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Thread: unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

  1. #1

    unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

    Police search for man after unmanned boat found with engine running off Gold Coast








    A FULL-SCALE air and sea search is underway for a fisherman off the Gold Coast after an unmanned boat was found with its motor running late Tuesday afternoon.

    The 6m fibreglass boat was found about 3km off Kirra with a man’s wallet and fishing gear still on board and the engine running.
    Police they were searching with boats and helicopters for the missing fisherman, believed to be a Tweed Heads man, 25, and were attempting to make contact with the boat’s registered owners.
    An RACQ CareFlight spokeswoman said they were called to help search between Point Danger and a fishing spot called 9 Mile, about 4km off Cook Island, but had ceased the search due to poor light conditions.
    She said the fisherman was last seen at 11:30am on Tuesday, when he met someone who gave him some clothing.
    The man was not seen again, and his vessel was found in the afternoon by another boat with the motor running and nobody in it.
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    She said RACQ CareFlight would resume the search at first light on Wednesday.
    “It’s just a real mystery at this point, but our guys will get out there as soon as they can in the morning and hopefully it will be a good outcome,” she said.
    The boat was towed back into Currumbin Creek.

  2. #2

    Re: unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

    A FISHERMAN has been found and taken to hospital after the boat he was using was discovered empty with the engine running off the Gold Coast on Tuesday afternoon. A New South Wales police spokesman said the 25-year-old Tweed Heads man was finally located at Fingal Beach on Tuesday night, after an air and sea search that ran for hours.

    “He’s been found and he’s at Tweed Heads hospital in a stable condition,” he said.

    Queensland and New South Wales police and rescue choppers began the search for the missing fisherman after the 6m fibreglass boat was found 3km off Kirra around 3:30pm on Tuesday with the engine running and the man’s wallet and fishing gear still aboard.

    An RACQ CareFlight spokeswoman said they were called to help search between Point Danger and a fishing
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    spot called 9 Mile, about 4km off Cook Island.

    She said the fisherman was last seen at 11:30am on Tuesday, when he met someone who gave him some clothing.

  3. #3

    Re: unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

    A good news story, with a great outcome. He's one lucky bugger.

  4. #4

    Re: unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

    I wonder what happened??
    Would be good to know so it would serve as a lesson for us all.

    Glad to hear he's OK
    I intend on living for-ever....so far so good


  5. #5

    Re: unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

    Yup, if solo always wear your lanyard. its a pain in the arse, but its worth it.


  6. #6

    Re: unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

    I set my idle speed so that after a min or two in gear, she stalls.
    Saved my bacon once.
    Great story, time for that man to buy a lottery ticket!

  7. #7

    Re: unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

    I know what happen but too good a story for me to tell I'll leave it up to him as its his amazing story of survival.

  8. #8

    Re: unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

    Bloody great outcome. Glad he's ok.

    Cuzza

  9. #9

    Re: unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

    Boat safety highlighted

    Tweed Daily News | Carley Hall | 19th February 2011


    MARINE Rescue Point Danger says a boating mishap which led a Tweed Heads man to swim six hours to shore this week has highlighted the need for increased safety awareness at sea.

    Marine Rescue organisations along the eastern coastline are urging boaties to log details such as where they are heading and the length of time they intend to be out, before they set off.

    Point Danger commander Bernie Gabriel said the search for fisherman Andrew Wilson could have been pin-pointed if Mr Wilson had logged details.

    “We activated our boat and crew to standby when his boat came past in the afternoon and when we checked the log book and found it was not logged in everything went into action,” he said.

    “We’re not out to criticise our boaties, we just want to highlight the importance of safety awareness when out at sea and we’re simply using the uncanny circumstances of this incident to stress to people how your luck can turn on you out there.

    “I daresay if he hadn’t been such a good swimmer, he wouldn’t have made it.”
    The 25-year-old was washed off his boat and swam 8km to shore after his runabout powered on without him, sparking a frantic four-hour search by friends, police and the Point Danger crew.

    Mr Gabriel said they responded to between three and four false-alarm boating incidents every year because only 60 per cent of boaties logged in.
    “It’s a simple thing to do but it saves a lot of unnecessary panic when we’re out searching for family’s loved ones,” he said.

    “We had a couple of guys that hadn’t logged in and were quite happily having a few drinks at the pub after they got in, totally unaware that people were looking for them.”

    Mr Gabriel said he was surprised Mr Wilson made it to shore without a lifejacket.
    “We want them (boaties) to always have their lifejackets on and if possible to tie a guideline from their jacket to the boat.

    “Even our helicopter can miss people in the surf if they aren’t wearing a bright lifejacket and put simply, they can save your life.”

    Radio in Boaties urged to log details before they set off
    Peter
    engage, educate, encourage

  10. #10

    Re: unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

    This guy did not log his trip and had no EPIRB on board IMO he was asking for trouble!

  11. #11

    Re: unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

    I long for the day when Coastguard and the VMR groups are unified and the government pays for a nightshift for someone to staff a radio so that boaties can log on and off at night in Moreton Bay.


    Daytime is well covered but there is no service at night.



    .

  12. #12

    Re: unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

    Quote Originally Posted by Screamin Semen View Post
    This guy did not log his trip and had no EPIRB on board IMO he was asking for trouble!
    I still need someone to convince me of the importance of this..I have never done it and really cannot see why. I can see if you log on and off when doing a bar crossing but other than that..sorry..cannot see why.

    Thankfully he survived in this instance.

  13. #13

    Re: unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

    Quote Originally Posted by PinHead View Post
    I still need someone to convince me of the importance of this..I have never done it and really cannot see why. I can see if you log on and off when doing a bar crossing but other than that..sorry..cannot see why.


    Greg - I do it as a matter of course, just as I also don an inflatable lifejacket even though the conditions may not suggest that it is needed. Viz, neither take any effort to do so why not?


    My wife always knows where I am going to and at what time to expect me home but if, say, I am at Harries and the fishing is slow and I decide to go to Mud Island, a fair way away, I want someone to know that I have made that move and will radio the Coastguard to tell them that I have moved. I would not want people searching for me at Harries if I have fallen overboard at Mud.


    Why would you not want to log on?


    It seems to me also that it must be somewhat gratifying to the volunteers staffing the radios at the VMR and Coastguards to know that someone out there values their efforts enough to want to log on.


    .

  14. #14

    Re: unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

    So does anyone know why/how he fell overboard?
    I intend on living for-ever....so far so good


  15. #15

    Re: unmanned boat found running of Gold Coast

    landed a fish and put the boat into gear to get going then lent over to wash the slime off his hands and a small wave hit the boat on the other side and he was knocked over the rest is history.

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