graham McKean kept the man online while calling police who got there in time to save the man.
Jo Coffee, a retired small business trainer and assessor, agrees with Bill and Jane.
"It's the camaraderie and the chance to associate with some good friends. Mind you, we can get busy in the radio room and when that happens, conversations go out the window replaced by top level concentration," said Ms Coffee, who recalled two horrifying events in one day.
"The seaplane crash that killed six people at Jerusalem Bay on the Hawkesbury on New Years Eve in 2017 and the fireworks barge that caught fire on the water just off Terrigal beach later that night," she said.
"You're not alone in the radio room," adding that radio operators are taught to be calm.
"The calmer everyone is, the more the work gets done. Everyone pulls together when needed and that's how we get through the busy periods."
Bill O'Brien summed it up by saying Marine Rescue is an important contributor to the community.
"We're getting more awareness about who we are and what we do, which is important, but skippers need to realise they must log in and off with us so we know to instigate a rescue plan if they fail to return from their outing," said Bill.
The Point Clare base is located at Goodaywang Reserve, at the northern end of Kurrawa Avenue, on the eastern side of the railway line.
More information can be found on the Marine Rescue Central Coast Face Book page or phone the base on 4337 9600.