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!! :o
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 ;D

[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..

[szopen]

Beach umbrella is a sort of fuel conservation device for jet skis.

Used as a sail if the wind is going in the right direction.

[dasher]

I personally feel people like this should be held accountable
for wasting resue services time. He obviously had water and
could have slept on the Island until morning. Then he could seek assistance refuel and be escorted back to Mackay. He should
pay for both rescue attempts. But hell what the heck, I bet he didn't even have to pay for the fuel for his jetski. ::) Hope to christ his wife slapped him all around the loungeroom. >:(

[Mad_fisherman]

Hmmmm interesting topic and a lot of different views.

Dumb or not at least the bloke is alive and his children still have a father however, enlightening it may of been as for cost yeah maybe he should foot the bill however as one person stated at least he had flares etc.

imagine being his wife sitting at home and children wondering where he was??? i know my misses and she would be going nuts if i went out for the day fishing and did not come back.....( she would slap me round too for this type of thing) heheheh

He seemed to be a little lacking on the brains side of things, but i think the services would of just been happy to get the bloke home alive seeing as though in quite a few cases it is only by peoples lake of wisdom and judgement that they get caught up.

I say thanks to the rescue services for another job wonderfully done and yet another life/father saved.

Here is another thing the air sea blokes at times are not the smartest people either against there better judgement they decided to tackle the tally river mouth or the ally can't remember which on a not so nice day. be all and end all they had to be rescued by 2 board riders after they rolled one of the surf rescue jet boats. Sad thing was two of the blokes on board weighed close to 100kg and could not swim to save themselves yet the board riders picked them up and took them to the beach. How much taxpayers money was waisted that day ? i do not think those jet boats would be real cheap. when they spoke to the blokes they thanked the board riders and a few months later presented them with plaques for the efforts etc. And stated against there better judgement they went out for a run when they should of stayed in...... even the let's say brighter ones make mistakes....

Just another view

Cheers

MAD!

[thumps]

i notice today in the Mackay Mercury

that the guy will pay the $1600 fuel bill for his rescue

A $1600 bill will be sent to the Mackay man rescued on Sunday after he went fishing on his jet ski 28km offshore. That’s a small part of the estimated $14,000 it cost to get James Evans, 32, of North Mackay, home on Sunday. ‘‘They haven’t sent me a bill yet, but I will pay,’’ Mr Evans said yesterday....

i notice that doesnt include the damage done to the VMR's boat done by his jetski :-/

[juicyfruit]

Daily Mercury
20.12.2005


$1600 bill for jet skier


A $1600 bill will be sent to the Mackay man rescued on Sunday after he went fishing on his jet ski 28km offshore. That’s a small part of the estimated $14,000 it cost to get James Evans, 32, of North Mackay, home on Sunday.

‘‘They haven’t sent me a bill yet, but I will pay,’’ Mr Evans said yesterday.

The $1600 fuel account will be sent by Mackay’s Volunteer Marine Rescue (VMR) which spent 52 man hours finding Mr Evans and getting him and the $20,000 jet ski back to Mackay.

The rescue also involved the RACQ-CQ Rescue chopper heading out twice, at a cost of $5240 for the first trip and $6520 for the second.



THE cost of the second trip will be refunded to the chopper service because it was called in by the Australian Search and Rescue group after Mr Evans activated his EPIRB, RACQ-CQ Rescue general manager Phil Dowler said yesterday.

Skipper of the VMR Rescue Cat IV involved in the operation, Geoff Hildreth, said the rescue was in rough conditions and it had been ‘‘dangerous’’ for the skipper and two crew.

The duckboard on the rescue cat was damaged when the jet ski was hauled on board. It will cost about $500 to repair.

Mr Evans had left Mackay Harbour at 6am Saturday to fish off St Bees Island.

Rough conditions later saw him stranded on Double Island Point, east of Sarina.

He was finally rescued on Digby Island early on Sunday morning.

‘‘I’m in no rush to go out there again, but if the conditions are right I will,’’ Mr Evans said.

‘‘Kinchant Dam looks like a safe bet at the moment.

‘‘I became disoriented when I couldn’t see the coastline because of smoke haze. Conditions changed very quickly. I headed home in the wrong direction. Next time I will have a GPS.’’

