NSRI Sea Rescue Autumn 2015

SEA RESCUE R14.95 | FREE TO NSRI MEMBERS | AUTUMN 2015

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4.4

CONTENTS AUTUMN 2015 12

8

2 CEO’S LETTER AND READERS’ COMMENTS 8 INTO THE DANGER ZONE A youngster becomes entangled in his kite’s lines off Camps Bay

12 JUST IN TIME

20 BULLETIN BOARD

Fundraising drives, events, competitions and station news

18

33 TRAGEDY AT WOODY CAPE Five tourists are swept out to sea

38 ROADTRIPPING IN MADAGASCAR

38

Colourful creatures, exquisite flora and natural wonders await

25 TEAS AND TOURS

40 IT’S A KIND OF MAGIC

News from the Life boat Circle

26 THE POWER OF NATURE

16 WAY TO GO

30 WATER BUOYS

Will drones be the future of search and rescue missions?

WIN NOW!

Revamps, renovations and face-lifts to NSRI stations around the country

A missing paddler is found in a race against time

18 EYE IN THE SKY

See page 4 for more details.

34 NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Conditions can turn very quickly on the coast, as one Bakoven family finds out

During open-ocean races all rests on the navigator...

We find out more about this vital role

Subscribe to Sea Rescue magazine and stand a chance to win an American Tourister.

44

42 ON BOARD WITH SAFETRX A closer look at this new routetracking and overdue-alert app

How a milk bottle can save a life

43 STATION DIRECTORY

31 WATERWISE SERIES

44 VEILIGHEID BO ALLES

32 OUTRUNNING THE STORM A solo sailor gets a helping hand from Richards Bay crew

Reef corals go about their work largely unseen – the result is, however, spectacular

42

Ons hoor by kampioenseeroeier Dawid Mocke hoe hy by die Be Brighter-veldtog betrokke geraak het

SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 01

T

CONTACT US

CAPE TOWN: NSRI, 1 Glengariff Road, Three Anchor Bay 8001, PO Box 154, Green Point 8051 Tel: +27 21 434 4011 Fax: +27 21 434 1661 Visit our website at www.searescue.org.za or email us at info@searescue.org.za

FIND US ON

HE WEATHER IS BROKEN! I SUPPOSE it’s inevitable that with global warming will come challenges to sea rescue in South Africa. On the evidence of 26 December, when we were faced with mountainous seas on one of our busiest beach days, we have work to do! The summer season has been very busy, mainly up the East Coast, and for me the real shock is the incidence of drowning during this period in particular, but also over the year in general. In my previous life I focused on exceptional levels of injury and death from unnatural causes, and drowning was diluted by injury rates that are notoriously high in South Africa. Focusing on drowning now, I realise that our rate of fatal drowning matches poorer countries and are likewise exceptionally high, not only in coastal provinces but in inland provinces as well.

We don’t have accurate current data but we estimate that more than 2 000 adults and children die after immersion or submersion in water every year in South Africa. We know less about those people who don’t die but who suffer serious injury and are seriously or moderately disabled for the rest of their lives.

In most provinces drowning is the fourth or fifth most common cause of unnatural death, and deaths are higher in children under the age of five, and among young black male adults.

Contributing elements are lack of water awareness, poor swimming ability, alcohol, rip currents at beaches, vessel capsizes, hypothermia, failure to wear life jackets, and rapidly flowing rivers.

If we are to live up to our mission of ‘Saving lives on South Arican waters’, we have to make work of

THE CREW

SEA RESCUE

THE PUBLISHING PARTNERSHIP

OFFICE +27 21 434 4011

MANAGING EDITOR Wendy Maritz

WEB www.searescue.org.za

ART DIRECTOR Ryan Manning

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:

PUBLISHER Lori Cohen

ORGANISATIONAL SUPPORT

ADVERTISING Merise Isaacs,

Meriel Bartlett

Grant van Willingh

CELL 082 994 7555

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS

EMAIL merielb@searescue.org.za

Mark Beare, John Morkel

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Andrew Ingram

Susan Newham-Blake

CELL 082 990 5977

ADDRESS PO Box 15054, Vlaeberg 8018

EMAIL andrewi@searescue.org.za

TEL +27 21 ­424 3517

NSRI SPOKESMAN Craig Lambinon

FAX +27 21 424 3612

CELL 082 380 3800

EMAIL wmaritz@tppsa.co.za

EMAIL lambinon@mweb.co.za

02 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

addressing the issue of drowning from all angles.

The first issue is that we don’t have good current drowning data and so Sea Rescue is initiating a drowning register, collecting data from all possible sources to try create an up-to-date and real reflection of the problem.

The second issue is that we have to step up our safety advocacy and education in the water-user space, including swimmers, river crossers, small boaters, paddlers, surfers, divers and so forth. The WaterWise Academy, which has expanded to teach 200 000 learners a year, and our ‘pink’ campaign around the visibility of paddlers, are a start – but it’s a big ask to reach a population of 50 million.

To reach so many people in a rational, practical way requires systemic change and contribution from all of society including all of you. You really make a difference by supporting Sea Rescue or by contributing to raising the temperature around drowning in your local area of influence.

It’s Savvy to be Safe! Let’s do this together.

DR CLEEVE ROBERTSON, CEO

Produced for the NSRI by The Publishing Partnership (Pty) Ltd, PO Box 15054, Vlaeberg 8018.

Copyright: The Publishing Partnership (Pty) Ltd 2015. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without the prior permission of the editor. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not the NSRI. Offers are available while stocks last.

REPRODUCTION Hirt & Carter PRINTING ABC Press ISBN 1812-0644 Bakoven crew with Shane Keenan Photograph: Andrew Ingram

PHOTOGRAPH: ANDREW INGRAM

FROM THE HELM

LETTERS

Write to us and WIN!

WINNING LETTER

Thank you to the Wren family for sharing their story. We were pleased to hear that the Sea Rescue family were able to support and comfort you during a very difficult time.

LAST RESPECTS An old photo: Charlie Wren (far right) with the PE crew.

The writer of the winning letter published in the Winter 2015 issue of Sea Rescue will win a sumptuous hamper of Slaley wines valued at R750. This hamper can also be ordered from Slaley as a promotional gift or for a special occasion. For more information, call (021) 865 2123, visit www.slaley.co.za or pop by and see us on the corner of the R44 and Kromme Rhee Road outside Stellenbosch.

Send your letters to Sea Rescue magazine, PO Box 15054, Vlaeberg 8018. (The winning letter is chosen at the editor’s discretion.)

M

y husband Charles Cameron Wren was a volunteer at Station 6 for just over 19 years.

The bonds built there were so strong and lasted long after he left. I just want to thank three people in particular for their unselfish love, compassion, loyalty and dedication.

My husband was diagnosed with cancer in July 2014 and sadly passed away on the 25 November 2014.

When he was ill, Ian Gray, Daniel Heimann and Peter Roux visited our family all the time. But that is not what this is all about – it is the respect and love they showed us during and after. The day of Charlie’s passing, Daniel and Ian arrived at our house as per usual to visit a dear friend. I informed them that he was

not doing well at all and that the time was near. They stayed with us for the rest of the afternoon and throughout most of the evening. This made us feel very secure.

My husband passed away at 20h30 that night. We were falling apart as a family.

Ian came into our bedroom where Charlie was and stood next to him without saying a word and stayed there until staff from the funeral home fetched my beloved husband. The respect he had for and showed towards my husband still brings tears to my eyes.

Daniel Heimann was also with us, taking control of the situation, making all the necessary calls, and managing the influx of people as the news got out.

When the funeral home staff arrived, Ian and Daniel placed my husband on

the gurney and escorted him all the way to the vehicle.

Peter came down from Cape Town and was with us, holding his hand of protection over us as a family all the time.

I just want to tell you about the calibre of people you have at NSRI Station 6.

But I am sure you are aware of this. No amount of words I put on paper will ever describe to you how much respect and love I have for these guys. No amount of words will ever be enough to say ‘thank you’ for the respect and dignity they showed Charlie.

We as the Wren family salute you and say thank you; we will always have a place in our hearts and home for the members of NSRI. Ruth, Kelly, Shaun and Andrew

SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 03

LETTERS

SOUTH AFRICAN COASTS

A CELEBRATION OF OUR SEAS AND SHORES NSRI DIRECTORS CEO: Dr Cleeve Robertson EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS: Meriel Bartlett (Organisational Support), Mark Hughes (Operations), Mark Koning (Finance).

GOVERNANCE BOARD: Ronnie Stein (Chairman) MEMBERS: Deon Cloete, Viola Manuel, Chris Nissen, Dave Robins, Rob Stirrat, Nontsindiso Tshazi.

OPERATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS: Dr Cleeve Robertson (CEO), Eddie Noyons (Chairman), Meriel Bartlett (Organisational Support), Mark Hughes (Operations), Mark Koning (Finance), Brad Geyser, Dave Roberts, Mike Elliot, Justin Erasmus.

HONORARY LIFE GOVERNORS David Abromowitz, Peter Bacon, Allan Cramb, Howard Godfrey, Ian Hamilton, Chris Hudson, Brian Hustler, Ian Strachan, Hennie Taljaard.

This collection of marine photography showcases the best of the entries judged in the Sustainable Seas Trust 2013/4 competition. The prizewinning photographs are accompanied by essays from leading scientists, journalists and sports writers. The end product is a celebration of what our exquisite coasts have to offer – in the water and above. We have three copies to give away. To stand a chance to win one, SMS Sea Rescue SA Coasts, your name, daytime telephone number and address to 33282 by 12 June 2015

Terms and conditions: 1. The giveaway is open to all Sea Rescue readers. 2. Entries for the giveaway close on 12 June 2015. 3. Winners will be selected by random draw and informed telephonically. 4. The winners’ names will be printed in the Winter 2015 issue of Sea Rescue magazine. 5. By entering this competition, entrants agree to abide by the rules and conditions of the competition. 6. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

‘PROFESSIONAL SERVICE’

On Sunday 19 October last year, the NSRI assisted us with our sinking dinghy. We had taken on water where the deck had torn away from the hull. We were assisted off The Castle and towed back to Lake Denys Yacht Club on the Vaal Dam. Thank you for a very professional service. We are not sure who called the NSRI, but the help was really appreciated.

