NotEaBle Jobs
by Glenn Norris crew enroute recently to assist a broken down vessel were
A flagged down by a frantic man who stated his 13 year old son had disappeared on his windsurfer near a very rough and windy Gold Coast Seaway area . To make matters worse it was a very rapid outgoing tide . The Crew immediately notified the VMR Base , who contacted Water Police , who were quickly on scene with the presence of three VMR vessels . A search plan was established by the Water Police , and a search was commenced around the northern Wavebreak Island area .
After approximately 30 minutes of searching , Water Police advised the good news that the boy had been located safe and well , and the search could be stood down .
The boy had been in trouble , but had managed to make his way to shore .
The VMR vessel that was proceeding to the original assist continued on , and on arrival at the broken down vessel apologised to the customers about the delay , and indicated they had been looking for a missing person .
One of the occupants of the vessel was then heard to say , ' Yeah , we saw that bloke in trouble as we came past the Seaway '.
The Crew took the broken down vessel in tow , amazed that the occupants hadn ' t stopped to assist , if that was the case .
A lot of stress and fear could have been allayed for an extremely worried father in this instance , and the standing up of Water Police and VMR resources could also have been prevented .
Nevertheless , a great result was achieved , the boy was safe and sound .
VMR Southport received a frantic phone call from a lady recently , requesting urgent assistance for her husband who had fallen into the engine bay of their yacht , and was stuck . A VMR Crew with a QAS First Responder were quickly on scene and immediately requested further assistance from Water Police , Ambulance and Qld Fire and Emergency Services . The patient was conscious and coherent , however with the extreme heat of the day , and lack of wind and breeze , it made it very uncomfortable for him inside the confined space in which he was stuck .
A decision was made to tow the yacht to the VMR pontoon to make it easier for the Emergency Services to work at releasing the man .
With several hands at work , a Water Police Officer was able to unscrew a timber frame in the engine bay , allowing a very delicate backwards removal of the patient , into the hands of Paramedics .
The man was relatively uninjured except for cuts and scratches , and exhaustion from his predicament , whilst being extremely embarrassed by all the drama he thought he had caused .
An excellent result given the circumstances , and a great team effort by all the Emergency Services involved .
man requested VMR assistance recently when an electrical
A malfunction in his 13 metre Cruiser rendered it unable to be started . The man was unable to get his Mechanic until the next week and was in a bother as to how to get his vessel back to its berth in Runaway Bay Marina . VMR offered to tow the vessel , however the man was a little uncertain as to the logistics of this happening , given that the vessel had to be reversed into its Marina berth . When explained by the VMR Skipper that vessels could be manouvred to park forward or backwards ,
the man was extremely grateful , and given the resultant reverse park was achieved with ease , the man was happy to make a very substantial donation .
Another instance of a VMR Southport member sincerely appreciating assistance given saw a crew attend to a vessel that had broken down near Paradise Point on a recent evening . The owner requested a tow back to a nearby anchored Houseboat , which he had hired . Several children were on the broken down vessel , and the owners highest priority was to get them back to safety . VMR obliged and towed the broken down vessel back to the Houseboat .
The following day a phone call was received requesting that the broken down vessel be towed to a pontoon at Hope Island where a mechanic had been organised to look at the the boat . VMR obliged , as effectively without moving the Houseboat , the owner and his family had no means of transport whilst the smaller vessel was out of action .
When doing the relevant paperwork at the completion of the assist , the vessels owner requested to make a donation to VMR . The Crew member was astonished when the man mentioned a donation figure , then told the Crew Member to triple the donation , then double it again . The Crew member is still in shock at this persons generosity .
All VMR did was to do what they were asked to do , provide assistance to a vessel , and persons in difficulty - the same job we do several times daily .
man got himself in a real pickle at the Muriel Henchman Drive
A boat ramp recently when his 4.5 metre aluminium vessel fell off his trailer before the trailer reached the water . With the marooned vessel sitting in the middle of the ramp the mans dilemma was seen from the VMR Base , and several members went to assist .
The vessel was able to be lifted high enough for it to be winched back onto the trailer , with only a few small grazes on the transom .
The owner was very grateful for the assistance , and signed up for VMR Southport membership on the spot .
A vessel doesn ' t always have to be in the water to receive VMR assistance .
crew was recently called to assist a man whose jetski wouldn ’ t
A start in the Pimpama River . Given the mans Asian nationality , it was also very difficult to ascertain his location , except that he knew he launched at the Coleman Road boat ramp . Given the problematic depths in this area , it was a very delicate trip for the VMR crew as the tide had only been rising for about 1.5 hours when the call for assistance was received , and night was fast approaching .
The man and his jetski were found only about 300 metres from the ramp , however given the depth , the man had to walk his jetski through the shallow mud to the VMR vessel .
This was only the second time the man had ridden the craft , and he explained no electrics , no lights , no start .
A tow line was attached to the jetski , and it was towed to the boat ramp in very shallow conditions .
The extremely appreciative and somewhat embarrassed man , who was a VMR Southport member , rang VMR a couple of days later to advise of ' broken computer '.
Vsheet - March 2022 7