He said the 3.6m jet ski was up to very rough conditions.

‘‘I’ve been out that far about 10 times.

‘‘The ski isn’t a toy. It can cruise at 60km/h and has a top sped of 120kmh,’’ Mr Evans said.

‘‘If I had been in a tinny, it would have sunk in those conditions.

[gogecko]

Goldy VMR has a policy of not refuelling anyone, they will only tow. Now I can see why......


Why has nobody asked the most important question - did he catch any fish?

[juicyfruit]

Well he can "p-orf" from Kinchant too, as an ex-waterskiier and now keen fisherman....I dislike jetskiiers on the water, full-stop

Juicy

[cuzzamundi]

and i bet he thinks he's he-man now!!! you gotta laugh at those chest puffers. 3 kids and all. unreal. shoulda been displayed before the whole town as their newly found token of stupidity! " 'tis the season to be a wally!!!"

cuzza

[timbacutta]

As well as paying for VMR & Rescue Helicopter costs, he should be charged by Fisheries and Boating for not carrying navigation equipment when beyond smooth and paritally smooth water which is a recommended general safety obligation for all recreational ships. Or don't these rules apply to jet skis? I know you can't refuse to rescue idiots, but they should pay the full cost of the rescue. I hope he buys a compass before he gps, compass batteries don't go flat. Well done the VMR guys for another unnecessary rescue.

Jeff :)

[redspeckle]

I thought it was the law must have a compass on any water craft more than 2 nautical miles offshore :-?
Well it turnout for him to be a :o & [smiley=greedy.gif] lesson for 24hrs
on the water

Good to see the Rescue Groups release to the public how much really cost to rescue him hopefully this is wake up called for the idoits thinking heading out on the water in bad weather and don't plan their trips [smiley=dunce.gif]
and wasting Rescue Groups time in helping them get out of trouble which they shouldn't have been there in the first place
Mitch :)

[thumps]

‘‘If I had been in a tinny, it would have sunk in those conditions.

stupid comment me thinks from a silly man...


anyone with a tinny wouldnt be out there in the first place...if he had common sense..


and i love the bit that his jetski goes soooooo fast....all the better to hit ppl and objects at speed dont you think???

[RobSee]

dug LOL

[Billo]

whats the go with Jet Skis lately ...atleast one report a week of accidents / deaths / serious injury or all of the above of jet ski riders that just aren't thinking and causing havock .....yes , there must be some sensible people out there on them , but all in all there is a whole lot of flipping idiots !

[thumps]

and two peole died in car accidents in 15 hours in NSW

speed kills

add christmas holidays+beaches+booze+speed+ invincible single minded morons...and ya get death

[lbgking]

I think the rescue services should be given his jet ski. It sounds like this moron will be heading out again and will probably end up being a statistic.

[thumps]

I think the rescue services should be given his jet ski. It sounds like this moron will be heading out again and will probably end up being a statistic.


good idea

in other States the Law has the capacity to conferscate boats/pwc/cars...even homes if they seem fit to do so

maybe it would cure the redneck element if they knew they would lose their assests

[cooky]

in other States the Law has the capacity to conferscate boats/pwc/cars...even homes if they seem fit to do so

maybe it would cure the redneck element if they knew they would lose their assests

Not sure what the 'redneck' comment has to do with anything? are you to be called a Skinny Latte drinking yuppy who is too good for your own boots. Actually am drinking a nice Skinny Latte right now - lovely :D

While I agree that this guy has made a mistake and obviously isn't a very experienced sea person, I must play devils advocate a little and make the point that not everyone is bought up in a family with boating / fishing is taught from day dot. Not everyone reads web sites like Ausfish or has experienced friends to learn from. Most people forget their licensing test pretty quick and when they buy an EPIRB, it's not often reminded them when to use it, etc and under what circumstances.

It's like being a computer tech and branding everyone who calls for help idiots.

Mistakes are made, lessons are learnt. That's life. Everyone has a bad day. Funny how many people don't think that clearly under pressure or extreme stress - he might look back at the situation and think "I'm a ########, why did I do XYZ". Being lost and disorientated on an island many KMs from the coast with whitecaps, big waves, wind - dark BY YOURSELF. I think a lot of people would freak out a bit and not think too clearly. have you ever noticed that when something goes wrong and you panic / rush that more problems seem to occur - the problem escalates.