Renate Reeve

Subscribe to Sea Rescue magazine and stand a chance to win

Please post your form to NSRI, PO Box 154, Green Point 8051, or to your nearest regional office, or fax it to (021) 434 1661.

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Terms and conditions: 1. The draw is open to all Sea Rescue readers. 2. Entries for the giveaway close on 12 June 2015. 3. The winners will be selected by random draw and informed telephonically. 4. The winners’ names will be printed in the Winter 2015 issue of Sea Rescue magazine. 5. By entering this draw, entrants agree to abide by the rules and conditions of the competition. 6. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

SAFETY EYE-OPENER

THANK YOU, LIFE BOAT CIRCLE! You made me feel very proud to attend the fine luncheon you arranged at the President Hotel. It was an honour to receive such a handsome certificate of appreciation. I have special feelings for Sea Rescue, because my twin brother

Tyla de Jongh’s parents, Michael and Nicolette, won the ‘Be a Hero for a Day’ competition, and attended a training session with Melkbos crew last year.

was shot down into the North Sea off Flamborough Head, Yorkshire, in 1942.

After two days and three nights he was rescued by RAF Air Sea Rescue, so I fully understand the relief and joy that comes to the loved ones of those who have found themselves in dire circumstances

Your P & I Solution in Africa We are commercial correspondents and surveyors for the Protection and Indemnity industry and we represent all the International Group of P&I Clubs.

We serve those interests throughout South Africa Claims and along the East and West coasts of Southern Africa. To ascertain how we can help you or to find out what we do, go to our website and select one of the several topics. If you have any comments or questions select contact Surveys us to contact one of our specialist team members or email us at: pidurban@pandi.co.za

at sea and been rescued. I will always be grateful and give thanks for those who give their courageous and selfless service to seafarers.

With best wishes and prayers for your great work.

Priscilla Henwood

Troubleshooting

Stowaways

Crisis Management

www.pandi.co.za

EMERGENGY 24 HOUR: +2783 250 3398

OUR FOCUS:

Please could you pass on my sincere appreciation and heartfelt thanks to the NSRI teams that carried out amazing rescues in the most trying conditions [during the Pete Marlin Surfski Race]. I swam for about half an hour, repeatedly trying to remount my ski but kept falling over at the 19km mark, approximately.

I was extremely fortunate that one of my team-mates came across me five minutes after I fell off, and his constant support kept me from panicking until he was able to alert the NSRI to my plight.

We as a team have given it a lot of thought and will be implementing a number of safety measures such as compulsory pencil flares, two leashes in extreme conditions and so forth. We all had a big wake-up call.

Geoff Groom, Zululand Kayak Club, Richards Bay

PHOTOGRAPH: STEVE SEARLE

LETTERS

NSRI Hout Bay: ‘Safe and sound in the harbour. No fuss, or high-fiving. Just doing what they love doing.’ – Steve Searle

LIGHTHOUSE CHILDREN I was delighted to read the Summer 2014 issue winning letter, written by Peter-John Hannabus. My father, DM Stewart, was a lighthouse keeper at Cape Agulhas at the time Peter-John was born and, in fact, if I recall correctly, my mother helped with his delivery.

The nearest hospital was in Bredasdorp – 25 miles of rough gravel road away. In those days (1954), Agulhas was still pretty remote.

At the time, I attended Rhenish Girls’ High Sschool in Stellenbosch as a border and came home on holidays every school quarter. That in itself was a whole day’s travel by train, and then from Bredasdorp Station a road trip by grain truck to Agulhas.

My sister was born at Cape Point and I was born at Cape St Francis, and as children we lived around the coasts of Kommetjie, Dassen Island, Danger Point and Cooper Light on the Bluff in Natal. Our school holidays were quite unique and the envy of our school friends.

While stationed on Dassen Island we were brought by tug from Cape Town docks to Hout Bay where we anchored, and from there, believe it or not, by long boat to the jetty – us still in our navy and white school uniforms and hats, among the food supplies, equipment, spares, etc. What wonderful holidays those were. We fished, collected penguin eggs and were never bored for a minute.

As Peter-John so correctly states, it is indeed the end of a great era and how fortunate we were to be a part of it.

Helen Pfeil, George

WINNERS

Congratulations to the winners of the competitions published in the Summer 2014 issue. ›› African Seashores: Rosemary Dymond, Port Elizabeth; Anna Havenga, Ladybrand; Sonja Strauss, George ›› Drinkbudi: Jaanse van Rensburg, George; Thelma Snow, Walmer; Mincili Mngomezulu-Tshandu, The Willows; Peter Johannes Gabriels, Walmer Estate; Lorraine Griffiths, Sundowner ›› High Sierra Duffel Bag: Barry Strydom, Howick.

06 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

T

OUT ON THE WATER When Christo Smeda was rescued off Granger Bay recently, he asked us to share his story.

I didn’t have my lifejacket with me. I didn’t have a cellphone or flares. I only wore wetsuit shorts and didn’t have a shirt on.

This is a route I paddle almost every day. I am fit and strong. I used to be a lifeguard.

Just the previous day I swam a quick 1km at the Sea Point pool. The thing that nailed me was the cold water temperature. I knew the swell was big but didn’t see the waves crash, so thought I could pass the corner in front of the lighthouse, closer to the break. As I went over the first swell I thought, ‘Flip, that was close.’ The swell was about 3-4m. When I saw two freakishly big waves approaching, I knew I was in trouble. The waves were bigger than the one I just went over and the first one was on its way to break on me. The only op-

tion I had was to paddle my ass off to hit it with speed and see if I can make it over.

Well, the wave broke over me with a massive force. Like someone kicking you in the chest. I lost my paddle and ski.

As I swam I realised how quickly the water temp was cooling down my body and pretty soon my feet and legs didn’t work so well. There was one moment when I started to breathe a lot faster and I realised I had to slow down my breathing so that I don’t go into a state of panic. Among the crowd on the promenade watching me was one guy with a cap and a clear voice. He shouted to me that NSRI had just launched from the waterfront and they will take five minutes to get here. I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can make five minutes more.’

Then the guy shouted again, ‘Three minutes’. It felt like forever. My neck was starting to go stiff, my legs were dead...

Then three heroes arrived on the NSRI boat. Flip, the guys were amazing!

By this time I was shaking uncontrollably. I have never been so cold in my life.

Later I looked at my watch and saw that I was in the water for exactly 25 minutes. It shows you how quickly the cold water can get to a person.

My body temperature was 32˚C. On the way to the hospital it warmed up to around 33,7˚C. (Normal body temperature is between 36,5 and 37˚C.) LESSONS LEARNT ›› I’m glad I am a current donating member of the NSRI. I never thought I would need them one day but they do an amazing job and really only depend on our donations to keep them going. ›› It doesn’t matter how strong a swimmer you are. The sea temperature quickly changes things. ›› Don’t be a hero. Phone or ask for help. ›› If you’re a paddler, always take along your life jacket, phone and flares – even if the sea looks okay and calm. ›› Always wear a paddle leash.

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INTO THE

REAL-LIFE RESCUE

DANGER ZONE Station 2 (Bakoven) coxswain Johnny Albert and his crew had to draw on all their experience to rescue a young man entangled in kite lines after he was swept out to sea off Camps Bay.

J

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREW INGRAM

OHNNY ALBERT JOINED THE SEA Rescue base at Bakoven in 1983, a year before he wrote matric. At first he was a member of the shore crew, a trainee, and when he turned 18 he joined the rescue crew. In his early 20s Johnny worked as a skipper for a boat-charter company in Hout Bay and soon earned a reputation as an exceptional seaman. By the time he turned 26, Johnny was a Sea Rescue coxswain, with a number of rescues under his belt.

Today, as deputy station commander at Bakoven, where he has served for 32 years, he is considered one of Sea Rescue’s most experienced and talented coxswains.

On Monday 19 January, just after 17h30, Johnny was busy with renovations at his Camps Bay flat when his phone beeped.

He reached for it and read the SMS: ‘NSRI ALERT! Rescue 2 Bakoven contact Port Control.’

Although he wasn’t on duty, Johnny felt a sense of unease. The southeaster was blowing very strongly and he knew that a huge ground swell was running, pushing waves of up to 4m into Camps Bay. A minute or so later the second SMS came through: ‘NSRI ALERT! Rescue 2 Bakoven CALL-OUT. Report to base.’

Johnny grabbed his car keys and ran for his bakkie. Putting his hazards and

08 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

headlights on, he swung into Victoria Road towards Bakoven and looked at the sea.

It was wild.

The southeaster was pumping at about 50 knots, blowing white spray metres above the sea. It was the kind of wind that you need to lean into or you’d get blown over. In this kind of wind you could shout at someone a few metres away and they wouldn’t hear you. The tops of the waves

Responding at high speed in these conditions is like being in repeated car crashes... But this is what Sea Rescue boats are built for. were being blown off before they broke like thunder on the granite rocks around Camps Bay beach.

The trip to the rescue base was just over a kilometre on the coast road from Johnny’s home, and he covered it in about two minutes.

Jeremy Godfrey, one of the duty crew,

had been on his way home over Kloof Nek when the call-out came. From his position high up on the mountain he remembers looking at the sea below and thinking, ‘That is a bad wind, and very big swell in the bay.’

He, too, turned his headlights on and headed for the rescue base. Minutes later Jeremy was running down the steps to Bakoven beach, taking them three and four at a time. Johnny and his nephew, Alex Albert, had already started the launch of the rescue boat.

Johnny updated the crew: ‘Bruce [the station commander] is on his way from Hout Bay, stuck behind a bus. There’s a person in the water at Camps Bay. We must go.’

The launch at Bakoven is a tricky one.

Ideally it takes five people to get the rescue boat in the water but in an instance like this, when a person is in difficulty, the crew know they have very little time to get to the scene before hypothermia will claim a life.

Their training kicked in as the cradle was run down the ramp and turned into the sea. The rescue boat was dropped into the water and pushed free, and Johnny jumped aboard. Engines down. VHF aerial up. Start port. Start starboard. Both rev counters were good, the engines revving in neutral.

