Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Saving the life of another person cannot be measured in monetary terms. It is also impossible to describe the satisfactiori of carrying out a successful rescue to anybody. However, the disappointment and sense of failure when a rescue mission fails and a life is lost, is devastating. Many rescue workers, including those of the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), have experienced this overwhelming sense of failure. Rescue workers often dwell on failed rescue attempts, wishing that they could have arrived on the scene earlier or knew where to start looking for people. The fact that lives are still lost, despite the best efforts of rescue workers, points to the need to improve on life saving techniques, procedures, equipment and technology. Providing the NSRI with a workable tool to help them manage and allocate resources, plan a rescue, determine drift speed and distance or create search patterns, may one day be just enough to save one more life. With this goal in mind, a search and rescue application, called RescueView, was developed utilising ArcView 3.2a. This application was specifically designed for use by the NSRI, and it will be used as a command centre in all NRSI control rooms and for all rescue efforts. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Om die lewe van 'n ander persoon te red, kan nie in geldwaarde gemeet word nie. Dit is ook onmoontlik om aan enige iemand die bevrediging van 'n suksesvolle redding te beskryf. Die terleurstelling en gevoel van verlies is egter baie groot wanneer 'n reddingspoging misluk en 'n lewe verloor word. Menige reddingswerkers, insluitend dié van die Nasional Seereddingsinstituut (NSRI), het al hierdie oorweldigende gevoel van mislukking ervaar. Reddingswerkers tob dikwels oor onsuksesvolle reddingspogings en wens dat hulle vroeër op die toneel aangekom het of geweet het waar om vir mense te begin soek. Die feit dat lewensverlies steeds plaasvind, ten spyte van reddingswerkers se beste pogings, dui op die behoefte om lewensreddingstegnieke, -prosedures, -toerusting en -tegnologie te verbeter. ( Deur die NSRI met 'n werkbare instrument te voorsien, wat hulle kan help om hulpbronne te bestuur en toe te wys, 'n redding te beplan, dryfspoed en -afstand te bepaal of soekpatrone te skep, mag eendag dalk net genoeg wees om nog 'n lewe te red. Met hierdie doel in gedagte is RescueView, 'n soek- en reddingsapplikasie, deur middel van ArcView 3.2a ontwikkel. Hierdie applikasie is spesifiek ontwerp vir gebruik deur die NSRI en dit sal as beheersentrurn in alle NSRI kontrolekamers en vir alle reddingspogings gebruik word.