Jetskier rescued TWICE in 24hrs

[RedEmporess]

The Mackay local paper, Daily Mercury featured a front page article on Monday 19th. "Fishing Trip Ends In Drama"

Man who i won't name set out on his jet ski from Mackay Harbour at 6am Saturday to fish the waters around St Bees Island. Rough seas turned his trip in to a nightmare.

Equipped with fishing equipment, beach umbrella, mobile phone and water but no navigation tools.

Lunch time he started to head back but the swell had chopped up. Bobbing up and down the waves he spotted land and headed towards it, not realizing he was headed for Double Island a mere 32mile from the the coast line!!!!!

Realizing he didn't have enough fuel to return to Mackay he set off his EPIRB sat there and waited for help. He left his jet ski for 10 minutes while making a phone call only to return to find his jet ski beached on the rocks.

When the Volunteer Marine Rescue service arrived at Double Island at 7pm he declined to return with them but had his jet ski refuelled.

Around midnight he set out for home but swell had worsened and found himself sitting in 4.3 metre waves.

Becoming further disorientated he sought refuge on nearby Digby Island FURTHER SOUTH!!!! He spent the rest of the night there.

At 2am he AGAIN activated the EPIRB. The RACQ-CQ Rescue helicopter located him at 2am Sunday after sighting his distress flare. The RACQ-CQ Rescue crew returned at 7am after recieving instructions from Canberra's Australian Search and Rescue service.

Volunteer Marine Resuce Service arrived to return the man back to Mackay. The exhausted man arrived at Mackay Harbour at 12:30pm Sunday.

The weather forcast was 15/20 NE.

What a waste of resources from the Air Sea Resuce and all involved. Something a few brains could have prevented. >

[robersl]

mm jet ski riders

[longtail]

what an idiot!!
i hope the VMR unit charges him for their services

jason

ps- if he could make a phone call then why set off the EPIRB?

[adds31]

I hope the water police where informed of it.

[Derek_Bullock]

The full story

Fishing trip ends in drama
19.12.2005

A JET SKIER who survived rough seas and a lonely night on two windswept islands 66 km off Mackay on Saturday says he owes his life to his EPIRB.
Jamie Evans, 32, of North Mackay, said he agreed with rescue crews that his newly purchased EPIRB probably saved his life.

Service crews from ausSAR, RACQ-CQ Rescue, VMR and Mackay police were involved in a search and rescue effort for 24 hours.

Mr Evans set out on his jet ski from Mackay Harbour at 6am Saturday to fish the waters in and around St Bees Island.

However, rough seas turned the trip into a nightmare.

Mr Evans said yesterday he set out with fishing equipment, a beach umbrella, a mobile phone and some water, but had no navigation tools.

At lunchtime I started to head back (from St Bees) but even then the swell was all chopped up,’’ he said.

‘‘I came down some waves and saw an island but I didn’t realise where I was until it was too late.’’

After becoming disoriented in the swell he landed at Double Island, east of Sarina, and realised he didn’t have enough fuel to return to Mackay.

He set off his emergency position-indicating rescue beacon (EPIRB) and waited for help.

However, when he left his jet ski for 10 minutes to make a mobile phone call from a high point on the island he returned to find the 280 kg machine beached on the rocks by a rapidly out-going tide.

When the Volunteer Marine Rescue service arrived at Double Island at 7pm Mr Evans declined to return with them but had his jet ski refuelled.

Later, around midnight, the father of three said he set out for home under a full moon but the swell had worsened and he found himself battling waves up to 4.3 metres (14 feet).

‘‘The only time I was a little scared was when I was riding up the face and dropping down the other side of 12 to 14-foot waves.

‘‘You sort of hang on for dear life,’’ Mr Evans said.

He said he became disoriented and sought refuge on nearby Digby Island for the remainder of the night.

At 2am he activated the EPIRB again.

An RACQ-CQ Rescue helicopter crew located him at 2am Sunday after they sighted his red distress flare.

‘‘The best thing was seeing that chopper,’’ Mr Evans said.

The RACQ-CQ Rescue crew returned at 7am after receiving instruction from Canberra’s Australian Search and Rescue service — ausSAR.

VMR deputy skipper Russell McLennan said Mr Evans was ‘‘a very happy chappy’’ when he arrived to take him and his jetski back to Mackay.

An exhausted Mr Evans arrived at Mackay Harbour at 12.30pm yesterday.

‘‘That EPIRB saved his life. If it wasn’t for that we’d have been looking for a body out there,’’ Mr McLennan said.

[Dug]

Natural selection is foiled again

[Mad_Barry]

Jet Skiers don't have a monoploy on brainless acts.

We were 40 odd nm from home on Saturday . Hadn't seen a boat all day when bobbing over the horizon towards us came a ratty old boat with 4 guys on board asking directions to 'home' because their GPS had dropped dead

[rajawolf]

At lest he carried a EPIRB and distress flares..how many jet skiers would have these .

[land_based]

Father of three, and still no brains.

[MIKOS]

The epirb saved his life.

The best invention ever made.

I bet he will check the weather and buy a gps,even one of those handheld jobs.

lucky guy.

Cheers

MIKOS

[thumps]

ahhh the world is full of invincible ppl.

EPIRB may have saved his life

but a bit of common sense may have made the whole thing less expensive for the tax payers

[sf17fisherman]

even with the gps as said above what would you do when i dies

nothing like the old school and a compass

i will not blame it on the jetski but surly common scence would of said to take the lift home the first time around and not to head off again in worst conditions at night toboot

well atleast he is home for crissy and hopfuly learnt a few lessons along the way

[bigmack]

The funny bit was the beach umbrella - what the ?

[GBC]

I have major issues with people thinking that because they have a gps, they are O.K. to be offshore.
I also have a major issue with someone who activates an epirb, then 'declines' to be rescued????? Epirps are the same as an SOS call. Once sent, it implies that "i no longer have control over my destiny and hereby hand my arse over to the relevant rescuer to save it". Nowhere under ARSE in the dictionary is there a reference to goods or chattels. They should have saved his arse in the first place and left the ski for later. The arse being saved has no say in this.
He could have paid for the salvage by selling his ears. There is a bounty on jet skiers ears like foxes isn't there?
Moral? A handheld compass costs less than $20.00.....
They practical experience this guy got should have cost him a lot more.

[DR]

QUICK, someone put some more chlorine in the gene pool..