Johnny looked up from his instruments to see Bruce come running down the steps. The two crew were holding the

boat’s bow into the sea – Jeremy on the port side and Alex on starboard. ‘Okay.

Let’s go,’ shouted Johnny.

The men pulled themselves into the boat and Johnny engaged the engines.

‘Life jackets on.’

The hydraulics whined as the engines were trimmed down, and while the crew clipped on their life jackets, Johnny pushed the throttles open. The rescue boat surged forward. Clearing the rocks and kelp that shape the Bakoven channel, the boat was edging up to full speed. Holding on, white-knuckled, Jeremy stood beside Johnny. Alex stood behind them, knees bent as the rescue boat took off from the top of one wind-driven wave and slammed into the next.

Responding at high speed in these conditions is like being in repeated car crashes. It’s very hard on the crew and would be disastrous for any regular boat. But this is what Sea Rescue boats are built for.

As Rotarian Schipper curved into Camps Bay, the Bakoven crew scanned the water for the casualty.

The bay was empty.

With the wind howling in their ears and spray stinging their eyes, Johnny started to angle the boat back out to sea. Perhaps he had been blown out of the bay?

Jeremy picked up the mic and called the Rescue base: ‘Rescue 2 base, Rescue 2 base. This is Rescue 2. Do you copy?

Channel 16.’

While the crew were battling through the gale to get into Camps Bay, back at the base the shore controllers were on the line with Bruce Ravenhill, an eyewitness.

‘Rescue 2, Rescue 2 base. Your casualty is 50 metres off Maiden’s. Over.’

Johnny swung the bow back inshore and there, about 30m off the rocks, they saw a head bobbing in the white water.

‘My first thought was, how are we gonna get him?’ Johnny recalls.

‘There was no chance of doing it by helicopter. The wind was too strong. No time, anyway. We were on our own.

‘I said to the guys, we will make a run in there and assess it.’

Looking over his shoulder at the sets

Above: Shane Keenan and the Bakoven crew – (from left) coxswain Johnny Albert, Jeremy Godfrey and Alex Albert – inspect the kite that nearly cost the young man his life.

rolling in, Johnny floored the throttles and the rescue boat flew into the danger zone, carving away from the casualty with about 15m to spare.

‘I don’t think that he even saw us it was so fast,’ Johnny says.

Out in the safe water again, Johnny asked his crew if they were willing to try again. It was a risky call. If nothing went wrong, Johnny knew that he could do it. But there was no room for error or equipment failure. Jeremy and Alex agreed that they should try.

Again the rescue boat flew into the broken water. The swells coming in from the deep were feathering, their tops whipped off by the wind before they broke and rolled over the head inshore of the rescue boat.

‘We were 7m away from him. His eyes were huge. He was pale. Hypothermic.

SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 09

REAL-LIFE RESCUE

He was in shock,’ Johnny says. ‘We shouted at him to swim out, to swim away from the rocks. Over the noise of the wind we heard him say, “I can’t swim.”

‘We did not know why but there was no time. Another set was coming through.’

Once more the rescue boat raced out of the impact zone for safety.

‘This guy was going to drown in front of us. I could feel it inside me. We were his only chance.’

Johnny quickly went through his options.

‘This guy was going to drown in front of us. I could feel it inside me.

We were his only chance.’

A rescue swimmer in a harness? Too dangerous in these conditions. Rescue swimmer with torpedo buoy? That would risk two people being smashed on the rocks.

‘Knowing that we had no more than a minute or so, I said to the crew that we would fly in there. I would slow the boat down next to him. They grab him and pull him in. And then we get out of there.’

For a third time the rescue boat raced in, and Johnny pulled the throttles back right next to the head, slowing down so that the crew could grab him. Jeremy and Alex leaned over and hauled the casualty onto the pontoon.

‘To our shock we discovered why he could not swim – he had kite lines tangled around his ankle,’ Johnny explains.

A myriad lines, each about 2mm thick, were wrapped around his foot forming a rope as thick as your arm. ‘There was no way that we were going to be able to cut through that in those conditions. Now we

were in a bad spot. A kite attached to his leg, the danger of lines fouling the props and another set coming through.’

‘As coxswain, I just thought, “Oh, f***.”’

The wind was pushing the bow of the rescue boat towards the rocks, and as the bow was turned back into the sea, the kite lines edged back towards the propellers.

Johnny looked up to see another set rolling in.

‘I shouted at the guys to keep the lines away from the engines, to keep the pressure off his ankle. And slowly I went ahead into the wave. It was like climbing a mountain. The wave feathered at the top and started to break, and then we were over. We dropped down the other side.’

It seemed like ages but was at most a couple of minutes before they were out of the impact zone. And safe.

A number of people had been watching from the shore, amongst them Kaskazi Kayak’s owner, Tracy Fincham. ‘I can’t believe that they even tried,’ she says of the rescue. ‘It was an amazing rescue to have seen.’

Shane Keenan, 18, of Fourways, Johannesburg, was flying a kite on

Camps Bay beach when the kite lines broke and it landed in the sea. The teenager tried to retrieve it, in the process getting tangled in the lines. Bakoven Sea Rescue volunteers Johnny Albert, Jeremy Godfrey and Alex Albert aboard Rotarian Schipper rescued him. For their bravery in extreme weather the three crew at Bakoven were all awarded the Gallantry Award, Silver Class.

10 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

Above: Shane Keenan with the Bakoven crew who saved his life: (from left) Johnny Albert, Jeremy Godfrey and Alex Albert.

Two days later, after being discharged from hospital, Shane Keenan and his girlfriend, Amore van Wyk, met the rescue crew at the Bakoven NSRI base.

After the initial awkward thanks and handshakes Shane told his story.

He’d been flying his 7m foil kite with his best friend on Camps Bay beach when the lines broke. The kite was blown into the sea, landing just behind the breakers.

‘Without thinking twice, I took my shirt off and ran straight in. The sea was cold but I didn’t really notice. All I wanted to do was retrieve my kite.

‘While swimming towards it, the kite was slowly drifting away from me and further out to sea. But I managed to get near it and after grabbing the lines I pulled myself towards the kite. I clumped it together and started swimming back to the shore. By then I was about 150m out,’ Shane recalls.

And that’s when the kite lines wrapped around his right ankle. The more he kicked to free his foot the tighter the lines got.

‘I could swim from a very young age and played water polo all through high school, so I’m at home in the water,’ he says.

There was silence in the rescue shed as the gravity of his situation once again sunk in. SR

N TIME REAL-LIFE RESCUE

Just in

TIME Port Elizabeth crew race against time to locate a missing paddler during a qualifying event for the PE2EL Challenge. By Andrew Ingram

T

HE PORT ELIZABETH TO EAST LONDON (PE2EL) Challenge is the stuff of legends in the surfski community. For those who don’t know it: the race, which has been held for the past 40 years, takes paddlers 250km, over four days, from PE to East London along some of the most beautiful but also most harsh coastlines in the world.

It was the attraction of this very demanding paddle

12 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

that saw Clinton Hempel, 44, on Port Elizabeth’s Summerstrand Beach with a group of about 25 other paddlers to undertake a qualifier for the PE2EL race.

It was 05h30 on Saturday 1 November.

‘During the briefing we were told that it was rough on the Cape Recife side, so some guys decided to pull out and paddle the river,’ says Clinton. ‘But I decided to do the sea.’

It was just getting light when the 25 or so paddlers launched through the Summerstrand surf. The sea was fairly rough in the bay. The wind was nagging at a bumpy chop, but the water was relatively warm and Clinton, an experienced paddler, was not concerned by any of this.

Since his early teens Clinton has paddled surfskis. He loves the feeling of freedom, the physical challenge and, of course, being out on the water experiencing the beauty of nature.

On this paddle, Clinton was on his wife’s Fenn ski.

Wearing his black paddling shorts, a red rash vest and an orange PFD, he hopped onto the ski, got his balance and powered forward. But his timing was out, and seconds later a wave picked up the ski and rolled him off.

‘It took a few minutes to sort things out and I had to paddle hard playing catch-up but soon got back into the second group,’ he says.

Once back in the group, he could settle down, get into a paddling rhythm and start to enjoy being out in the bay as the sun nosed up into the sky. The first 20km was a lap in Algoa Bay before the paddlers rounded Cape Recife, paddling down to Sardinia Bay 22km away.

‘I was in a group of three or four paddlers as we went around to the wild side,’ says Clinton. ‘It was pretty big, so we went wide. There was no drama and it was downwind all the way to Sardinia.’

Slowly, as the paddlers moved down the coast, the conditions started to deteriorate. The water temperature had dropped to about 12˚C and the wind picked up. A few swells started to feather and break around the paddlers.

‘I lost visual contact with the other guys. In those conditions you have got to concentrate on steering the boat.’

‘With hindsight I should have pulled out. I didn’t know that stretch of coast and I went too far out to sea to avoid Cape Recife.’

Clinton did not see any other paddlers for the 20km on the wild side, and when he got to the 42km mark he looked to his right but did not recognise the shore. Convinced that Sardinia Bay was a little further, he paddled on.

‘It was probably 2km before I realised that I’d paddled past Sardinia so I turned the ski around.

PHOTOGRAPH:S STUART BLACK, CATHRYN HEMPEL

I paddled for 20 minutes or so but in those conditions it started to go wrong. I got caught in a gnarly spot. There were plenty of rocks and waves on the shore side but I could not see where to go in.’

And then Clinton was knocked off the ski. He had been paddling for four hours by then and was tired.

So it took some effort to remount the ski. And he was knocked off again.

‘By the fifth time I realised that I could not get back on. I just did not have the strength,’ he says. ‘All I could hope for was to be washed onto the beach.’

‘I had to stay with the ski. It was the only thing that was going to save me. I knew I was in serious trouble, and could feel that I was losing consciousness.’

Hypothermia was taking its toll and things that should be really easy to do became impossible.

‘In my muddled state I thought that perhaps the water bottle clipped to the foot straps was throwing the ski off balance so I tried to unclip it. But I could not work the clip.’

