Sinking of boat probed Tasmania News - The Mercury - The Voice of Tasmania

TIM MARTAIN - THE Mercury | November 28, 2010 12.01am

AN unknown object was responsible for the sinking of a catamaran off Tasmania's East Coast on Friday night, police said.

Two occupants were rescued from the Sea Eagle 5, a 15m catamaran, after it hit the object 15 nautical miles north-east of Maria Island and began taking water just before 9pm on Friday.

The skipper sent out a mayday call, advising that he and one other occupant were launching the life raft and activating their EPIRB distress beacon.

Tasmania Police, in conjunction with AUSSAR and Port Control, co-ordinated the response, deploying a fixed-wing aircraft and the Westpac Police Rescue helicopter to the area as well as the PV Dauntless.

Several other boats were nearby and the skipper of the Annette Margaret headed towards the sinking catamaran, which was seven nautical miles away.

The rescue vessel saw the lights of the sinking catamaran and made contact with the life raft via a hand-held radio.

Both people from the life raft were on the Annette Margaret by 11pm and the rescue vessel arrived at Coles Bay at 5.30am yesterday.

Police said the rescued people were not injured.

The catamaran is now fully submerged with only the top of the mast visible, and its location has been plotted.

The Sea Eagle 5's skipper was debriefed by police, who are working with AUSSAR to determine the cause of the catamaran's sinking.

Sinking of boat probed Tasmania News - The Mercury - The Voice of Tasmania

Missing fishermen found safe and well - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Missing fishermen found safe and well

By Eleni Roussos

Updated Mon Nov 15, 2010 11:18am AEDT

Police are searching for two separate fishing parties. [File image]. (7pm TV News NT)

• Map: Darwin 0800

Northern Territory Police have found two fishing parties which had gone missing overnight in the Top End.

Police were searching for three men who went fishing on the Victoria River yesterday.

"We've had a very concerned wife ring up and say that her husband, her son, and husband's brother went fishing yesterday morning and was supposed to be due back at lunch time," Duty Superintendent Bob Rennie said.

"Unfortunately she didn't know where along the Vic River they were going.

"This morning Timber Creek will check all the ramps out that way between Katherine and Timber Creek, see if we can locate the car and trailer."

The three men were located this morning.

Earlier, police located an 18-year-old fisherman who had gone missing near the Vernon Islands, north of Darwin.

Duty Superintendent Rennie says the man left his trailer at Leaders Creek yesterday morning and had not returned.

He ran out of petrol and was found safe and well.

The officer in charge of the NT Water Police, Steve Martin, says it is important anglers are prepared before they take to the water.

"Please check your flares, check your EPIRB, check your safety gear.

"Make sure you've got the right gear, you've got life jackets on board and they're in good order; that you've got all the required ores, back-up motors if you require them."

Missing fishermen found safe and well - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Woman rescued in late night yacht drama - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Woman rescued in late night yacht drama

Updated Mon Nov 1, 2010 10:58am AEDT

The rescue helicopter was sent but local residents reached the woman first. (ABC News)

• Audio: Inspector Darren Hopkins says the woman was well prepared. (ABC News)
• Map: Bridport 7262

Police in north-east Tasmania say they faced difficult conditions to rescue a New South Wales woman from a stricken yacht last night.

A 56-year-old Sydney woman radioed for help about 10:00 AEDT when her yacht broke away from its anchor and started taking on water in high seas near Bridport.
A rescue helicopter and boat were sent to the yacht and the woman was reached after police and local residents climbed down a cliff.
Inspector Darren Hopkins praised locals residents who helped with the rescue.
He says it was a tricky situation.
"We were confronted with some fairly difficult terrain to get to the stricken yacht and woman," he said.
"Two crews were coming in from both directions with some locals and it took about an hour for us to walk and drive closer to where she was and fortunately, about 1 o'clock this morning, we were able to wade out to the yacht and rescue her from it."
The woman was cold and wet and was taken to hospital for a check.
She had been sailing solo from Sydney to Launceston.
Her 11-metre yacht was equipped with a radio, EPIRB and GPS device and police say without this safety equipment, she may not have been rescued so quickly.
Inspector Hopkins says it could have been much worse.
"She had all the right safety gear, personal flotation devices, a working marine VHF radio, the all-important EPIRB which can help us pinpoint locations very quickly.
"So she had all the right equipment and that certainly contributed to her safety and us finding her quickly."
The yacht has been abandoned and is likely to break up in heavy seas today.

Woman rescued in late night yacht drama - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

www.e-marineworld.com.au

Sail-World.com : Sailor with no EPIRB drifts for days before rescue

 'It can't happen to me.' But yes it can. Another leisure sailor has drifted in the ocean for days before being rescued because he didn't have a registered EPIRB on board his boat.
The Coast Guard rescued a 73-year-old sailor, Richard Steg of Connecticut, who had been adrift at sea since Monday approximately 47-miles east of Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

The crew of the Port Canaveral, Fla., based 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Shrike located Steg adrift at sea aboard the 35-foot single-masted sail vessel Bonvivant. The vessel's engine lost power Monday and sustained a broken mast from heavy weather leaving Steg adrift with no power to control the vessel.

Steg had attempted a mayday distress call that was luckily picked up by the operator of the tug boat 'Calusa Coast' Tuesday evening. Steg soon lost complete power and was left unable to communicate.

The operator of the tug relayed the mayday distress call to Coast Guard Watchstanders at Sector Jacksonville and they launched an HH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, Ga.

The initial search was completed after a two-hour search pattern that covered 273 square-miles, but was abandoned when the light failed.

A first light search commenced the next day with a C-130 air crew from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla., and the Cutter Shrike who later located Steg and confirmed he had made the mayday distress call. Steg's last port-of-call was Ponce de Leon Inlet enroute for Groton, Connecticut. This happened off Florida, but the issue is universal.

The Coast Guard reminds all mariners that a maritime emergency can occur at any moment.

Lifejackets should be worn at all times whenever on the water.

In addition, they advise all sailors to maintain a registered emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) aboard your vessel so rescue crews can pinpoint your location in an emergency.

Sail-World.com : Sailor with no EPIRB drifts for days before rescue

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