To see that young bloke step out of the rescue helicopter yesterday said it all
I do not profess to have all the facts nor do I make any assumptions.
One thing I will say is that someone's son is alive today.......probably due to the 406.
The worth of 406.
To see that young bloke step out of the rescue helicopter yesterday said it all
I do not profess to have all the facts nor do I make any assumptions.
One thing I will say is that someone's son is alive today.......probably due to the 406.
This is going to be an interesting story to listen to the facts.
Firstly brilliant they rescued that bloke and hope they find the others that are missing.
The news was reporting that the boat rolled or capsized and that this bloke was in a liferaft which had a epirb and then fell out. No idea if he had a jacket on. He later still in the water realised he was next to another / or the same epirb ( doubt it as all have strobes don't they?) and it must have been a model that wasn't water activated on a commercial vessel??
Is that luck or what and what happened to the epirb that should have been set off in the liferaft? If it was in agrab bag and raft was set up next to boat you trgger it before entry.
Other point is that the picures still show a trawler afloat - hope it is file footage as I would never leave a boat still afloat.
I can suggest to everyone who goes offshore should do a full safety course so they know what to do and when and to any trawler owners out there who have staff who don't have a $500 personal epirb on them to think hard about it.
Wonder if we will hear what really went on.
C
1. The first one detected 10am Monday was a 406
2. There were definately two (2) different Epirbs involved. The second one is assumed to have come from the life raft which leaves several unanswered questions.
3 It was this second Epirb that was tracked
4. As for luck? Will not get into that but to be where they were and trying to ride out that cyclone was pure stupidity.
Other point is that the picures still show a trawler afloat - hope it is file footage as I would never leave a boat still afloat.
C[/quote]
Comorant,
From what I seen on the TV, it was the trawler but it had been washed onto a reef and inside looked pretty busted up and full of water, maybe they had no choice in staying with the the boat...
Ally Jack
I think the reports were saying that it rolled, and you don't want to be onboard a ship when its going past critical.
Did the trawler have 2 epirbs onboard?? The reports were saying that the survivor found one floating past. If they had 2, that would explain the situation, otherwise there is a second vessel out there unaccounted for???
Fillet and Release Squad
It also raises another point which I wish to discuss.
When we cross bars in NSW, we are required under NSW Maritime law to wear a PFD be it fixed float or auto inflation. Many individuals are split on this requirement and there are good arguments on both sides. Personally, I believe that the law is sensible and I always wear a lightweight Cat1 auto PFD when fishing or transiting outside irrespective of whether I am alone or have crew aboard.
This is not the ideal solution. If you are flung over the side, miss the grab bag, have not hooked up the kill switch cord to stop the boat, then you will have floatation. Great......what then. The EPIRB is back on the boat with a 48 hour battery and you are 300 metres behind.......floating probably 3~4 miles out. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....
Clearly, the requirement to carry a 406 EPIRB is a step in the right direction but is it the solution?
Irrespective of legislative dictates,floatation ability and battery capacity, I feel that a 406 GPS enabled PLB carried in a Cat1 auto PFD would be a better solution.
Happy to read your thoughts and happy to be criticised.
I dunno but suspect the 406 part never really came into it, the chopper was in the air and probably picked up the old frequency homing beacon portion of the unit.
Still even the 406 is no defence against any skipper hell bent and acting legally to endanger the lives of crew, the crew has no say, there is no democracy on board and the very real possibly of needing to protect themselves from the full weight of the law once back in port if they acted in any competent way to save their own lives from a person intent on homicide..... by lawful proxy anyway.
Darn shame over the other crew member, hope they find the skipper so he with much wishful thinking can rot in jail, if the law so proposed.
cheers fnq
Originally Posted by levinge
Not up to date with QLD survey but we used to have to have a epirb packed in all life rafts and one for the boat on a survey boat. That was years ago as well.
Thats a bit harsh FNQ when you are fishing 300kms of the coast and this boat has done for nearly 20years, you have to make a dicssion on weather ride it out inside the swains or make a move to go back to port, theres no were to or hide out there,the crew were in it for the money and thats the chance you take as crew and skipper, idots dont get a boat like the MBC to take to sea he is and was 20times the man you are or you will ever be and thats just my opinion he has lost his life doing what he loved to do fishing as well as the other crew,it was a very lucky thing that the surviving crew saw the epirb and activated it and he is the only person that new what went on and the situation the boat was in at what time so i dont think you are in any postition to make judgement on him or the situation especialy when lives have been lost. cheers Chris.
No mate he was a dangerous fool and you could have been with him and what might that make you now?, the lead in on that cyclone was long! the intensity was well understood, it was no surprise experience...hide behind a reef from a monster cat 4 in a dinky little boat
There was easily more than enough travel time for him to make shore showing just a basic caution, he simply decided to lightly gamble other peoples lives like the half wit hero the results have since proved him to be...sorry but it's the bottom line.
cheers fnq
1. The decision to even attempt to ride out this cyclone where they did was completely flawed. The other boats at least got away from the brunt of the storm but were still not entirely safe.
2. A 406 Epirb had everything to do with the initial alert and without that nobody who have known anything
3. The detection of the second Epirb was initially by fixed wing as at the distance they were out to sea left no time for community style rescue helo to do much more than fly out, retrieve and return. The trick was to find someone first and this was done by fixed wing and even the fixed wing had to turn back the first day, hence the Hercules and navy Seahawk involvement. The distance off the coast was bordering on the edge of extreme.
4. No amount of money is worth the gamble that was taken.
5. Oh and there is no second vessel involved.
I think you will find there has never been a requirement to pack one in a liferaft and still isn't but there may be a change to legislation coming up.
Certainly a good idea if you had to leave a boat in a hurry, like a net snagging on a trawl.
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