His thinking was now seriously impaired, and control of basic movements was impossible. Clinton wrapped his hands through the foot straps, put his chin on the deck and felt himself drifting away.

Port Elizabeth Sea Rescue coxswain Daniel Heimann was at Builders Warehouse doing some DIY shopping with his three-year-old son, Thomas, when his phone rang.

It was station commander Ian Gray: ‘Daniel.

Far left: Clinton Hempel has been surfskiing since his teens.

Above: Rescuers Steven van den Berg and Daniel Heimann.

‘I lost visual contact with the other guys. In those conditions you have got to concentrate on steering the boat.’

We have a paddler missing at Sardinia Bay. Can you go?’

‘My gut told me to get my ass into gear,’ says Daniel.

As luck would have it, Daniel’s brother lives on the way to Sardinia Bay. He was home and agreed to look after Thomas while Daniel responded to the call-out.

‘I dropped Thomas off and then floored it,’ Daniel says.

The road to Sardinia Bay Beach dead-ends in a huge sand dune. Standing at the top of the dune, scanning the ocean, fellow paddlers had spotted Clinton clinging to his ski. He was about a mile past the take-out point, being pushed towards a dangerous set of reefs.

When Daniel pulled into the gravel parking lot, low cloud was scudding across the sky, the waves had picked up to just under three metres, the wind was whipping the tops off the waves and a sea mist reduced visibility.

At the base of the dune the NSRI rescue vehicle’s tyres were let down, as were the trailer tyres of Boardwalk Rescuer, the little 4,2m inflatable rescue boat.

Ian asked Daniel to take the tiller and Steven van den Berg to crew.

And then things happened fast.

‘The first time we could not get over the dune,’ said Daniel. ‘But the second time we were over.’

Steven and Daniel pulled on wetsuits and life jackets as other volunteers got the boat ready.

SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 13

REAL-LIFE RESCUE Fuel lines checked. Kill switch checked… As they were preparing, Daniel kept looking at the sea.

‘There is a reef just to the west of the launch spot that normally shelters it, but that morning a 2.5m swell was breaking on the beach.

‘Its huge out there. Are you guys going to be okay?’ asked someone.

And then Daniel was in the boat. The PE crew members were holding the nose into the sea, and Steven jumped into the forward-crew position.

‘We have been together on the same crew for eight years,’ Daniel says. ‘We work well together.’

Daniel twisted the throttle open and the rescue boat instantly got up onto the plane.

‘I ran to the east, around the rocky outcrop, and then swung west. A big one was bearing down so I floored it and we punched through.’

‘We were about 100m offshore and the sea was all over the place.’

Ian Gray was at the top of the dune watching the tiny rescue boat ducking and diving through the

‘THINGS GO WRONG VERY QUICKLY…’ ‘By the time that I realised I was in serious trouble it was too late to do anything,’ Clinton Hempel recalls. His advice for paddlers after his ordeal is never to paddle alone on a stretch of coast that you don’t know, and always to paddle with flares and a cellphone with a tracking app in a waterproof bag. Make sure that your paddle is attached to your ski and that you are leashed to the ski. Your ski needs to be brightly coloured, as does the clothing you paddle in.

Clinton Hempel is rushed from the scene to a waiting ambulance.

‘He was literally frozen stiff and Steve tried to cradle him in the front to protect him as we smashed into wave after wave.’

waves, smashing straight through some of them. He moved away from the group of paddlers.

‘I was very worried about the conditions. It was at the edge of the boat’s capability,’ says Ian. ‘I thought that I was going to have to call that boat back before they got to him.’

And then Daniel saw Clinton’s ski.

‘In the trough between two waves, the ski looked like a cigarette but in the blink of an eye it was gone again. He had drifted into the break zone.’

Daniel helmed the boat inshore of the surfski and turned the nose back into the sets as he pulled up next to Clinton.

‘He was completely unresponsive. His hands were clamped onto the foot straps, his face a blank stare.’

With a swell starting to crest outside of them, the rescue boat had to leave the paddler, punch through it and then turn to come back to Clinton.

‘Steve grabbed him but could not get him into the boat so I reached across to help. And accidentally pulled the kill switch.’

The engine instantly cut.

Working very fast now, Daniel got the kill switch reconnected, pulled the cord and the engine started again.

Another set was bearing down but Steve could not pull the semiconscious paddler into the boat.

In desperation, Daniel grabbed Clinton’s leg. Steve held on to his arm and PFD, and, with the casualty hanging against the side of the pontoon, Daniel opened the throttle to move the rescue boat out.

Away from the impact zone, into a safer area.

‘It was absolute hell on the way back,’ says Daniel.

‘Clinton was literally frozen stiff and Steve tried to cradle him in the front to protect him as we smashed into wave after wave. We try to be careful with hypothermic patients, but this sea was something else.’

‘Emotionally this is one of the hardest calls that I have done,’ says Daniel. ‘He kept losing consciousness and we’d shout at him, “Sir! Don’t sleep, sir!”’

Daniel depressed his handheld radio transmit button. The message was short and to the point.

‘Get us an ambulance. Now. Please.’ SR Clinton spent four days in ICU after his ordeal but has now fully recovered. Daniel Heimann and Steven van den Berg were awarded the NSRI’s Gallantry Award, Bronze Class, for bravery in risking their lives to rescue Clinton Hempel.

STEVEN AND DANIEL ARE ADAMANT THAT RESCUE IS A TEAM EFFORT AND WITHOUT THE FOLLOWING RESCUERS WHO HELPED, CLINTON WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN RESCUED:

14 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

Tandy Berghuis Stuart Black Sibu Fanti

Ian Gray Ryan Meyer Natasha Smith

ADVERTORIAL

STORMS South Africans will remember the freak tornado that ripped through parts of the Free State in June 2012, causing loss of lives and massive destruction of property.

Reports indicated that it lasted about 30 seconds as it hit the Deneysville side of the Vaal Dam, but the devastation to the marina and surrounds was enormous.

While the country remains relatively free from geographical-related disasters such as earthquakes, weather-related disasters – both inland and coastal – account for about 90% of so-called natural

IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK

disasters in South Africa.

TORNADOES Powerful storms, such as tornadoes and thunderstorms are generated when warm, light air rises quickly to higher, colder levels.

But each kind of storm will form under specific conditions. Tornadoes, which are spinning columns of air, typically occur on land (or sometimes over the sea – then they are called water spouts) and are normally short in duration. However, wind speeds

can reach in excess of 250km/h, turning everyday objects into deadly projectiles.

Tornadoes form from thunderstorms (although not all thunderstorms generate tornadoes). An unstable column of warm air rising within cumulus clouds can start to rotate due, to changing wind directions at or near the ground. These updrafts alter the air’s rotation from horizontal to vertical, creating conditions in which a funnel can develop. If this happens, it extends down to the ground to forming a tornado.

THUNDERSTORMS At any given time there are an estimated 2 000 thunderstorms in progress over the earth’s surface. These can vary from being relatively mild to severely damaging, with accompanying high winds and hail.

Thunderstorms form when warm air rises from the earth’s surface and moves quickly upwards into the colder levels of the atmosphere. Factors that contribute to the air rising include solar heating or the presence of low-pressure troughs. When humid air is lifted, it will be cooled and the moisture in the air will condense to form cloud. As the cloud extends further upward, ice crystals may form because of the low temperatures – the result is a cumulonimbus cloud that can grow to a height of 10-20km.

Because of the turbulence inside a cumulonimbus cloud, the water droplets and ice crystals break up and become electrically charged – the upper part of the cloud is positively charged, while the middle and

lower parts are negatively charged. When the electric voltage between the positive and negative charges is large enough, discharges take place between clouds or between a cloud and the earth’s surface, and lightning occurs.

The electric current in a lightning discharge generates a large amount of heat. This causes a very rapid expansion of the local air, resulting in thunder.

STORM SURGES A storm surge is an abnormal rise of the sea level generated by a storm, over and above astronomical spring tides. Closer to the shore, these can result in destructive coastal waves of up to 7m and extreme conditions for water users. The intensity of the surge depends on storm size and wind strength, its angle of approach to the coast, the shape and characteristics of the coast, and the slope of the continental shelf.

When a storm is travelling over the open ocean water, the force of the wind (known as wind stress) and waves drive the water forward. Because this is happening in the open ocean, the water can move away from the storm and does not build up. However, as the storm moves toward land and the ocean becomes shallow, the storm surge has no place else to go and builds up as the storm approaches land.

Weather alerts and warnings – both on land and at sea – are issued by the South African Weather Services. For more information, visit www.weathersa.co.za

Follow us on

@SAWeatherServic

Weather lines: *120*555# or 083 123 0500 An entity of the Department of Environmental Affairs

www.weathersa.co.za

I

N OPEN OCEAN RACING THERE’S A single goal in mind: to get across the finish line first. Everything is geared towards it – the yacht specs, the selection of crew, and all the training and preparation.

And yet, once the race has started, all the responsibility rests on the shoulders of one person – the navigator. While each crew member plays a vital role in performing tasks and the skipper has the final say, it’s the navigator who has the responsibility to plot the fastest and safest possible route.

16 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

This may sound simple, yet when you consider all the variables that come into play it’s soon clear that this is an unenviable task. It’s not as simple as getting from A to B while avoiding the hard stuff like reefs, wrecks and landmasses.

A navigator needs to be a weather guru, experienced sailor, IT expert and mathematician all rolled into one. They need to be able to handle high levels of stress for prolonged periods of time, absorb masses of information on ever-

Without the invaluable input of the navigator, open-ocean racing would be going nowhere slowly.

We ask an expert what it takes to lead the way in this demanding environment. By Cherelle Leong

changing variables, and compute all of this while holed up in the cabin working on a single small laptop for days on end.

The recent incident on the Volvo Yacht Race with Team Vestas running aground on an island near Mauritius once again put the navigator’s role under the spotlight. Many people asked how this could possibly happen to an elite team of professional sailors. With all the technology available, how did the navigator not know where that island was and navigate a route around it?

PHOTOGRAPHS: SHUTTERSTOCK, SUPPLIED

WAY TO GO

PHOTOGRAPHS: SHUTTERSTOCK, SUPPLIED

RACING

It’s not as simple as getting from A to B while avoiding the hard stuff

Above: James Beaumont (far left) was invited to join the crew of Hi-Fidelity as navigator.

