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Thread: Boat flipped - South Passage

  1. #1

    Boat flipped - South Passage

    Apologies if this one already answered, although I couldn't find any reference in a quick search. Just gotten back from Kooringal and heard from the locals that a +/- 6m boat had gone over on the bar on Saturday 20/06. Saw VMR and a police RIB heading out at speed and believe that they plucked the blokes out, but lost the boat on tow.

    I've never run the bar there, but must say it looked a tad angry from the ferry. Anyone know anymore?

  2. #2

    Re: Boat flipped - South Passage

    Hi Brumby

    To answer your question, yes a boat flipped while the crew of two were fishing a few k's outside the bar last Saturday.
    They had negotiated the bar safely, logged on with Raby Bay VMR, confirmed clearing the bar and proceeded to head off fishing. Wind really blew up well in excess of the forecast due to strong storm cells further seaward and they flipped while returning for another drift.
    They were on their upturned boat for some time when onshore winds pushed them onto the bar and fortunately the ebb tide carried them northwards parallel with the break towards safer water.
    The bottom line is I just happened to be at South Passage Bar doing bar crossing tuition for a crew and was closest to provide assistance when we received a request from the Water Police to help find them. The boat owner had activated his upmarket digital EPIRB which gave authorities an accurate fix on his position. Rain was closing in rapidly and we pushed my boat to its limits through the bar as timing by this stage was everything. When we got close to the Lat and Long position provided, they saw us and activated a flare. The Rescue 500 helicopter arrived on scene at same time and hovered above while we recoverd crew from water and confirmed there were no injuries. Two grateful fishing warriers transfered to Water Police boat back inside Bar.
    Raby Bay VMR also arrived on site and proceeded to tow the upturned boat. Could not right it in the by now poor sea conditions and did an excellent job towing it upside down to Flinders Beach where their members did a beach recovery and the owner eventually arrived with trailer and towed the damaged boat home.
    There are some good lessons for everyone from the whole episode that are worth mentioning and even if they only benefit a few fellow Ausfish members then it will have been worthwhile relaying them for you.
    The 406 EPIRB benefits are everything that was promised. In this instance the boat owner bought the more expensive model with the more accurate positioning capability. It was good to a matter of square metres rather than square kilometres and paid for itself in one hit as it was registered with AMSA and the SAR people knew who and what to look for and where it was.
    By the owner of the upturned boat checking with the VMR and logging on by radio etc earlier in the morning there was certainty in deploying major rescue resources.
    The boat had foam flotation under the floor allowing the occupants to remain with it. Can't emphasise how important it is that the vessel floats. Underfloor flotation better tnan none and very appreciative of full upright positive flotation in my purpose built Cruise Craft in survey for commercial passenger carrying purposes.
    The EPIRB and flares were in an emergency grab bag that the owner used sensibly and that saved their lives.
    On those windy days with plenty of slop and swell, open centre console boats, bow riders and small tinnies offer very little protection from the seas and extra care should be taken if proceeding offshore in anything but good conditions.
    The other big issue is if there is some doubt about the capability of the boat to safely handle the conditions then just don't go out.
    The good news for the owner is that he and his son did not panic, are safe and well, the boat was insured and the insurer has no qualms with the claim.
    Personally I felt humbled that he felt safe when he recognised my boat punching through the bar and heading north and then west towards them as the rain was setting in. He kept cool and delibersately activated the flare when he felt we maybe had enough visibility to see them. This was so important.
    Next time you see members of the VMR's and Coast Guard's doing fund raisers give generously as they are skilled volunteers doing an outstanding service for all of us boat owners.

    PS. We called it quits for the day ourselves as conditions got too dodgy, but have either worked the bar or fished offshore the last four days and happy to have a rest on the basis of the poor offshore forecast this weekend.

    Cheers
    Bill

  3. #3

    Re: Boat flipped - South Passage

    Good stuff Bill - nice outcome

  4. #4

    Re: Boat flipped - South Passage

    A well written piece Bill. I don't hit the thanks button on here too often but did for this one.

    Smithy

  5. #5

    Re: Boat flipped - South Passage

    Thanks Smithy

    You and I see plenty of small boats out offshore on days that sometimes border on being very marginal safety wise for them if something went wrong.
    The purpose of even mentioning this situation is to get people to realise it is so easy to get into strife when mother nature plays up and to get people thinking around the things to do properly that may well save their lives if something unexpected like this happens.
    In this case something went really wrong with the occupants suddenly being on an upside down boat in the water. Because the owner had done all the right things to that point and had the sense to stay calm there was a good result.
    Over the years I have come across several boats upturned on the bar and nobody even knew they were in strife at that stage, so I hope this little yarn encourages people to think about what can possibly happen on a rough day and plan to manage the situation if it happens to them.
    Some of my crew doing the bar training on the day had not been offshore in their own small boats so had not yet installed a radio or purchased their EPIRB. Guess what the main topic of conversation was and the $ cost was not an issue if it was going to perhaps save their lives.

    Hopefully will see you at the Boat Show in August.

    Cheers
    Bill

  6. #6

    Re: Boat flipped - South Passage

    Geday Bill ,
    Pearly Pete here .
    Good to hear that The 2 on board were rescued safely .
    Mate well done for your part of the rescue .

    Top post that states the facts on what happened & shows how important it is to have & know how to use your safety gear .

    Can you let us know what size & type the boat was . Not the brand but Tinny , Glass , Cuddy Cab , Centre Console etc
    Peter
    Searaider 2

  7. #7

    Re: Boat flipped - South Passage

    Many thanks for the excellent reply Bill, you raise some interesting points re the more expensive EPIRB. Sounds like a good outcome in the circumstances.

