Past Rescues

Since its inauguration in October 1973 this Flotilla (QF15) has had a proud history of "marine assists." All are "Rescues" in various degrees as there is no other way home when the boat/engine fails. The sea does not remain friendly for very long when you are at its mercies.

As the Flotilla Commander I am going to use this space to relate stories that I have been
involved with first hand, not because these are more hairy or dangerous, but because I was there.

One of the earliest "Call-Outs" that I was a crew member for, started with a call for assistance from a trawler in difficulties off the western side of Wardle Reef. At about 4.30pm a crew of four under Skipper W (Bill) Hull set out in deteriorating conditions with a northerly blowing at 25 knots plus and seas of two metres with a short steep chop and daylight fading rapidly. Our target was probably 3 hours away, meaning that in those conditions, we had to push the vessel if we were to reach our target before full darkness had set in.
I remember it well for the sheer discomfort with all four of the crew being violently seasick. Things weren’t going all that well for the trawler men either, drifting ever closer to the Reef after losing three anchors in an attempt to stay off. When the "Just Laray" reached them, only half a mile lay between them and the reef, and in such seas the ship would have been quickly smashed to pieces and the crew placed in deadly peril. Throughout the rescue the Skipper rallied the sick crew to do what was needed. A tow was quickly secured and the 30 mile return run commenced. Finally at about 0200 hours the "J.L." came into Mourilyan Harbour with its "prize" in tow. During the whole exercise the Base Radio Operator maintained communications with the rescue vessel and the distress vessel.

The scene now switches to 1999, Good Friday 2230 hours, a dark and stormy night with winds of 25 knots blowing from the SE. The Duty Skipper received a call from the worried parents of a youth who had left Kurrimine late in the afternoon in a 4 metre tinnie to join friends camping on Stephens Island (largest of the South.Barnards) and had not returned or reported in. It later transpired that somewhere between the Island & Cowley Beach he had lost power and being afraid of his drifting craft being swamped by sea & rain had decided to drop anchor and sit it out until help came.

Skipper Frank Carter with a crew of two, departed the calm of the harbour to commence a difficult search of the shallow reef behind the island. Approximately 40 minutes out, just off Kent Island, a call was received from the Police advising that a flare had been sighted in the general search area raising fears that the boy’s plight may have worsened. As a consequence of this information a radio call was put out on 27MHz and VHF although it was known that the boy did not have radio. Somewhat to our dilemma a scratchy signal came back; we now had two boats to deal with.

By this time visibility was minimal and as the rescue vessel approached the anchorage off Stephens Island, the island was blotted out by the rain and the pitch darkness of the night. Fortunately, our skipper was able to determine that there was a group of young people camped on the island with a boat and possibly close to the boy in the drifting dingy. Further to the south west of the Island was a 5m. half cabin dragging its anchor & drifting into the shallow reefs.

Our skipper decide to drop anchor to avoid moving onto the reef area in the prevailing conditions and to make contact with the boy by sweeping the area with the searchlight and sounding the ships horn. As the rain eased a torch light flashed giving a fix on the boy’s position. He opted to launch the rubber duckie due to the shallowness of the area and to remain on board whilst the other two crew members headed for shore in the duckie. The plan was to waken the campers and have them go to the aid of the boy (and their friend) with their boat whilst we headed off to the other boat. Once our crew had awaken the campers, they quickly headed off to help their mate while we ran about one mile further out to the second vessel (the 5 metre vessel). A tow line was secured and a slow tow back to our ship was undertaken. As our tow came alongside, the other youths with the boy made it back to the beach, pulled both boats well clear of the water and went back to their camp. How they managed to slept through the rain, wind and our noise on arrival is something only the young know.

We finally tied up at out berth at 0530 Easter Saturday morning with boat number 2 beside us.

January 2000 Sunday, late afternoon. Things had been quite but building up and a storm likely. The Duty Crew was thinking of knock-off time and a friendly drink at the Members bar. A radio call came in from the Mulgrave Marina to the effect that a boat with two men, two women and two very small children was in trouble off High Island. With an estimated run of two hours to High Island, it was likely that it would be nearly dark by the time we got there. F. Carter was again the Skipper on the "JL" plus a crew of two, one being a young Coxswain Bruce Edgerton who was to distinguish himself this day.

As the "J.L." approached the island the rocks on the southern end of the Island looked menacing in the rapidly fading light and with a rising sea from the S.E. breaking on the shore. The distressed vessel was then sighted just off shore but there was no sign of the families on board. However in the fading light, towels could be seen fluttering from a small beach, a break in the rocky foreshore. Anchoring off about a 100/150 metres, the rubber duckie was launched and Bruce headed off alone to the beach in the falling dark. As he approached the shore he found that in order to reach the beach he had to negotiate a maze of shallow bombies. The only way in was to stop the O.B. motor, tilt it and paddle through the maze. With one paddle broken on the way, he managed, with the help of the two men of the group to pick up the children and one of the women leaving the remaining three waiting on the shore. Coming out of the gloom I saw what I thought was three children huddled in the duckie, there was a little boy of three, a girl of four, and another girl 12/14. Lifting them on board "J.L." with words of comfort to small ones I found to my embarrassment that the "older girl" was a grown woman, small yes, very wet & bedraggled yes but the mother of the four year old, and a friendly quip for my blue, not that she minded. As the passengers were made comfortable Bruce had already headed back for the others, not only picking them up, but with the aid of the men, cut lose their anchor line and got a tow on the disabled boat. We finally tied up agains our jetty in the early hours of Monday morning .

The two families had gone for a trip from Russell Heads to the Islands, and were heading back when the prop became fouled by rubbish just under the surface. They then drifted north to High Is. where the men went over the side to rap the anchor line around a bombie to avoid being smashed on the rocks.

Bruce Edgeton was awarded the Commodore’s Blue Award for his action that night.

One other story that happened on a beautiful Sunday morning when the sea was glassy calm and the breeze only the tiniest flutter. A call over the radio, a boat with engine troubles just north of Kent Island about 6 miles away. Would we come and tow them back to Mourilyan Harbour? This was a job easily done with the inshore vessel so I and crewman Mike McKewan sped off. An hour later the boat was on its trailer and heading home.
A few months later whilst at the PCYC for an Emergency Service Expo. a little girl broke from her classmates to come over to me. "Are you the Coast Guard man who came to save a blue boat at the Barnard Islands some Sundays ago?" She asked "I was very frightened when my uncle’s boat would not go, but when you came I was not frightened any more. Thanks for saving us."

I’ve been on a few scary runs over the past 10 years and I’ve heard of worse from my colleagues, but the memory I shall cherish most are those words from the little girl.

These are but a few "good ending" stories. Over the coming months these stories will change as other skippers relate "memorable experiences"