Left: Teams Vestas and Brunel neck and neck during an in-port race during the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-2015.

To answer that question, we chatted to James Beaumont, a Class I coxswain at Station 8 (Hout Bay) and qualified ocean sailing navigator, to gain some insight into just what it takes to be a navigator.

James has spent years sailing on the ocean, skippering and navigating in various local and international races. His sailing highlight so far was being the navigator on Hi-Fidelity in 2012, when she won the Rolex Middle Sea Race held in the Mediterranean. At one point during the race, they had to navigate into Valetta, a narrow and busy port of Malta, at 3am in the morning with 45-knot winds. For James it was one of the most challenging yet exhilarating experiences of his life.

Before electronic navigation, satellite mapping and radar came about, the oceans were charted using logs and knots, quite literally. A standard shipping plank would be attached to a knotted rope and thrown overboard. As the line was let out, the sailors would count the number of knots in order to measure the distance travelled. Sailors sailed on trade winds that were predictable and used celestial navigation to chart courses. It took a great amount of skill and the margin for human

error was large. The result is that many charts in seldom-visited parts of the world are still based on historical data and could be quite inaccurate. It is not enough for a navigator to look at a chart and assume that distances and points of reference are all 100% accurate.

Technology offers navigators many advantages, as it provides them with a great deal more information in minute detail. However, it presents a double-edged sword. As the amount of information available increases, so does the complexity of the calculations that need to be made.

Each bit of information adds another variable to consider along with the impacts it may have on all the other variables.

Each racing yacht is designed according to precise specifications, and the designers produce a polar diagram that reflects the optimum speeds when the vessel is at certain angles to the wind. Using the polar, the navigator knows the yacht’s capabilities and what adjustments could increase speed as required.

Although weather-prediction technology is quite advanced, it is never 100% accurate. In preparation for a race, navigators familiarise themselves with the area they will be travelling through and its traditional weather patterns, such as prevailing winds. Shortly before the start of a race leg, the navigator will download a GRIB file that contains the latest predicted weather data for that

area. They then need to interpret this weather information and determine the best course and optimum speed for the next leg. Sometimes this involves tacking or steering away from the destination in order to take advantage of good winds or avoid bad weather or obstacles. It’s not nearly as simple as steering a straight line and avoiding the hard stuff. Speed is of paramount importance, and everything must be optimised to get to the finish line first.

As the yacht proceeds along its course, the navigator is constantly checking the predicted speed and course versus the actual progress made. If there are variations, this could be due to any number of factors, and it is up to the navigator to figure out what to change to get the yacht back on track. GRIB files are constantly updated as weather patterns change. Sometimes IT systems fail and the navigator finds himself under the desk soldering wires back together to get everything working again. Up on deck things can break, causing setbacks and delays. There is never a dull moment in open-ocean racing. And because everything is constantly in flux, every small detail needs to be checked and rechecked. On top of this, navigators still have to account for other shipping traffic and race competitors, making sure that they have a clear run to their destination.

It is intense and all-consuming work that requires every bit of brainpower, concentration, physical stamina and mental awareness. During the 2012 Rolex Middle Sea Race, James lost 6kg in just five days from the intensity of the race.

‘Is it worth it?’ I ask, and he smiles in response. ‘Absolutely! There is nothing like that feeling of crossing the finish line in first place, knowing you got the team there… Nothing!’ SR

SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 17

Eye

sky

in the

Could drones be the future of search and rescue operations? By Cherelle Leong

A

N 82-YEAR-OLD-MAN IS stumbling along in a cornfield, disoriented, dehydrated and confused. He doesn’t know how he got there and can’t find his way out. At home, his family is frantic – he has been missing for three days. Police and community workers, along with dogs and helicopters, have been searching in vain for 72 hours and they are close to expecting the worst. A drone hobbyist, visiting his girlfriend’s family in the area, hears about the missing man and offers to launch his drone to see whether it can help locate the missing man. At this stage the rescue co-ordinators are directing their efforts towards a large expanse of cornfields that would be difficult to search on foot, and it is agreed that the drone could be beneficial to the search efforts.

Within just half an hour the missing man is located by the drone via a video feed being sent back to the command centre. Once

18 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

his location is known, rescuers are directed straight to him. He is found weak and bedraggled but alive, and the drone proves to be a valuable resource.

This real-life story, which unfolded in Wisconsin in the US in July last year, is just one example of how drones or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) can be used in search and rescue (SAR) operations. The concept is being explored actively by many SAR organisations worldwide. However, as with many approaches involving new technologies, there are complexities.

These include defining legal parameters for safe deployment and operation of UAVs, and the establishment of standard operating procedure with regards to SAR. Great advancements have been made in the field of UAVs in recent years, with several tools and features being added to their capabilities. Advanced UAVs incorporate not only live photo and

video feeds but also GPS tracking, route mapping and even radar and infrared technology. Some have the capabilities to carry and drop payloads. While this opens up even more applications that could be useful in SAR, it all comes with a price tag – and a rather expensive one at that.

Operating UAVs may seem like fun but in order to operate safely and effectively they require a high level of skill. Draft regulations for pilot licensing in South Africa are currently under review and are set to be implemented from April 2015.

Once they’re in place, anyone piloting a UAV, other than a private hobbyist, will need to have a licence. This includes pilots who volunteer their services to non-profit organisations to assist in SAR operations.

Challenges aside, UAVs can offer SAR organisations like Sea Rescue some distinct advantages. There are times when rescues happen in areas that are difficult

TECHNOLOGY

PHOTOGRAPHS: SHUTTERSTOCK

UAVs can offer SAR organisations like Sea Rescue some distinct advantages. There are times when rescues happen in areas that are difficult to access, in extreme weather conditions or at dusk with failing light.

to access, in extreme weather conditions or at dusk with failing light. In such cases it may not be feasible to launch a helicopter. However, some UAVs have the capabilities to fly in strong winds and at night. One new idea is a flexible sphere that encases the drone, enabling it to bump into objects, thus making it useful for finding an access route. This not only makes for safer deployment, it also opens up applications for when visual navigation is impaired – such as in a smoke-filled room or along a foggy coastline.

UAVs have proven to be particularly beneficial to rescue work in hazardous conditions such as floods or fires. In mountainous areas UAVs have been used to help locate casualties in avalanches and mud slides where the ground is unstable.

By identifying the location of casualties, rescuers can evaluate the safest and fastest way to get to victims.

In SAR work, time is of the essence.

Lengthy delays in getting to casualties can have fatal consequences. One possible application of UAVs for NSRI would be to use them in areas with known rip currents and a history of drownings, such as Monwabisi Beach, in peak holiday season.

A drone could be launched to drop a life ring at the casualty in order to provide flotation while rescue resources are being activated to get to the person in the water.

However, the challenge remains: how to activate the drone, and how to get the information about the emergency in order to determine where to drop the life ring?

In search scenarios it could be quicker and cheaper to launch a UAV to gain an aerial view for a search. This could either be a quadrocopter flown within visual range, or a fixed-wing UAV that could cover a greater search area and fly out of line of sight. One example of such a situation

would be a vessel that is overdue at its destination, with its last known location being far away.

At sea, adverse weather conditions and high swells often reduce the probability of spotting somebody in the water from rescue boats. There are many stories told by survivors of how rescuers came close but didn’t see them. Having an aerial view in addition to other resources can increase the chances of locating a casualty, so that the rescue boats can be directed to them.

Having access to UAVs can increase the resources available and may help rescue teams cover a larger search area in a shorter period of time.

If a UAV has the capability to carry payloads, it may be able to drop items such as a flotation device, space blanket, radio or water – all of which would increase the casualties’ chances of survival until the rescuers are able to get to them. Having communications with a casualty can be critical in cases where one person in a group is severely injured.

A radio can provide a medic with a way to direct the other casualties in treating and assisting the injured person until proper medical care gets there.

As technology advances and more people become skilled UAV pilots, we may well see more applications in SAR. Managing complexities is something that rescuers are trained to do, and having additional resources to deploy could make a real difference in a rescue. Any technology that could help increase the safety of rescuers and the efficiency of rescues certainly is worth looking into. SR

SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 19

BULLETIN BOARD

IN THE NEWS

Station 23 (Wilderness) supporters came out to play to raise funds for the base.

IT’S NOT ABOUT

WILDERNESS BEACH FESTIVAL Station 23 (Wilderness) hosted their annual fundraising event in December, which included a nail-biting beachvolleyball tournament. While the spirit of the games was very much focused on fun, the final matches were tightly contested, with Crossfit George just managing to beat the Saltycracks for their gold medals, and the team from Oakhurst Insurance, the Topgunz, taking third place.

What the day will be best remembered for, however, were

the games and entertainment off the courts. Kids and adults alike enthusiastically enjoyed a wide range of activities such as sack races, egg throwing, sand sculpting, tug-of-war, real archery, face painting and many more games aimed at keeping the little ones happy and busy.

We wouldn’t be able to host this event without our generous sponsors. Our major sponsors this year were George Herald, Cinnabar Design, George &

Sedgefield Sotheby’s Realty, Bos Ice Tea, Oakhurst Insurance, Wilderness QuickSpar, SanParks Wilderness, Pennypinchers, Kloppers CAW, Coca-Cola, McDonalds George and Brandhouse. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts – we managed to raise nearly R25 000.

See you all again soon over the first weekend of the 2015 December holidays.

In this year’s Cape Town Cycle Tour we had a full team of 40 cyclists riding under our banner. These tickets were sold as part of the Cycle Tour’s special charity fundraising drive. In addition to these 40 riders, a further 62 riders purchased our branded NSRI cycle jersey. We have only seven cycle jerseys left so if you’d like to order one, email Natasha at info@searescue.org.za – you’ll find more information on our website.

We’ve had some feedback from a few supporters who were not keen on our design. It’s hard to please 73 000 people, but we thrive on input and we’re always open to advice – so if you fancy yourself a designer please send in your ideas. We will be running this project again next year and this is your chance to wow our supporters with your creativity.

