safety issue ! our experience

[Lucky_Phill]

This is a wrap up of a situation that happened on Sunday 7th Sept.

Briefly:- We headed out of Scarbrough in ReBait and 2 other boats. Went to an area north of Flinders Reef.

After a dive went back to Flinders for a shallow dive. Other boats leave. Noticed the 5mtr plate boat drifting in the distance. Went to see what's doin. Skipper says he took a wave over the back, drowned the motor and the water in the deck area could not escape.

Put his crew onto our boat ( that made 8 adults and dive gear on the Sportfish), and took him under tow. Made it back to Bulwer inside Moreton and waited for VMR to tow him back across the bay.

NOW, at the time I tied a tow line I radioed VMR in informed them of the situation, and that we needed no assistance at this stage. We were travelling at 13 kph and not on the plane, and the Honda was working, which in turn was using fuel at an unguessable rate. ( like that word ? ).

The boat we towed had NO bilge pump, cause " I have a self draining deck ". He had recently welded a transom pod onto the boat, ( it appears that this was not done to watertight standard ). Also by doing this, it placed the weight distribution much further to the stern which in turn made the motor sit lower in the water. Further, he had NO radio, or we thought ( turns out he has one, 27meg, and doesn't put the ariel up unless he wants to talk to someone< ), that means he never logged onto any VMR.

If the seas had been any worse we all could have been in trouble out there, as they were, it was 1/2 to 1 mtr, n/nw wind at 10-15 and a nth swell.

I know it's not mandatory, but shoot ppl, log in, particulary going outside the bay or across it. And the cost of a VHF compared to 27 is nothing these days. In fact I have just seen VHF"s for $275.

A bilge pump, how easy is that ? and not one of these 360/450's, get something that will pump the water. I had a look at Rebaits pump yesterday and found the manufacturer installed a 450, > on a boat this size 1100 is about right, and that's what's going in this weekend.

Even Webby is working on his radios this week as some checking and maintenance needed doin.

In light of recent events, I urge all us Ausfish's to do a full safety check on Radios, flares, epirb's, life jackets, batteries, etc, especially as Xmas is approaching. An I think the upcoming Radio operaters course from VMR Vicky Point could be a worth while investment.

There is some underwater pics in " saltwater photos " section. DON'T EVEN THINK OF ASKING WHERE THIS SPOT IS....................
Phill......><> ><> ><>

[stevo]

I know the unexpected can always happen,but there is a little moto. BE PREPARED [smiley=idea.gif]a bit of general safety maintaince and a VHF is not a lot of effort. Can save spoiling someone's day

[jaybee]

When I got to the part where you said he recently had a pod welded on, i assumed it was over his scuppers. Not so apparantly? It appears mods to boats these days are not carried out to safety standards as with cars? I've always compared a boat to a light plane, fall out of the sky from 20 miles in a remote area not much chance of being found, break down 20 miles to sea, not much chance of being found. But we aussies are like that complacent, She'll be right mate.
cheers

[Big_Kev]

Hey Phil where did you say that spot was?

[jaybee]

Underwater Kev LOL. look at the depth and rise of rock..mmmmm

[aido]

The boat we towed had NO bilge pump, cause " I have a self draining deck "

that sounds like a crazy statement to me.
so the bilge floods to the deck scuppers and down she goes???
should've towed him straight to the water police and had him charged
with being a public nuisance.

[striker]

Workplace Health and Safety mid 90's in the building industry promoted common sence as an answer to most enquiries related to daily activities in high risk areas.In less than a decade we now require SKY HOOKS to make crust.
Guidelines for safety are extremely important but to protect mine and others days off fishing,I hope common scence provales 8).
Any bites yet Craig

[Kerry]

Guidelines are just that, guidelines but appropriate in most instances.

As for not having a bilge pump (or 2) then I've been through this one also and as the officer had to admit, I had no cause or use for one, it was as imple as that. Not all boats are the same but some self draining decks simply don't require bilge pumps as there simply isn't any bilge

4 foot paddles, I have them, 'cause the law says so but in a nice way as the officer also admitted, bit hard to even touch the water let alone do what paddles are supposed to do.

As for the radio issue, it's simple, 27 mHz is past its use by date, VHF and those that don't see any need to become competent in radio use (read that as do the course) then time to find another pastime

As for towing then that's something for individual skippers to decide and unless there is some obvious absolute need to tow then let someone who is better set up to do the job.

