Sad news from Wivenhoe

[PinHead]

from the Courier Mail web site:


POLICE say there is no hope of finding a man alive after he disappeared when the canoe he and a mate were on flipped on Wivenhoe Dam.
The good mates aged in their 20s, from Redbank Plains in Ipswich, went to the lake about 7am Monday with a canoe and were expected home about 4pm but failed to return.
A 27-year-old was found about 8.30am suffering hypothermia. He had swum for three hours to make it to the lake's eastern shore after the canoe flipped.
He told police his mate, also in his 20s, was wearing steel-capped work boots and when the canoe capsized, he saw him struggling to get them off.
Police been searching for the second man all morning but hold little hope of finding him alive.
His family has been told to expect the worst.
There is no sign of the men's canoe.
Police say the survivor was probably better off in the water as air temperatures fell to 3-degrees overnight. The water temperature was about 18 degrees."



tis certainly sad news. I don't think a lot of people realise the enormity of Wivenhoe..you can paddle for hours and then realise you have to do the same time to get back...not hard to get caught out. PLUS..the wind does create some chop on there.

I know we never go in the kayak on Wivenhoe without inflatable pfd's on.

another sad loss in the fishing community...hopefully by some miracle he is found but obviously the police hold little hope now.

[trymyluck]

Sad indeed,

Pfd's and small craft should be like riding a bike and helmets, put one on before you climb in or face a fine. Dosen't help this poor bloke though.

Mark

[samsnap]

We had a really good family day out on Monday going for a drive up over Mt Glorious & over to Wivenhoe for Lunch, when we were crossing the dam wall my husband commented on the little "white caps" out there. Just to think the place was packed at every picnic point around the place & no one had an idea of what was playing out before us - very very sad indeed. Sammy xx

[sleepygreg]

SO very sad. My thoughts go out to this guys family, and his mate who was with him, and any members of Ausfish who knew these guys as I am sure there must be.

Maybe there are some things we can learn from this. Its probably not a good idea to wear heavy boots in a kayak. The report I read also said the kayak would have gone straight to the bottom because of the weight of the batteries (one would assume they had a leccy). Which means they were serious fishos. Let this be yet another lesson for us...unfortunately learned at someone elses expense. No matter how good a swimmer you are (or think you are)...other factors can hinder that skill/ability in unforseen circumstances...so take appropriate precautions.

I KNOW i am not a strong swimmer....if I am in a canoe/kayak I have a PFD on at all times...no matter how calm the day or shallow the water.....and if you are a strong swimmer and the canoe/kayak flips and cracks you in the back of the scone and knocks you out...you still have a chance of surviving...even wearing steel capped boots ( I might add....I doubt the steels caps would add much weight..more like the boots themsleves...or the guy wasnt a strong swimmer or hadnt had the basic training in how to remove apparel in the water..we will never know the exact circumstances) Speculate on as many scenarios as you can and put into place practices and equipment to minimise the risk.

Its disheartening to lose a member of the fishing family....so lets try and get some positives from this tragedy, so we dont lose any more.

Condolances to all.
Greg

[TimD]

SO very sad. My thoughts go out to this guys family, and his mate who was with him, and any members of Ausfish who knew these guys as I am sure there must be.

Very sad news


Daniel and Justin were mates of mine from school


It's a real shame there was no life jackets on board as this tragedy could have been avoided.


cheers tim

[sleepygreg]

Condolences to you Tim. Lets hope some positives come out of this tragedy.
Greg

[PinHead]

sorry to hear that Tim.

[lethal098]

Tim,

Justin was an apprentice of mine and i knew him for well over 5 years. He was the nicest guy going around and would do anything for you. It has hit us all pretty hard here at work for all of us that knew him. Anyone that came into contact with Justin would understand why.

The service will hopefully be this thursday as there has been so much red tape to go through.

All our thoughts and prayers are with his family and close friends

Lee