PLATINUM SPONSORS

GOLD PARTNERSHIPS: ANGLO AMERICAN THERMO COAL - NEW VAAL COLLIERY • BAGTECH INTERNATIONAL • BRAND ENGINEERING • COHESIVE CAPITAL • DE BEERS MARINE • FREDDY HIRSCH GROUP • KYTA MANUFACTURING • LUSITANIA MARKETING SERVICES • MACS MARITIME SHIPPING • PREMIER FISHING • SMI • SVITZER SALVAGE AFRICA (PTY) LTD • VIKING FISHING

20 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

PHOTOGRAPHS: LUCIA PINTO AND MONICA VACCARO

THE BIKE

OUR RECENT WINNERS We use competitions to make new friends – often someone will enter because they are tempted by the prize and we add them to our mailing list. One read of the heroic stories in this magazine is all it takes to then convert them into lifetime donors.

These are some of our recent winners: ›› In our annual car competition, Mauritz Jonck bagged the first prize, a Pajero Sport and an ASX; the second prize of R250 000 cash was won by James Engelbrecht; and Jorge De Andrade walked away with the third prize, a trip for two to Southampton on the Queen Mary 2.

Call Dina on (021) 434 4703 to take part in our 2015 car competition. ›› In our monthly debit order competition, Tamsyn Daniels from Constantia Kloof in Johannesburg was the lucky winner of our 2014 grand prize of R100 000.

Call Lianne on (021) 430 4704 to take part in our debit order competition. ›› In our ‘I Love Sea Rescue’ SMS competition, kindly hosted by Car and Getaway magazines, iPads were won

by Don Swales (Glenside) and Muller van Zyl (Carnarvon).

The winners of the T-shirts were Burger van Dyk (Tecoma), Mr PL Lombard (Môreskof), Shakera Timol (Vereeniging), Breron Dlamini (Durban) and Karin Brumer (Pretoria). The winners of the caps were Jonathan Jacobs (Northcliff), Phofi Mdluli (Dube), Mark Hyde (Noordhoek), Norman Sibeko (Standerton) and Mpho Monyai (Onderstepoort).

›› Die wenner van die kompetisie by die KykNET skou was Nicolette Louw (Yzerfontein), wat ’n Billabong geskenkbewys ter waarde van R1 200 ontvang het. ›› The Moonstruck Be Bright SMS competition was won

by Susan Oosthuizen (Sandbaai), who was thrilled with her iPad mini.

If you are willing to donate a prize, we’d be extremely grateful. This is an invaluable way of gathering new supporters and new donors.

We so enjoyed this little poem sent to us by one of our supporters, Joan Rauff from Plettenberg Bay: This year it’s me for sure NSRI’ll be knocking at my door!!!

Alas, no Mitsubishi with my name Oh dear, what a shame.

Just when I need some luck once again it’s ‘Oh, shuck’...

Maybe a booby prize or two just to remind me of you?

Here’s hoping next year goes well and I’ll take a ticket – what the hell!?!

Joan also wrote, ‘Thanks for all your hard work and the many lives you save, especially the animals of the sea. PS: an SUV is on my bucket list.’

THANKS TO OUTDOOR WAREHOUSE For sponsoring our quarterly Appeal Letters. Congratulations to our previous two winners, who each won Outdoor Warehouse gift cards to the value of R1 500.

• Ms M Booysen, Randpark Ridge – ‘NSRI Heads Above Water’ Appe al Letter (August 2014) • Mr DM Egan, Durbanville – ‘Specialist Rescue’ Appeal Letter (November 2014)

PROGRESS REPORT In our integrated report we publish each year, we update you on our large projects. It is only thanks to your generosity that we’re able to meet these challenging targets:

PROJECT Boat and boathouse – Witsand RAISED/PLEDGED TO DATE R1 013 540 SHORTFALL R768 585 PROJECT 13m Rescue boat – Durban RAISED/PLEDGED TO DATE R1 000 000 SHORTFALL R12 000 000 PROJECT Boathouse – Yzerfontein RAISED/PLEDGED TO DATE R1 293 439 SHORTFALL R1 206 561 PROJECT Boathouse – Kommetjie RAISED/PLEDGED TO DATE R2 778 172 SHORTFALL R421 828 PROJECT Slipway and boathouse – Port Elizabeth RAISED/PLEDGED TO DATE R3 350 000 SHORTFALL R5 650 000 To get involved, please call Alison Smith on 021 434 4011 or email alisons@searescue.org.za

SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 21

The annual Adventure Day hosted by Station 18 (Melkbos) is always a great hit, thanks to the generosity of the Koeberg Nature Reserve, Eskom and the Western Cape Land Cruiser Club. Last year we raised more than R80 000. We’d love to share this unique experience with you on 10 October 2015. Bookings open on 3 August 2015 at 8am. Call Rhine Barnes on (021) 550-4610 or email statcom@nsri18.co.za

PHOTOGRAPH: MARC VAN STADEN, NSRI KNYSNA

MELKBOS 4X4 DAY

GRATITUDE When we received a letter from Dennis van Duijvenbode, a Dutch tourist who was rescued in Drupkelders by our crew from Knysna, we were filled with pride and we shared it on our website http://goo.gl/NuYQHp. It clearly touched many people and it was soon republished on the Weg! and Go! websites, generating a feeling of national pride. We received hundreds of messages of admiration and support, and we signed up hundreds of new donors.

It just goes to show the power of a humble thank you.

A COMBINED EFFORT

PE crew, together with Bayworld and volunteer police assist a female dolphin beached at Blue Water Bay.

At 17h55 on Sunday 11 January, NSRI Port Elizabeth responded to reports of a dolphin beached at the main beach at Blue Water Bay. Local volunteer sector police were already on the scene, and Bayworld members arrived with specialised stretchers for carrying marine animals.

The animal, believed to be female, approximately 1,7m in length, was found to be in good health but hard aground on the beach. The dolphin was loaded onto a stretcher, carried

22 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

to the Sea Rescue craft that had beached nearby, and was transported to deep sea, 15 nautical miles offshore. She was released and appeared to swim off confidently and strongly.

Ian Gray, NSRI Port Elizabeth station commander, said that the dolphin was barely out of the boat before it wriggled around and leapt into the water and swam off confidently.

NSRI are cautiously optimistic that the dolphin survived.

BULLETIN BOARD

PHOTOGRAPHS: RRAD PHOTOGRAPHY

Residents of Jeffreys Bay find a novel – and colourful way – to support charities in the area.

FESTIVE CONTRIBUTION Every year during December, Jeffreys Bay residents and visitors to the area are treated to a spectacular Christmaslight display in Wavecrest. The owners of 13 and 15 Anaboom Crescent decorate their houses and gardens with a huge variety of Christmas lights.

Last year they even included a snow machine! Children and parents who were able to spend

countless hours on the lawn enjoying this beautiful display, also had the opportunity to make a donation.

During December 2014 more than R15 000 was collected, and the owners donated all of the proceeds to two charities of their choice. R1 500 was donated to 7th Heaven Children’s Haven in Jeffreys Bay, with R13 500 donated

to NSRI Station 37 to assist with the costs of replacing the station’s now ageing 4.2m inflatable rescue craft.

All the costs relating to the installation and maintenance of the Christmas lights were carried by the owners. We salute them for their efforts in supporting these two charities. The owners already indicated that the lights will be switched on once again in December 2015.

Pierre Francois Massyn, a former volunteer at Station 30 (Agulhas), challenged us with the following thoughts (shortened): I am writing to you in English since I suspect that your English is better than your Afrikaans.

My opinion is that the NSRI needs every cent it can generate in order to survive and to continue to render a service. My opinion is that the NSRI is currently losing millions of rands in donations. Why? do you ask.

Currently, your ‘life boats’ for donations sport only English labels You may argue that it will cost you a lot of money to make Afrikaans stickers to put on your life boats but I can assure you, this expense will be offset many, many times over if you ‘tap into the Afrikaans market’.

You are currently denying yourself a precious income. By continuing to do so, you will shoot yourself in the foot, and I am sure the NSRI management will not be so foolish.

IN MEMORIAM

L

eon Pretorius touched so many lives in Witsand-Port Beaufort, whether it was via NSRI, Rawson Properties or The Breede River Lodge. He was the kindest, most giving person I know, always going the extra mile. He brought such enthusiasm and life to the lodge and was excited for the tourism industry, with the Pili Pili Adventure Centre offering our tourists so much fun on his doorstep. He shared many a dream with me for the betterment of our village. I have photos of him standing with my dad, Alf Barry, as a little boy of three or four,

RUS SAG

Leon Pretorius joined Sea Rescue on 19 October 2006 and was made a Class 3 coxswain in March 2012. He was a Witsand deputy station commander and recently served as station commander. Our thoughts are with Leon’s family and friends and the Station 33 (Witsand) family.

E

k ken Leon vandat ek nege jaar oud was, toe ek begin ‘surf’ het. Deur die jare was Leon vir my van ’n hero tot nog ’n ouer broer tot ’n beste vriend. Ek kan eerlik sê dat ek aan bitter min hoogtepunte in my lewe hier in Witsand kan dink waar Leon nie by was nie.

Altyd die ‘life of the party’ – en oral waar Leon betrokke was, was daar ‘never a dull moment’. Hy was ’n man vol planne, of ’n mens kan sê, ’n man met te veel planne. Met daai stout glimlag moes jy hom altyd dop hou, want hy het altyd ’n plan gehad om iets stuitig aan te vang.

Hy was ’n seekind en geen persoon wat Leon ken kan anders sê nie. ‘Surf’, ‘paddleboard’, visvang, NSRI en so beitjie ‘kitesurf’ op die

24 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

einde: al díe goed het Leon gedoen, en die see en rivier was twee van sy groot passies.

Ek sal vir altyd in die branders omkyk om te sien of Leon nie stadig ‘aangepaddle’ gaan kom nie, of op die rivier kyk wanneer kom Leon en Troi met die boot om ’n paar ‘grunters’ te vang nie.

Ek kan nie eers verduidelik hoe ons hom in NSRI gaan mis nie. Leon het hierdie ongelooflike kalmte en aanvaarding in moeilike situasies gehad.