Common sense is harder to find and will become more difficult because of the unfortunate way our world is going (particularly Australia). Signage for everyone, stickers, instructions, LAWS, Legislations, rules, technology, etc - mean that younger people obey instructions, not use THEIR BRAINS. I amazed at how many people switch off on the road because they're doing 60km/h in a 60 zone and most likely think subconsciously that they're safe because that's the recommended speed. The prevalence to blame someone else is amazing.

At least this guy isn't suing someone for not notifying him of dangerous sea conditions before he launched his ski or some other bulls*t thing. These are the idiots - the same sort of idiots that would refuse to pay for the fuel or sue for damages to the jet ski while trying to put it on the boat.

Anyway - back to my coffee

[thumps]

my apologise to any rednecks i have offended


better than calling them f***wits i guess

still anyone that rides a pwc that small into those areas without the ability...or the common sense to be able to return...and then brag in the paper about how fast their pwc goes...and to make the comment that a tinny would have sunk

to me..there is a slight amount of redneck labeling to be done


still its only my opinion


ps...never had a latte

[sf17fisherman]

my apologise to any rednecks i have offended


better than calling them f***wits i guess

still anyone that rides a pwc that small into those areas without the ability...or the common sense to be able to return...and then brag in the paper about how fast their pwc goes...and to make the comment that a tinny would have sunk

to me..there is a slight amount of redneck labeling to be done


still its only my opinion


ps...never had a latte

first nothing wrong with rednecks and i think this country needs a little bit more redneck (country rocks)
i'm not putting a whole heap of faith in the paper write up and those statements could of easly been taken out of context
not sure takeing someone property just because they got into trouble is a fair or good thing
i agree with cooky that he may of paniked
howeven as i have said elsewhere the big problem i see is that he was left out there to once agin find his way home
i wonder how much we would of heard about this if he was rescued and taken home the first time :-?

[Darryl]

I say string him up. Yehaaawwwwwwwwww :P

[juicyfruit]

Yeah, give the poor dumb blondes a break for a change.




Juicy

[Gbanger]

I say string him up. Yehaaawwwwwwwwww :P

hahaha well done in bringing a bit of fun back into this thread

[DICER]

Bring back the law of natural selection

[Mantaray]

I hope the water police where informed of it.

so why does the gov have a water police, boats etc but rely on the services of "volunteer" marine rescue and community based helicopter services?

[Derek_Bullock]

Another reckless boatie charged with operating a vessel in an unsafe manner. Seems like the law finally caught up with him.


Derek


Jet skier faces a $14,575 rescue bill

28.01.2006

A JET skier faces a $14,575 rescue bill after he called out emergency services to help him twice in one weekend.

Jamie Evans, 32, painter, of North Mackay, pleaded guilty in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday to operating a vessel in an unsafe manner off Mackay between December 16 and 19.

Mr Evans took a 3.7m jet ski 35 nautical miles offshore and was stranded on rocks at Double Island when he activated his EPIRB, to which the Volunteer Marine Rescue (VMR) boat VMR Mackay responded.

The boat crew offered to transport him back to Mackay but he refused.

The next morning he activated his EPIRB at a location 10 nautical miles south of where he had been earli- er.

The RACQ CQ-Rescue helicopter located him holding a red flare but the helicopter could not land because of bad terrain.
VMR Mackay went out again and this time they transported his jet ski back to the Mackay Marina.

Prosecutor Senior Constable Tony Irving said the costs involved were: $11,575 for the RACQ-CQ Rescue helicopter; $1600 for fuel for VMR; $500 in damage to the VMR boat Rescue Cat IV; and $900 for police overtime. The rescues took up 50 hours of VMR’s time.

Duty solicitor John Blayney, of Legal Aid Queensland, said Mr Evans had already paid $2500 to the Mackay VMR and the case was adjourned until February 10 to allow other costs to be considered.

