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It's not the sort of thing visitors to the mouth of the Mooloolah River are used to seeing. A bride and groom exchanging vows on the deck of a Coastguard rescue vessel – him in full dress uniform and her in a traditional white gown. Family and friends who couldn’t fit onto the rescue vessel floated nearby in two other private craft while more stood along the river’s rock breakwall. It was an unusual scene but if you knew Steve Akkermans and Peta Pedersen it would have made perfect sense. Between their passion for scuba diving and their volunteer work with the Mooloolaba Coastguard, the Buderim couple spend a fair slice of their time around the ocean so getting married on the water seemed completely logical. The nautical nuptials broke new ground as it was the first time an Australian rescue vessel had been used for a wedding of two crew members but for Steve and Peta it was all about bringing their passions for the ocean, their families, friends and fellow Coastguard members together for their special day. “The Coastguard is a huge part of our lives,” said Peta, a qualified biologist who is currently working with Steve in his osteopath business. “We are simple people and didn’t want a fuss but to be able to combine everything and everyone we love for the ceremony was very important to us. “My two boys were there; Steve’s two children were there; his mum flew in from Switzerland and my mum and dad came up from Melbourne. The couple have shared a love of scuba-diving for many years but their Coastguard connection is far more recent and is an amazing story in itself. While diving off the coast of Italy about two years ago, Peta was left behind by the dive boat and spent a terrifying time floating in the ocean until she was found and rescued. “It was a life-changing experience,” she said. “It really hit me when I was bobbing in the Mediterranean, not knowing whether I was going to be found or not, that you really are all alone if something goes badly wrong out there. “There is no worse feeling if you’re engine doesn’t start and you have no idea who the hell is going to come and help you. “That’s what made us want to learn how to protect ourselves and protect and help the people around us as well as others who get into trouble. “We joined the Coastguard because we wanted to learn more about seamanship, about navigation and the weather and learn it the right way from experts. The wedding made it a double cause for celebration as Mooloolaba Coastguard marked the official opening of its new communications and operations room which boasts state-of-the-art radio equipment paid for out of the Community Benefits Gambling Fund. Deputy Commander of the Mooloolaba Coastguard, John Annabell, described Steve and Peta as among the most committed rescue vessel crew members he had ever seen. We welcome comments on our stories and blogs - after all it's your site. Please note comments should be on-topic and not abusive. Comments are checked before publication. Your comments will be checked, for legal reasons, before being posted live. Thanks again for contributing to the Daily's online community. MINERS reserve grade soccer coach Terry Nolan is calling on his side to put away their ... AN elderly man was trapped for more than an hour in his car at the bottom ... Anne-Louise Brown Time will fade the scars on her face but the terror of the bashing ... TENNIS: SALLY Peers is recently back from Wimbledon and this week she has wowed spectators at ... THE luckiest person on the Coffs Coast is $3 million richer today and they may not ... News Entertainment Events Jobs Cars Sport Food & Wine Coolum Pets Classifieds Property Business Home & Garden Noosa Lifestyle Real Estate Fashion Notices Traffic People Suburbs Community Personals Weather Photos Buy & Sell Music Movies Games APN News & Media Ltd 2008. Unauthorised reproduction is prohibited under the laws of Australia and by international treaty. This is cache, read story here
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