Leon is ’n Witsand legend wat te vroeg van ons weggevat is, maar hy het op soveel plekke sy merk gelos. In die see, die rivier, by die ‘lodge’, by NSRI, in ons harte. Leon, ons sal jou nooit vergeet nie.

Attie Gunter

watching the builders build The Lucky Strike Hotel. It just seemed right that he took over the lodge and managed the accommodation business, having seen the buildings going up in 1971. We knew that the meaningful history would not be forgotten, as he often shared fishing stories with clients. Leon, you were a true entrepreneur and I will miss you. Our sincere condolences to Gita, Hanli and Troi, and the rest of the family, as well as his NSRI family. We’ll never forget all the good you did for Witsand-Port Beaufort.

Lorraine Barry Martin, Witsand

I

am totally shocked and saddened to hear of Leon’s passing. I and my crew owe our very lives to the bravery shown by Leon, Attie and Quentin. We were fortunate enough to visit them after our rescue and we then really got to see what these guys are made of.

I know Hanli was uneasy the night that Leon came to our rescue and we have kept in touch since then. He was so proud to share photos of him and Troi fishing on the river.

You have lost a brave soul but his memory will never fade.

Our hearts go out to you all.

Greg, Marcelle, Shaun, Franz and Mike

F

arewell but not forgotten, Leon, kind brave soul, always with a wave and smile and a twinkle in your eye.

Witsand will not be the same without you. I will never forget the kindness, authority and calmness you brought to the scene of Mike’s accident, and remain in your debt and that of our wonderful local NSRI Station 33 crew, who responded so quickly and efficiently at the time. Leon, I will miss watching you from my deck, as I so often did – out

on your boat fishing with Troi in front of our house, stand-up paddling as you crossed the river, collecting bait on the shores and casting for leervis on the sandbank opposite us.

Every time we see the NSRI boat on its weekly practice sessions or going out on a rescue mission, we will think about you…

Our deepest condolences to the whole Pretorius family.

We hold you in our hearts at this sad and tragic time. RIP. Jo and Mike Attenborough

RIP, Leon, boeta… Jy was ’n goeie pêl, die een wie ons ouers altyd vertrou het om ons weer veilig huis toe te bring. Jy was en sal altyd ’n ‘legend’ bly, ou vriend. Rus sag.

Tanya xxx

& tours

LIFE BOAT CIRCLE

Teas PHOTOGRAPH: RRAD PHOTOGRAPHY

Ken Clegg of Jeffreys Bay is a crew member at Station 37 (Jeffreys Bay) and also runs our local Life boat Circle there. He writes: ‘Our recent tour and tea at the base was a great success. I had 38 present and I gave an introductory talk to everyone seated in our boathouse (there were only just enough chairs) before our station commander, Rieghard Janse van Rensburg, gave a talk on the boats, equipment and recent rescues. After a tour of the base and control room (where I am a radio controller), we strolled over to the restaurant next door for tea, coffee and sandwiches. We call it the local Life boat Circle headquarters. It is upstairs and overlooks the rescue base – a really superb venue.’

Left: Ingrid Ussher, Vicki Marnoch and Sarah Gray at the breakfast held at The Benjamin Hotel in Florida Road, Durban.

Our guest speaker was Debbie Hargreaves of the Natal Sharks Board.

Above: We enjoyed a lovely lunch to celebrate Di Bowser’s birthday in Ballito. Di and Ted are both bequestors, and it is with great sadness that we heard of Ted’s passing in February.

We will miss him.

We also say goodbye to Keith Morrison from the UK, who was a founder member of NSRI in KZN, a well-loved father and grandfather to many, and a very dear man. He visited Ian Wienburg when he was in the Cape a few years ago, and was very impressed with Sea Rescue as it is today. He died at 92 years of age.

Thank you to Sonia Winship from Howick, who celebrated her 80th birthday and, instead of presents, collected money for Sea Rescue at her party.

Right: Maureen Elysee with Janet and Brian Warren at a talk by Jacqui McAllister on being a crew member and the history of the Port of Durban.

Lovely tea and scones were enjoyed once again.

THANK YOU FOR THE DONATIONS RECEIVED IN MEMORY OF LOVED ONES: • Keith Morrison Above: Finn Christensen and Janet Burgess at Corner Café in Durban.

Finn is a new bequestor and it was delightful to meet him and hear how he has enjoyed our Sea Rescue magazine over the years.

Above: Pat Rider, David Morris and Janet Burgess (centre) enjoy delicious apple scones and coffee at Two Acres in Hillcrest. It is lovely to catch up with old members and hear their news.

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SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 25

While perfect weather prevailed on land, the Witkin family were at the mercy of the elements further out to sea. Helena Witkin speaks about their ordeal.

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREW INGRAM

M

OONSTRUCK. THE WORD MAKES CAPETONIANS think of perfect weather, Clifton 4th beach, golden oldies being played by a session band, picnics and children playing happily with glow sticks bought in aid of the NSRI. The radio station CapeTalk’s annual fundraiser for Sea Rescue has a reputation for being an event not to be missed.

And the 2014 event was just as special as it always is.

It was a glorious afternoon. As the sun sank towards the horizon, thousands of people poured onto 4th Beach, and Sea Rescue volunteers walked among the huge crowd selling memorabilia in aid of NSRI. Out in the bay the duty crew from Station 2 (Bakoven) on the 6,5m rescue boat Rotarian Schipper were moving between the yachts and huge leisure boats, selling them glow sticks. At the helm was Sean Geyser. Next to him was station commander Bruce Davidson, and behind them stood another four NSRI volunteers: Arianna Abaroa, Eddie du Toit, Jeremy Godfrey and Alex Hartog.

Sean had the rescue boat alongside a yacht when the boat cellphone rang. Bruce answered. By his tone of voice the crew knew that they had a call.

‘People in the water at Bakoven. Let’s go,’ said Bruce.

The rescue boat was pushed off, Sean swung the bow out to sea, moved away from the yacht and then pushed the throttles hard against the fibreglass. Rotarian Schipper surged forward, her engines screaming.

Those on the beach who looked up from their picnics on the warm sand may have seen the rescue boat curving around out of Clifton at high speed, but they wouldn’t have seen her as she smashed into the first white-capped waves caused by the gale-force southeaster, just behind Duiker Rocks.

As so often happens in Cape Town, Clifton was wind-free, but a few hundred metres away, just around the corner, the southeaster

power OF nature THE

26 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

SURVIVOR STORIES was whipping the sea into a frenzy. Spray was driven above the waves, and a casual observer may have remarked on the little rescue boat powering into the teeth of the wind. She was on a mission where seconds can mean the difference between life and death.

While the crowds on Clifton settled down to listen to music, about a kilometre away five people were fighting for their lives.

This is the story that Helena Witkin, one of the people who were rescued that day, tells of the narrow escape she and her family and friends had: ‘It was Saturday. Late afternoon. Five of us set off on the water just as the “tablecloth” started swirling down Table Mountain.

Mikey and Sarah were on a paddling board, while myself, Vaneshran and Nikita – Sarah’s friend – were in a canoe.

Due to an inexplicable glitch in the application of our own rule that a child has to wear a life jacket when out there, Sarah was sitting on the board without one. Nikita, thankfully, had her jacket on.

We were on Beta Beach, Bakoven. A bungalow there is our summer residence, and the beach is our front yard. Or so we felt until we were reminded that the ocean and the wind are primal and powerful forces that can sweep us away at any time, with no more effort than we put in sweeping the sand off the steps.

We rowed some 30m from the beach, then followed the line of the sun, admiring the beauty of the day, appreciating the sights and sounds…

Then something started feeling wrong. It happened so quickly, this switch from serene to struggling, that we were all in disbelief that what was happening was truly happening.

First our canoe overturned. I remember thinking, “So this is what it feels like,” and there was more curiosity in it than fear. But I had my little Nikita with me, and she was crying and panicking (instinctively recognising that we were in a much greater danger than we – the adults – realised at that point). I was holding her firmly with one arm, my paddle in the other.

‘I saw my child crying. I saw she had no life jacket. I saw the water mass between us.’

Left: Helena Witkin and her family experienced firsthand the incredible power of the wind and water.

Above: While Capetonians were enjoying a peaceful evening at the popular Moonstruck fundraiser at Clifton, all hell was breaking loose in the water off Bakoven.

Sarah and Mikey reached us and helped us turn over the boat and climb back in.

From that point, it was as if some button was pressed somewhere and we were in a different world, in some other reality.

The wind picked up with such brute force that we couldn’t see or hear anything but its whistling, a sound I have never heard before, and there aren’t many things I could compare it with in everyday experience.

We were swallowing lots of water.

We were trying to turn back, in vain.

Then we realised that Sarah and Mikey were being blown away and that they were extremely vulnerable, both sitting on the board, trying to stay flat so as not to be the sail for this raging wind.

I looked around them and saw the vastness of the water, the thick light-speed whip of the wind raising the curtain of white foam. The darkness was falling, the coast was already far away.

Then the wind took off Mikey’s (tight-fitting) hat, spun it above his head and threw it into the sea.

Later I learnt his glasses were also blown off.

I saw my child crying. I saw she had no life jacket.

I saw the water mass between us.

Then I saw the board flying two metres high, doing a flip and falling out of their reach.

I saw my child in the water. I saw Mikey mortified and putting in all his might to help Sarah stay up.

SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 27

SURVIVOR STORIES

Helena and her family, husband Mikey and daughter Sarah.

Mikey lost all his energy once he reached the canoe. He was freezing and near-fainting in the water, holding onto the back of the canoe.

28 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

Then Sarah Witkin, a little girl with a lion’s heart, swam her most important swim, 10 or 12m at least, out there in the open sea, against the wind, through the showers of salty drops and her own tears and she made it – she made it to the canoe with her daddy.

I picked her up.

I felt all is well now.

But our situation was still hopeless. Mikey lost all his energy once he reached the canoe. He was freezing and near-fainting in the water, holding onto the back of the canoe. Sarah and Nikita were terrified. The wind was pushing us further into the open sea and the canoe was filling with water. The girls were trying to get the water out, panicking.