[familyman]

More of the result will bring less of the cause one would think. ::)
Oh and bring me another double decaf with a twist ;D
cheers jon

[RedEmporess]

Maybe he will have to work a bit of overtime on the weekends to pay the fines instead of taking the jetski fishing!!! :'(

[nonibbles]

They should've said to him "Yeah mate you can stay but the jetski's coming with us" #I think he would've come back right then.
Cooky you sound like a very well grounded person who understands a lot of human behaviour. Maybe we could sips some lattes together one day.
Does bloke behaviour and redneck mean the same?

[The_Walrus]

There should be no option,

When you activate your epirb, you get rescued end of story.

Luc

[bidkev]

There should be no option,

When you activate your epirb, you get rescued end of story.

Luc

Hopefully ::)

kev

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.

[sf17fisherman]

first is it a rescue bill or a fine he is getting??? bit of a diffrence

second i belive VMR units shouldn't carrie fule to refule people but instead two in regardless
i belive he shouldn't of had a choise to stay out or come in
however the rescue organisation needs to take a bit of the blame for letting this happen
may not of been as bad as it is now if he was made come in first time

and yes you set of your epirb that should be it
i thought those things were for cases like when a mayday isn't able to be broadcast??

lastly and this isn't really about this case but i think it is a sad day when your made to pay for your own rescue if it was honest
like i have no problem with donating a big chunk of money for saveing my life however if it is a user pay system :o

as i said wasn't in this case more for a honest time like when someonedoes sink or has i fire while out at sea not some hero on a jetski who went beyond his abilty and could of made it less painful by comeing home first time round

[Panasonic]

Jet skier faces a $14,575 rescue bill

28.01.2006

A JET skier faces a $14,575 rescue bill after he called out emergency services to help him twice in one weekend.

Jamie Evans, 32, painter, of North Mackay, pleaded guilty in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday to operating a vessel in an unsafe manner off Mackay between December 16 and 19.

Mr Evans took a 3.7m jet ski 35 nautical miles offshore and was stranded on rocks at Double Island when he activated his EPIRB, to which the Volunteer Marine Rescue (VMR) boat VMR Mackay responded.

The boat crew offered to transport him back to Mackay but he refused.

The next morning he activated his EPIRB at a location 10 nautical miles south of where he had been earli- er.

The RACQ CQ-Rescue helicopter located him holding a red flare but the helicopter could not land because of bad terrain.
VMR Mackay went out again and this time they transported his jet ski back to the Mackay Marina.

Prosecutor Senior Constable Tony Irving said the costs involved were: $11,575 for the RACQ-CQ Rescue helicopter; $1600 for fuel for VMR; $500 in damage to the VMR boat Rescue Cat IV; and $900 for police overtime. The rescues took up 50 hours of VMR’s time.

Duty solicitor John Blayney, of Legal Aid Queensland, said Mr Evans had already paid $2500 to the Mackay VMR and the case was adjourned until February 10 to allow other costs to be considered.

[JEWIENEWIE]

I dont understand why the rescue team let him head back by himself, surely they would of been aware about the conditions. Was that the right decision for them to make or do they have no say in if someone wants rescuing or not
JN

[backhoe]

There was a thing on one of the current affairs shows last night about this. Apperently he is also disqualified from driving at the moment and there he was on TV driving away from court in his car. Apparently got pinged again. Makes you wonder??

[JEWIENEWIE]

What a complete noodle!!
JN

[LizardWizard]

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

hehehe
exactly !!!

:)

[yibbiy]

all jet skiers should go and get lost on an island. they do nothing but annoy the hell out of everyone!

[Mantaray]

so was this chappy actually breaking any laws? there's quite a few parallels that can be drawn from this one or is it just because it's a jet ski?

[Bros]

lastly and this isn't really about this case but i think it is a sad day when your made to pay for your own rescue if it was honest
like i have no problem with donating a big chunk of money for saveing my life however if it is a user pay system

If you can afford the jet ski you can afford to pay to be rescued.

[MIKOS]

There was a thing on one of the current affairs shows last night about this. Apperently he is also disqualified from driving at the moment and there he was on TV driving away from court in his car. Apparently got pinged again. Makes you wonder??

Once you are disqulified from driving a motor vehicle you are disqualified from any sort of vehicle that you require a licence for.

So this guy must not have been licenced at the time of his rescues?