So how did a 5m boat take a wave over the stern in 10-15 knots ???.

Cheers, Kerry.

[Lucky_Phill]

I would suggest Kerry, that as he had water in the bilge and the motor was already sitting low, when he accelerated the motor dug in, which made the water in the bigle rush / move to the stern, placing more downward pressure at the rear. A little following swell would have no trouble gettin over the donk.

You had to be actually there, to see how low the motor was in the water.

Yes, it was mostly my decision to tow. Having said that, as I've said, if conditions were any worse, I would have had second thoughts.

Having been in , well let's just say " unenvious " situations before, I felt confident in my actions and also as a fellow boatie, a small obligation to someone in need. I just had to consider my responsibilities to the crew I had under my care and any if I was placing them in any danger.

I suppose past experiences paid dividends and alls well.

Phill 8) 8)

[damons33]

i've towed 3 back in 4 years and two had run out of petrol(i hate that! and the skipper was pissed!) but in my brother's centre console we had a flat battery once(rectifier broken) and a gameboat out of mooloolaba towed us back to bulwer from flinders(brave heart) about 5years ago(we gave them the 5kg kingy we had caught so they had something to eat at lest as they missed the dusk fish!i felt terrible to do it to them) so we always check ppl out for safety just in case because you never know when something goes stop! now im in the coast guard scheme which is so reassuring- i should do the radio course its just the time is hard to get off from work, i use my vhf away i dont have any trouble using it-over. haha
ps. sounds like he was fishing the cementco! great spanglies gee the dive boats dont like u getting them especially if u anchored on top of "their" wreck!

[aido]

i guess some boats may not need a bilge pump, but most every other one does and at least should have bucket???
like jaybee says,
"I've always compared a boat to a light plane"
i could'nt agree more. o/k, when $hit comes up trumps, you only grief yourself in a boat. but i can see comparisons between both craft.
another thing i see is aircraft commanders being held responsible for their actions and boat captains with none. why not investigate why a person responsible for a boat running out of fuel 20km from land, just as a private pilot would if (as they do occasionally) they make such gross errors and are a safety hazard.
imho, it reflects on poor training of small boat operators. and zero accountability for ones actions.
i guess if the good samaritan type like lucky phil didn't come along (well done nmate) there was another few days of air searches and the unknown trailer at a ramp somewhere.
someone should really get these f'wits off the water.

[littlejim]

Kerry,

more detail please. Why do you reckon 27MHz has had its day?

[Kerry]

Littlejim,

Back when 27 mHz was introduced about the only other radio choice was HF and for little boats that was quite expensive. At the time VHF was also not common and VHF radio's were also expensive and cumbersome for little boats. The cost difference now between 27 mhz and VHF is minimal considering the difference in performance, capability, range, clarity and services provided/available.

27 mhz is subject to interference and limited in range compared to VHF. At times one can receive all the chatter from half way around the world yet can't hear a boat half way across the bay. VHF does provide consistent, concise and clear communication, where as 27 mHz at times can be suspect.

There is no longer this once big gap between 27 mHz and VHF, both now don't require an apparatus licence but VHF requires an operators certificate and as far as I'm concerned so should 27 mhz.

Many appear to shy away from VHF due to having to obtain an operators certificate. I don't see any reasoning in that compared to what VHF provides over 27 mHz.

It appears that some States are a little behind the bunch when it comes to VHF repeater installations and there appears this tendancy to still favor 27 mHz, which is fine as any radio is better than no radio at all. State DoT's are now responsible for providing marine radio infrastructure to the small boat operator and there maybe some cost considerations in that as well, with some States continuing to push 27 mhz?

Cheers, Kerry.

[littlejim]

thanks for the quick reply kerry.
down at JB most of the communications seem to be on 27, distances are small and there are 3 or 4 RVCP stations operating so someone can usually hear you. But there plenty of cliffs to prevent line of sight to the home station. Is VHF still line of sight or can you get a bounce to somewhere close?

[jaybee]

What i am getting at jim and most others is, If you don't use your radio to let people know your departure, intended loacation (bearing as in a plane) and time to arrive back / location, drop out of site, how much chance has the most experienced have at finding you? nil to none i would say When i go offshore, i log in where i am heading and when i expect to arrive. VMR are usually on the ball if I havent called in to say i have arrived. I know it sounds like a waste of time. but its better then a waste of life eh.
cheers