Found this link on the ABC News site:
Man in 70s swims for nine hours after falling
overboard off central Queensland coast
/ By Katrina Beavan
Posted Wed 4 May 2022 at
10:43amWednesday 4 May 2022 at 10:43am
The man had to be rescued by air because of the rough
conditions. (Supplied:
Capricorn Helicopter Rescue Service)
A man in his 70s who fell from his boat off the central Queensland coast has been rescued after swimming in rough seas at night for nine hours.
Key points:
- The man suffered minor exposure
and was "distressed", but had no other major physical injuries
- He communicated with authorities
via radio after making it to the beach where his catamaran ran aground
- Officials say the rescue was
delayed by treacherous conditions
The
Capricorn Helicopter Rescue Service said the man fell overboard about
eight kilometres from the coast, before eventually making it to shore
early Tuesday morning, where he found his catamaran.
He
was then stranded on the beach at Freshwater Bay, about 75km north of
Yeppoon, and had to be rescued by helicopter due to rough sea conditions.
Central
Queensland coast guard squadron commodore James Fleming said the team
was initially called out to assist a 40-foot catamaran that had run
aground and departed at about 5am on Tuesday morning to assist.
"We
arrive just after 8:30am … after speaking to the owner [we] found out the hull
on the starboard side had a couple of holes punched through it from
rocks," Mr Fleming said.
Mr
Fleming said the team wanted to collect the man and any belongings but the
sea was too rough to get that close.
"We
couldn't go in, there was very shallow water and high wave motion," he
said.
"So
we stood off, reported back to our commander … and we basically had requested
the helicopter come in."
The
crew remained at the scene to support the man.
"Just
to talk to him and let him know what was going on, to make sure he was
settled," Mr Fleming said.
Nine-hour
ordeal
Mr
Fleming said the man had fallen off his vessel and had been swimming in
the water, at night, for nine hours.
"He
just said that he'd been in the water for nine hours and when he came
to shore, he came to shore beside his vessel," he said.
"That's
that's as much as he really told us, in the scheme of things."
Mr
Fleming said the man was able to radio for help from the beached catamaran.
"[But]
he was obviously clearly distressed about it, fortunately he hadn't been
injured in any way, of any significance, but he was obviously a little bit
traumatised," he said.
Mr
Fleming said the call had come in overnight, but 5am was the earliest the crew
could set out.
"The
call would've come in at about 10 o'clock the night before … but there was
nothing we could we could do at that point," he said.
"Things
were such that we wouldn't want to venture into that part of the world at
night, with the conditions that were running."
Mr
Fleming praised everyone involved in the rescue, including his crew and the
rescue helicopter team.
"The
whole thing, at the end of the day, was well coordinated and everybody worked
as a team," he said.
Have since heard that the boat has been broken up and removed from the beach. Breaks my heart that our beautiful dream boat is no more. Just pleased that the guy who bought it from us is safe.