Silly man ::)

Mike :)

[sf17fisherman]

lastly and this isn't really about this case but i think it is a sad day when your made to pay for your own rescue if it was honest
like i have no problem with donating a big chunk of money for saveing my life however if it is a user pay system

If you can afford the jet ski you can afford to pay to be rescued.


well if we now need to pay to be rescued no matter what on the bais that we can afford to be out there then surely that can lead to privet enterprise getting in and makeing some money and undercutting the VMR units
as i said i have no problems donateing a chunk of money but when you have to pay a itamsed bill covering everything then that couldn't be a good thing

[sf17fisherman]

There was a thing on one of the current affairs shows last night about this. Apperently he is also disqualified from driving at the moment and there he was on TV driving away from court in his car. Apparently got pinged again. Makes you wonder??

Once you are disqulified from driving a motor vehicle you are disqualified from any sort of vehicle that you require a licence for.

So this guy must not have been licenced at the time of his rescues?

Silly man ::)

Mike :)

not sure on the law in Queensland but in NSW you can be banned from driveing a car and yet still be able to drive a bike or boat if you have the licences

[2iar]

not sure on the law in Queensland but in NSW you can be banned from driveing a car and yet still be able to drive a bike or boat if you have the licences

In QLD, if you lose one you lose the lot for the period of the ban. Wasn't always the case, but it certainly is now.

Mike

[subzero]

sf17fisherman, just thought I would enlarge on a couple of your coments


second i belive VMR units shouldn't carrie fule to refule people but instead two in regardless
i belive he shouldn't of had a choise to stay out or come in
however the rescue organisation needs to take a bit of the blame for letting this happen
may not of been as bad as it is now if he was made come in first time

and yes you set of your epirb that should be it
i thought those things were for cases like when a mayday isn't able to be broadcast??

Towing and fuel. By and large, their can be a number of problems refueling a vessel on the water. Motion of boats can cause spillage, falls and injurys especially during transfer, static electricity can cause explosion, fumes from improperly vented bilges... explosion, wrong fuel/mixture.... being sued for a new motor... not the least vague areas of wether we would be covered in the event of fire on our own vessel while carrying the extra fuel... some insurance companies say that if you are carrying extra fuel in your car you MAY NOT be covered in the event of a fire, wether this is true or not I dont know for sure. Occassionaly, VERY OCCASSIONALY, we MAY refuel on the water. This is at the Skippers determination but is against unit policy in MOST instances at our Unit.

The Rescue Group must bear some responsibility
No VMR or Coastguard member has any statutory authority to enforce anything. We are Volunteers and I would suspect if the Boating Public were to start getting told what to do by us we would get no support whatsoever. We can only offer advice and recommendations. If your boat is left unattended and it starts to take on water through the head (toilet), we can not board your vessel without the owners permission or untill we recieve express approval from Water Police if you cant be contacted. I have actualy sat and waited for permission from Police to board a vessel at Pt Halloran as it was slowly submerging. This took a full 10 minutes and was very unerving watching a boat sink before your very eyes and wondering if you were going to get the word on time. (This story gives an example of how little we can do without permission). We made it on time, pumped it out using 2 fire pumps, moved furnishings within the vessel to higher ground and repaired the non return valve. Surprisingly enough, the owner came to the Base window the following day and had a blue with me asking, "Who gave you the right to board my expletive vessel"? I was never more greatfull than that day having followed the proceedures laid down!!! I have no idea why he didnt want us stopping his boat from sinking, probably insurance I guess?
Further to that, I think a large number of Volunteers would toss it in if the were forced into the position of doing the Polices or Fisheries job for them, a smack in the chops for doing Volunteer work isnt worth the money ;)

Epirbs
Yep, epirbs should only be activated when you as the Master or the vessel are in Grave and immenent danger, or that if you do not recieve help quickly you will end up in the above before help is likely to arrive. (Mayday/PanPan). However the gentleman placed himself in this situation 2 times in nothing that could be described as anything else but as intentional. If he had played the game on the initial call and done as suggested he wouldnt have got in the mess, nor would he be forking out these great wad's of cash.

