My Account
Sharp eyes, and a fair dose of good luck, resulted in two lives being saved by Coastguard Hibiscus volunteers recently.
Charles Waterton of Waiwera, aged 88, and his friend, Trudy Atherton were fishing in Charles’ dinghy on March 2 when, in a split second, the boat overturned.
The weather had rapidly changed from calm to around half a metre chop, with a strong offshore wind, catching the pair unawares.
Both are experienced sailors but wind and water conditions meant the best they could do was cling to the boat for dear life.
“We were the only boat within sight, and I thought it was all over,” Charles says, “but we remained cheerful. We were not panicking – but definitely thinking of our options.”
As it happened, a Coastguard Hibiscus crew – skipper Dave Tilley, Mark Wadman, Justine Gager and Jason King – was in the area, doing some training after a callout.
“As we got closer to Waiwera, Mark spotted something very low in the water,” Dave says.
At that stage, it was around half-an-hour since the boat had flipped and only a few inches remained above water.
As Coastguard approached, they saw Charles’ hand in the air.
“I looked around and saw the orange boat – it was like an apparition!” Charles says.
Rescue came just in time. Charles’ strength was ebbing, and Trudy was hypothermic.
“We got them out of the water fast, warmed and bandaged them up and headed back to land to a waiting ambulance,” Dave says.
The crew went back for the boat, bailed it out and returned it, and its contents, to the lucky pair.
“We asked if we could do anything for Coastguard to show our gratitude, and they said they needed a search light,” Trudy says.
The pair approached local businesses, including Jaycar Silverdale which gave them a discount on the light.
At a function on March 26, the light was presented to the Coastguard Hibiscus team at its Stanmore Bay base.
“These are two very lucky people,” Dave says. “So many little decisions led us to the right spot at the right time, but it could have been very different. It’s immensely satisfying for the crew – that kind of result is what we spend hours training for.”
