Drama on the High Seas : Monday, 18 June 2007
Well who could believe I would be involved in a rescue drama on the high seas in the middle of Sydney harbour TODAY!! I bet you all could, knowing me but for anyone who knows me really well ... I thrive on rescue dramas ... this made my day!
Today, I went into the city for a meeting and caught a Jet Cat home which replaced the ferry. Anyway, it was rainy and freezing cold but I had to be outside!! The Jet Cat slowed down towards the harbour entrance and as you may or may not know we've been having some terribly WILD weather recently in Sydney and the waves were pretty big coming through the Harbour Heads. Anyway, I was sitting at the top on the outer deck as per usual and the Jet Cat operators suddenly starting running around and shouting at each other and I heard someone say "Which side is he on?" ... so I said to the guy next to me ... "Something's up ... this is not normal!" ... then we see a Manly ferry stopped not far off and everyone from their captain's quarters is standing in a huddle staring at something and I initially thought that someone had jumped off the ferry!?
Anyway, we look over to the side and there in the water, bobbing up and down is a tinnie (a little boat) in a vertical position half submerged with a bedraggled man hanging on for dear life in his life jacket which was not securely tied to him as it was floating on the top of the water!!! When the Jet Cat got closer and stopped so we were bobbing up and down with him, he let go of the rope and tried to swim towards us but his clothes were so heavy. He really struggled to swim and you could see that his shoes were gone. The Jet Cat operators dragged him on board ... and then from no where, about 4 Commando style boats roared into the picture and were attempting to salvage the tinnie before it sank completely - there was debris floating all around and one of the boats came up to the Jet Cat and the shipwrecked man was put into some warm clothes and brought up to the upper deck and he was hanging out the window confirming that he was not a terrorist and that he was the only one on board.
When we got back to Manly wharf, there were about 15 police waiting for him ... I love it ... the Australian's never do anything half heartedly ... it was as if he was a terrorist or something ... the poor man ... what a day?! Aparently, the boat had been giving him problems and he was taking it to be fixed and as he went throught the harbour heads, a massive wave peaked over him and tipped the whole boat over before he could do anything. He lost everything but he was alive and could so easily have drowned from exhaustion or been hit on the head and knocked out as the boat got turned over!?
Later we found out that the Commando boats were actually conducting a terrorist training exercise in the harbour when the May Day call came in that there was an upturned tinnie in trouble with a man overboard, so they were responding accordingly but the Jet Cat had beat them to the punch!
I'll be getting some photos of the drama in a week or so from my fellow passenger who is going to email them to me so watch this space ... I just also thought ... gosh, I hope this is not a sign of things to come?!
Today, I went into the city for a meeting and caught a Jet Cat home which replaced the ferry. Anyway, it was rainy and freezing cold but I had to be outside!! The Jet Cat slowed down towards the harbour entrance and as you may or may not know we've been having some terribly WILD weather recently in Sydney and the waves were pretty big coming through the Harbour Heads. Anyway, I was sitting at the top on the outer deck as per usual and the Jet Cat operators suddenly starting running around and shouting at each other and I heard someone say "Which side is he on?" ... so I said to the guy next to me ... "Something's up ... this is not normal!" ... then we see a Manly ferry stopped not far off and everyone from their captain's quarters is standing in a huddle staring at something and I initially thought that someone had jumped off the ferry!?
Anyway, we look over to the side and there in the water, bobbing up and down is a tinnie (a little boat) in a vertical position half submerged with a bedraggled man hanging on for dear life in his life jacket which was not securely tied to him as it was floating on the top of the water!!! When the Jet Cat got closer and stopped so we were bobbing up and down with him, he let go of the rope and tried to swim towards us but his clothes were so heavy. He really struggled to swim and you could see that his shoes were gone. The Jet Cat operators dragged him on board ... and then from no where, about 4 Commando style boats roared into the picture and were attempting to salvage the tinnie before it sank completely - there was debris floating all around and one of the boats came up to the Jet Cat and the shipwrecked man was put into some warm clothes and brought up to the upper deck and he was hanging out the window confirming that he was not a terrorist and that he was the only one on board.
When we got back to Manly wharf, there were about 15 police waiting for him ... I love it ... the Australian's never do anything half heartedly ... it was as if he was a terrorist or something ... the poor man ... what a day?! Aparently, the boat had been giving him problems and he was taking it to be fixed and as he went throught the harbour heads, a massive wave peaked over him and tipped the whole boat over before he could do anything. He lost everything but he was alive and could so easily have drowned from exhaustion or been hit on the head and knocked out as the boat got turned over!?
Later we found out that the Commando boats were actually conducting a terrorist training exercise in the harbour when the May Day call came in that there was an upturned tinnie in trouble with a man overboard, so they were responding accordingly but the Jet Cat had beat them to the punch!
I'll be getting some photos of the drama in a week or so from my fellow passenger who is going to email them to me so watch this space ... I just also thought ... gosh, I hope this is not a sign of things to come?!
posted by Vanoosh at
12:00 pm
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