Tony Bulwar got rescued twice, several years apart... he did not have to pay any money out even though one of those jobs cost the Australian Navy well over $100,000-00. As a signatory to the Solas agreement, Australia must offer a service to the Maritime community free of charge for Maydays and PanPans, NOT ROUTINE... however, to get this free service you must follow the controlling Authoritys instructions.
Just a month or two back a boat travelling between Australia and NZ put out a Mayday in attrocious weather. The vessels steering was disabled. 3 POB, the NZ Navy would not take the vessel under tow in the conditions as it was considered to dangerous by them, 2 persons evacuated to the Navy ship, the owner stayed with the boat and refused to leave it even though it was insured. Conditions deteriorated, the boat rolled and the Skipper saw sense finaly and abandoned to a life raft... the Navy ship was recalled and he was taken on board.... he was given an account by the Navy or the Courts, I cant remember which in something of the order of $70,000-00. He, like this bloke, rejected help/instructions and incurred the ADDITIONAL costs as a result. (And rightly so in my opinion).

Hope this explains it a little bit better

Kind Regards Lloyd

[sf17fisherman]

Lloyd i'm glad to hear you rarely refule people as i do also think it was the wrong move and also i thought it was the case you only ask for the payment (that gets written as a donation and is tax ductable) but wasn't 100% sure

i agree in this case he was defintly should pay a nice chunk to keep karma on his side

i may of worded my reply wrong yesterday but was getting at a scenro like following

2PO
Wide of the east coast
Whales migrating
Boat get hit and fliped and with luck everyone ok but in the water
They set of the Epirb being the last and only means or raiseing the alarm

this sets off a big and wide search and resuce


now going by what some people are saying these people should pay for their rescue alone with a repair or new boat
in this case it would be a total accedent that isn't and can't be helped and i'm sure like many that do have this happen each year they would donate a nice size of cash to the VMR but i just don't belive we should ever think that if thing like this happen we should pay for the lot

well not like that but if like the two above where they knock back the rescue than yes they should pay the second ot more times around

[Bros]

A couple of corrections there sf17 fisherman. There can be no donation in these cases that are tax deductible as they are purely "Fee for Service" no matter how you might want to dress it up'

If you want to avoid paying towing fees join your local VMR group and you will get no charge or little charge. If you called out the RACQ if your car broke down and you wern't a member it will just be a matter of get out the cheque book or credit card.

Emergencies like you quoted will cause activation of the police who will activate the VMR group and their activation will be covered by the police.

The VMR money doesn't grow on trees and the subsidy from the government for running cost is poor so then the orginisations have to fund raise and have membership fees to pay for the difference. There would be no way a commercial operation could compete with volunteers on a cost basis.

VMR groups have now been banned from carrying fuel other than in their vessel fuel tanks so if you run out of fuel you have only one choice from VMR and that is a tow.

Another thing I have been recently made aware of that Marine safety board in QLD are now taking a hard line approach to incidents and with the example you gave you could possibly end up in court defending your actions.

Go down to your local VMR and get a membership form and be a member treat it the same a RACQ membership. If you can afford the boat you can afford the membership it is cheap insurance.

[sf17fisherman]

A couple of corrections there sf17 fisherman. There can be no donation in these cases that are tax deductible as they are purely "Fee for Service" no matter how you might want to dress it up'

If you want to avoid paying towing fees join your local VMR group and you will get no charge or little charge. If you called out the RACQ if your car broke down and you wern't a member it will just be a matter of get out the cheque book or credit card.

Emergencies like you quoted will cause activation of the police who will activate the VMR group and their activation will be covered by the police.

The VMR money doesn't grow on trees and the subsidy from the government for running cost is poor so then the orginisations have to fund raise and have membership fees to pay for the difference. There would be no way a commercial operation could compete with volunteers on a cost basis.

VMR groups have now been banned from carrying fuel other than in their vessel fuel tanks so if you run out of fuel you have only one choice from VMR and that is a tow.

Another thing I have been recently made aware of that Marine safety board in QLD are now taking a hard line approach to incidents and with the example you gave you could possibly end up in court defending your actions.