    Regards Carl

  8. #8

    Re: Boat flipped - South Passage

    Hi Pete

    Good to hear from you and hope you have nailed some nice ones since the Tinnie and Tackle Show.
    The boat was an aluminium centre console near 6 m in length.

    Cheers
    Bill

  9. #9

    Re: Boat flipped - South Passage

    Great post bill thanks for that. Guess your students/crew got a little more excitement than they paid for. That Cruise Craft of yours is a great boat. I was so impressed by it, that my next boat will probably be a Outsider 625, like yours. I was going to get a Fisher, but now that Fisher is basically gone, I guess I'll get a Cuisecraft. I couldn't believe how well it handled the swell.

  10. #10

    Re: Boat flipped - South Passage

    Hi Bill - well written mate. Its been a long time since I used to pay you visits up at the Marine Board when I worked for Murrell. I was out with Gordon from Fishhead near Peel when you zoomed by in Reel Affair on Wednesday this week and it reminded me that I need to do your Bar Crossing Course...Gordo reckons he loved it when he did it with you and frankly all of the reports about the course are excellent. Keep up the good work mate and thanks for all your efforts to educate us and keep many of us (Im the first to line up in this category) without the offshore experience in the know.

    Cheers

    Andrew

  11. #11

    Re: Boat flipped - South Passage

    a top effort Bill and also to all the other organisations involved. It is reassuring that those volunteer groups are there in time of need.
    This does bring me to another point..this is not aimed at the people involved in that situation.
    How many people buy a boat and decide to go offshore fishing. They may not be sure of the boat's capabilities or of their own. They think they have picked the right weather and head out..all is good on most trips but there is always the one where the weather goes pear shaped and they and their boat is found wanting on many fronts.
    I could probably put myself in this situation. The boat was not bought with offshore fishing in mind. However, it could be suited to it with the right weather conditions. It has positive level flotation..self draining sealed deck..2 bilge pumps..EPIRB..life jackets, flares etc etc etc.
    Then there is the skipper..me. I have done Bill's bar crossing course and also ventured offshore on a few charters. Seasickness is not a problem..have never had it.

    Being the realist that I am..I have asked myself if I could handle most situations if conditions go pear shaped when offshore. The answer is a definitve no. I do not believe I have the skills to handle those situations hence why I have not ventured offshore. That does not worry me..I am happy just pottering around in the bay and estuaries but I wish everyone could honestly answer the question:
    Could you and your boat handle sudden adverse conditions when offshore ?

    if there is any doubt then I would suggest not venturing out there.

  12. #12

    Re: Boat flipped - South Passage

    Quote Originally Posted by PinHead View Post
    Being the realist that I am..I have asked myself if I could handle most situations if conditions go pear shaped when offshore. The answer is a definitve no. I do not believe I have the skills to handle those situations hence why I have not ventured offshore. That does not worry me..I am happy just pottering around in the bay and estuaries but I wish everyone could honestly answer the question:
    Could you and your boat handle sudden adverse conditions when offshore ?

    if there is any doubt then I would suggest not venturing out there.
    Good question Pinhead and I have started a seperate thread to address this, so as not to hijack this thread.

    Jeremy
    "The underlying spirit of angling is that the skill of the angler is pitted against the instinct and strength of the fish and the latter is entitled to an even chance for it's life."
    (Quotation from the rules of the Tuna Club Avalon, Santa Catalina, U.S.A.)

    Apathy is the enemy

  13. #13

    Re: Boat flipped - South Passage

    Great result and great skills.

    Could someone ask a moderator to pin this post so a lot more people read it as i think it brings up very important points.

    I hope that in the near future epirbs that don't have a GPS are discouraged so the efforts of rescue services are concentratted and more possible tragedies avoided. A govt rebate or a penalty rate on standard epirbs would in a short time pay for itseld when you consider the costs of deploying helicopters.

    But like everything how do you stop the companies gouging like they have on the compulsury epirp upgrade?

    Hope the details get writte up elsewhere in boating and insurace magazines Bill as education does count and skills of those in trouble made a big difference to their ability to survive.

  14. #14

    Re: Boat flipped - South Passage

    Thanks Bill for the excellent report, and congatulations on an excellent outcome for some lucky fishermen (albeit with some forsight and coolness on their part)

    I checked on the amsa website re their recommendation for types of 406 MHz beacons. They maintain that the epirbs with a gps are picked up within seconds and that the position is known ( within 100m or so ) instantly . The regular beacon meanwhile has its signal detected at the same time but that there is no possibility of locating the position until it has been seen by another satellite, If that happens to be a polar orbiting satellite then it may pass over Australia in as soon as 90 minutes, or as long as 5 hours!! . It is only then that a rescue can be organised. That sounds like WAY too long in the water for me and that is BEFORE they can get a rescue underway and even then there is a 5 km radius to think about. Thats over 75 square km.

    I would encourage as many of you as can manage it to consider owning an epirb with gps, and to review and update your contact details on the amsa website frequently.
    www.amsa.gov.au/beacons

    Cheers,
    Brendan

  15. #15

    Thumbs up Re: Boat flipped - South Passage

    Looking into buying boat at present and have been looking at EPIRBS ...sounds like the unit the guys had on board is the way to go, thanks for report...great outcome

    Flotation and bar crossing courses also sound worthwhile

    Will sus more boats,epirbs etc out next weekend at Melb boat show at Jeffs Shed
    Last edited by Rowdy1; 28-06-2009 at 10:00 PM. Reason: update

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