Marine rescues prompt warning
TWO boating accidents last week have prompted police to warn against sailing in inappropriate conditions.
A man in his sixties sailed from Geelong and was 29 miles south of the coast near Wonthaggi when his 8.5 metre yacht ran into trouble last Thursday.
Unable to withstand strong winds and five metre swells, the man was knocked down and water began to fill the yacht.
He lost use of his motor and was forced to activate his emergency beacon at 3pm.
The Latrobe Valley Air Ambulance and a fixed wing aircraft were dispatched to attend the distress situation and locate the yacht.
After several attempts, they were unable to winch the man from the yacht and a Water Police crew from Williamstown was dispatched in near freezing temperatures.
A commercial ship was diverted and stood close by until the police boat arrived.
The skipper was retrieved from the yacht by Water Police at 11.20pm and transported to Hastings. He did not require any medical attention. The Water Police returned to Melbourne at 4.20am.
Sergeant George Dixon of the Water Police advised sailors to always check the weather and esnure all appropriate equipment was on deck.
“In this case, the man was able to raise an alarm and was carrying a life raft, which was deployed in an attempt to rescue him,” Sgt Dixon said.
“Be sure to always let someone know when you are planning to sail, have the appropriate safety equipment, check the forecast and monitor any weather changes, and never over estimate your ability to handle unpredictable conditions.”
Another marine incident occurred the day before on Wednesday, July 29, off Ventnor on Phillip Island.
Two men left Ventnor at about 4.30pm for a fishing trip in a 10 foot tinny boat.
They tried to pull the anchor up at 6pm, which resulted in the boating tipping when one of the men leaned over the side to retrieve the anchor.
Both men ended up in the water. A 45 year old Ventnor man remained in the water with the boat while the 28 year old man swam to shore to raise the alarm.
Cowes Police attended and Water Police were notified.
Members of the public on the beach helped recover the man clinging to the tinny.
The 45 year old man was transported to the Wonthaggi Hospital in a stable condition, while the 28 year old was checked by paramedics and did not require further medical treatment.
“I would like to stress to boat users to ensure their vessel is capable of handling conditions they are intending to use them in,” Wonthaggi’s Senior Sergeant Steve Gibson said.
“Always ensure you are carrying the correct safety equipment. While a tragedy was averted on this occasion, the dangers remain.”
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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Aug 4 2015. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
