Yachties resuced in Bass Strait

Transport Safety Victoria (TSV) says that the recent rescue of four men after their yacht sank in Bass Strait off Mallacoota highlights the importance of having a distress beacon when heading out on the water.

The four men were rescued from their life raft on March 24 after they activated distress beacons which alerted authorities almost immediately.

The men had been on the 14-metre yacht Zephya  sailing from Hobart to Sydney when the boat started sinking.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority in Canberra sent a Dornier aircraft to the source of the beacons, which it reached 40 nautical miles north of Mallacoota and guided the water police to the life raft.

Paynesville water police found them about 2:15am on March 25 and took them to Eden for medical treatment.

Victorian Water Police acting Sergeant Matthew Henderson said the boat’s pumps could not keep up with the water ingress and the men set off their EPIRBs in quick succession before abandoning ship for a life raft at 8.30pm on Sunday.

This recent incident adds to the 889 vessel disablements across the State that required a response from a rescue organisation in 2013-14. 

The opening photo above is of a yacht that had ran aground on Erith Island earlier this year. It was photographed by the paddlers from A Date with The Strait. Evidently, 60 knot winds and terrible seas had kept its crew awake for two days, but they ultimately lost their battle and she ran aground. No-one was injured.

However, official figures from the maritime safety regulator show that for 2013-14 to date there have been a total of 1122 reported recreational boating incidents, resulting in eight fatalities and 17 serious injuries.

TSV’s Director, Maritime Safety, Peter Corcoran, said this tale of survival is a timely reminder for all boaters to carry a distress beacon.

“These four boaters survived because they activated a distress beacons which enabled the rescue agency to track them down quickly. The boaters were rescued with the onset of hypothermia but it could have been much worse," said Mr Corcoran.“The equation is simple -- if you go boating, carrying a distress beacon will significantly increase your chances of being rescued if you encounter trouble on the water.

“The time is now right to invest in these smart safety devices. Beacons are low cost, highly accurate and can have equal benefit for boaters closer to shore, as well those who venture further out.

“A GPS enabled beacon is the best option as it can pinpoint your location to within 120 metres,” Mr Corcoran added.

Boaters heading out more than two nautical miles from the coast are required to carry an approved 406 Mhz EPIRB.

For more information about distress beacons, visit the TSV website www.transportsafety.vic.gov.au and the AMSA website http://beacons.amsa.gov.au