Go down to your local VMR and get a membership form and be a member treat it the same a RACQ membership. If you can afford the boat you can afford the membership it is cheap insurance.


i'm already a duel member to my vmr and donate most of my money set aside to charioties to my VMR unit and apart from them the only other that get my money is lifesavers australia (surf life saveing)

IMHO i would be offended if i had to go to court for a accedent that was no one fault

[Panasonic]

so was this chappy actually breaking any laws? there's quite a few parallels that can be drawn from this one or is it just because it's a jet ski?



he didnt break the law

[fish2eat]

so was this chappy actually breaking any laws? there's quite a few parallels that can be drawn from this one or is it just because it's a jet ski?



he didnt break the law

Oh yes he did....he had a mobile phone and an epirb. He did NOT have flares, Vsheet, signalling device, navigational equipment.....all required for operation in beyond smooth water

[Panasonic]

:-?

[Panasonic]

maybe i need to be pointed in the right direction on this one.

all i can find on PWC's is the need for the correct PFD and an epirb if you travel more than 2 klms outside partially smooth waters.

he had an epirb

[MulletMan]

I dragged a Boatie back three times in two days from VMR Vicky Point so it isn't always Jetskis!
He had a flat battery the first time, jump started it, went out, didn't recharge it enough and got towed back from Peel Island by us.
Came back next day with it "fully charged" - yeh!
Same as above but this time from Coochy.
During the above we suggested to him that his Starter Motor was very (as in very) hot with smoke coming off it during the starting process.
Yep, sure enuf, get a call from Peel that he can't start the outboard. The starter motor had seized.
Very common to pull Boaties back a couple of times in very quick succession with fuel, batteries and electrics usually the cause.
And of course a depressingly high number of them didn't have radios anyway - the old mobile phone trick!

[fish2eat]

I just checked again .....if it is registerable boat he needs the safety equipment

the flares and V sheet are mandatory, not the navigational equipment, that is "suggested"

But why would any sane person go 60km offshore without a handheld GPS which can be bought for $200??

[SeaHunt]

But why would any sane person go 60km offshore without a handheld GPS which can be bought for $200??

He goes fishing 60k offshore on a jetski, :o why would you think he is sane.

This idiot will kill himself one day.
Its a pitty he already has kids , we don't want people like that breeding.

[Panasonic]

I just checked again .....if it is registerable boat he needs the safety equipment

the flares and V sheet are mandatory, not the navigational equipment, that is "suggested"

But why would any sane person go 60km offshore without a handheld GPS which can be bought for $200??



doesnt read that way to me

Safety equipment
Safety equipment is dependent on where you are travelling. All PWC operators must wear the correct personal flotation device (PFD) at all times.

- PFD type 2, 3 or a wetsuit with inbuilt flotation approved as PFD type 3 in smooth water limits.

- PFD type 2 in partially smooth and offshore water limits.

If you travel more than two nautical miles offshore, when beyond smooth and partially smooth waters, you must carry an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB). PWC travelling at night or at times of reduced visibility must show navigation lights - side lights and either an all round white light or a stern light.
http://www.msq.qld.gov.au/qt/msq.nsf/index/msq_pwc

[Gazza]

fined $750 ,and you(s) wonder why i spewed at the ridiculous $3000 fine on a rec boatie spitting distance from brisbane in partially-smooth waters >:( >:(

http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,18191606%255E2765,00.html

http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,1658,5110778,00.jpg

[bidkev]

fined $750 ,and you(s) wonder why i spewed at the ridiculous $3000 fine on a rec boatie spitting distance from brisbane in partially-smooth waters #>:( >:(

http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,18191606%255E2765,00.html

http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,1658,5110778,00.jpg

This probably illustrates the magistrate's role in "appropriate sentencing". The discrepancy in the sentences could be based on the magistrate's view of the defendants.

One was simply an idiot endangering his own life........a 750 buck fine indicates to me that the magistrate didn't consider the endangering of the rescue crew's lives.

In the other case the magistrate more than likely took into account the fact that the bloke endangered hsi kid's lives and should've known better having 8 yrs experience on a trawler. There may also be the factor that the court wasn't convinced as to the mans honesty as he stated that he had set off flares but there was no packaging on the boat to prove that this was so.

kev

Wife: "There's trouble with the car. It has water
in the carburetor."

Husband: "Water in the carburetor? That's
ridiculous."

Wife: "I tell you the car has water in the
carburetor."

Husband: "You don't even know what a carburetor
is. I'll check it out. Where's the car?"


Wife: "In the pool."