Then the canoe capsized again.

All five in the water.

Turn the boat over. Get Mikey back in first, then the girls. Vaneshran and I now both holding the front of our vessel, pulling it forward and stabilising it.

Waving SOS to the people on the rocks. They don’t seem to notice.

Somebody will come.

They must know we are struggling.

Nikita’s mom stayed on the balcony in Beta.

Another friend, an experienced diver, also.

They must have realised we are struggling.

It was clear that nothing we did at this point could help us; our only hope was being rescued.

All our efforts were just about slowing us down in moving farther away from the shore.

Minutes go by. Long were those minutes!

Then I hear: Somebody’s coming!

An angel choir singing.

I see the yellow and red of a boat to my left.

It’s moving fast. But it seems to be moving

away from us?! Panic. All for a part of a second.

The boat circles to angle itself to receive us and to stay stable in the wind.

I see five people. They pull me up first. I try to get myself in. My strength at its end. They help me.

Soon, Sarah is in my arms, Nikita in hers, the men on the other side of the boat. A blanket covering us and the engine competing with the wind in loudness.

I feel how much water has been swallowed.

I feel the grace of God. I feel we are safe.

Soon we arrive at the NSRI station on Bakoven Beach.

Nikita’s mother in tears, running towards the boat. Our friend, neighbours, people on the beach, all waiting for us.

A cup of tea. Too shaky to hold a cup. Hot shower.

Still too shaky. Slowly calming down. Slowly warming up.

They tell us that we were lucky because they were already on the water, in Clifton, when they got the call. Otherwise it would have been another 20 minutes.

That day five got added to the NSRI list of rescued.

Next to that list stands the other list.

Touch and go.

The difference between life and death.

We walk home.

A man passes us with a T-shirt reading, “Never Again”.

Sarah giggles and comments – that is just what we were saying to each other!

Never again without a life jacket.

Never again underestimating the forces of nature.

Never again without giving thanks and praise.’ SR

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SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 29

WATERWISE

Rob Stirrat, Howard Godfrey and Eoudia Erasmus watch as a child demonstrates how to use the rescue buoy.

HOW TO MAKE A

WATERBUOY I

T’S A HOT DAY. SCHOOL HOLIDAYS. Parents are at work and three kids from the area are playing together. The oldest child has been told sternly to look after the younger kids until the grown-ups get home after work.

Later in the morning the children are tired of playing at home and nag the older boy to let them all go down to the dam to cool off and swim. They are not allowed to do this. The farmer who owns the dam has put up warning signs saying ‘No swimming’, and the children’s parents have forbidden them to go near it. It is a dangerous dam as the ground is uneven and there are a number of deep holes.

But it’s hot. And they are children.

Eventually the older child agrees, and down to the dam they go. The youngest boy pulls off his clothes and wades in. Suddenly his head disappears under the water. The older boy, remembering his parents’ words, rushes into the water to help. He reaches out to the little boy, who grabs his hand … and pulls him into the deep water. Neither child can really swim.

In complete horror, the third child watches as both their heads disappear under the water.

When neither boy comes up, he runs off. He has no idea what to do. So he hides.

When the parents return that evening, the boy, sobbing, tells them what happened. Horrified, the adults call the police. Emergency services soon arrive, but it is way too late to save the boys.

Although this story is made up, similar tragedies play themselves out again and again. At the beach, at rivers, at dams. The best defence against them recurring over and over – and against our terrible drowning statistics – is education. This is what Sea Rescue’s WaterWise Academy instructors do.

Just before the December holidays, the WaterWise Academy strategically placed several rescue buoys in the Ceres area,

30 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

as a test. The idea behind these buoys was to raise awareness of the dangers in water, reinforcing the water-safety lesson that the children had been given in their classroom, and to have a rescue device at hand in the event of an emergency.

‘After I’ve taught the older children about peer rescue, whom to call for help and how to do handson CPR, the teacher chooses a few kids and we go to the dam where they swim, to put up a rescue buoy,’ says WaterWise instructor Eoudia Erasmus.

‘The buoy reminds the children of the danger that they face when swimming, and if someone gets into difficulty they can use it.’

At the start of the 2015 first term, Howard Godfrey and Rob Stirrat, both of whom have been involved in Sea Rescue since the 1970s, went out to Ceres to see how the project was going.

Both men have been at the forefront of rescue and sourcing new technology for Sea Rescue in the form of boats and rescue equipment over the past 20 years.

They smiled at the thought that a threelitre milk container, used in the context of a farm dam, can be a very effective lifesaving device. Chatting about the project afterwards, it was agreed that getting the farmer, the children, the school and the community to buy into the project is the key to its success.

And now we need you to get involved: we need your help to place these easy-to-make rescue buoys around the country. In doing so, you’ll be helping to prevent children from drowning. You can make the rescue buoys, or you can encourage your children to make them and to put them in places where children swim. You can also encourage the school in your area to do the same. SR

RESCUE

BUOY 1 2

Wash out a clear three-litre milk container and allow it to dry properly.

Use an oil-based red paint (such as spray paint) and paint the inside of the bottle generously, so that the entire inside surface is covered.

Then allow it to dry.

Put a handful of sand in the bottle to give it enough weight so that it can be thrown, and then glue the lid shut with silicone glue.

Source a pole, roughly 1.5m in length and with a diameter of about 20cm, and secure it in the ground near the swimming area (with the permission of the landowner).

Tie a 10m length of rope to the bottle handle and coil it neatly. Use an old shoelace, or a piece of rope or string – and tie it in a loop to hold the coiled rope. Cut a groove in the top of the pole and slip the shoelace through it to secure it to the top of the pole.

Drill a hole about 10cm from the top of the pole to thread the other end of the rope through. Tie a simple overhand knot to keep the rope attached to the pole.

Make a laminated label that says ‘Emergency number: 10177’ (or put the sign in a plastic sleeve and use a drawing pin to tack it onto the pole). You can download the Sea Rescue label from http://goo.gl/FvsDYs. Paint the pole a bright colour (if you have paint left over).

3

4 5

6 7

8

Take a selfie with your rescue buoy and send it to info@searescue.org.za

PHOTOGRAPHS: ANDREW INGRAM

Andrew Ingram describes how a humble milk bottle can save a life.

REAL-LIFE RESCUE

Outrunning

the storm

Solo sailor Mike Bickell was towed to safety by Richards Bay crew.

By Cherelle Leong

32 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

Mike Bickell describes his rescue as something out of a Bond movie.

Here, he is safely moored in Richards Bay.

Bay and heading back meant going head-on into the foul weather. What had been an easy run up the coast was going to be a stomach-heaving return. With a fulllength 220m towline, the best speed they could make was two knots. Even seasoned crew succumbed to seasickness as they pounded through heavy seas.

Eight hours later the lights of Richards Bay harbour came into view, but getting into port posed yet another challenge. Usually Spirit of Richards Bay would cut across 45 degrees to go into the port, but the wreck of the bulk carrier MV Smart blocked the way. They had to run past the wreck and then turn 90 degrees into the harbour entrance, beam-on to breaking seas. Several times Spirit of Richards Bay was pushed off course and had to correct south to avoid being washed onto the wreck. Even once inside the harbour, the 2m swells made it very difficult to bring Alchemi into a mooring.

It wasn’t an experience anyone wanted to repeat in a hurry. Still, if the call came, the crew of Station 19 would go and do it all over again for any other seaman in distress. SR

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY STATION 19 (RICHARDS BAY)

S

OLO SAILOR MIKE BICKELL (78) HAD BEEN battling a raging storm off KwaZulu-Natal’s north coast for more than 24 hours when he started broadcasting a Pan distress call on VHF Channel 16. Even though he was only 10 miles out from Richards Bay, the raging seas and howling storm winds consistently pushed him north no matter what he tried. If he was to reach the safety of Richards Bay he needed help, but the radio remained silent, leaving Mike little choice but to continue in his exhausting battle against the storm.

Eventually the radio cracked to life calling his yacht name, Alchemi. A passing ship had relayed his Pan to Durban Radio. Spirit of Richards Bay was launching from Station 19 (Richards Bay) to come to his aid.

For the Richards Bay crew, the yacht Alchemi was just over 10 miles away and it would be a relatively fast run up the coast in large following seas. Now, knowing help was on the way, Mike prepared, getting together essentials and shoving his passport and documents into his jacket, just in case he had to abandon ship. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but was just grateful that someone was coming for him.

When Spirit of Richards Bay came alongside Alchemi, it was 13 miles north of Richards Bay in swells in excess of 8m and winds gusting at more than 50 knots. The crew passed a heaving line to Mike and he tried to attach it, but his freezing hands wouldn’t cooperate. A decision was made to send Mike help. Crewman Hillegard Holtzhausen volunteered to go, jumping into the massive swells and swimming to the yacht. Once on board, Hillegard quickly rigged up a tow with a strop attached to two cleats so that Spirit of Richards Bay could take up the tow. For Mike it felt as though he’d been rescued by James Bond himself.

By now they had drifted 16 miles north of Richards

CREW STORIES Sea Rescue crew continued the search for the young woman at Woody Cape.

Tragedy at

WOODY CAPE

Port Elizabeth coxswain and WaterWise Academy instructor Marcus Oshry was there when five British tourists were swept out to sea by a rip current.

PHOTOGRAPH: PAUL VAN JAARSVELD

T

ODAY I CRIED. Being a part of Sea Rescue and Waterwise has made me realise the value of life. To cement those values was to then have children of my own.

I’ve had the privilege of serving with men and women who share the same values for almost 20 years. I have seen people saved and I have seen people who have not been so lucky.

Last night I witnessed the power of Sea Rescue and, yet again, the power of the sea. I was part of the Sea Rescue Support Crew following the PE2EL Surf Ski Race. At Woody Cape, just as I finished prepping my vehicle after a day from hell, with technical problems on multiple support vehicles, I heard a scream. The type of scream that sent shivers through my entire body. As an educator of water safety, I often tell the kids that they will hear their friends shouting for help but I’ve never heard it like I did last night. It was spine-chilling. The beach was about 500m away, along bush paths and then an almighty dune down to the shoreline.

I’ve dealt with many drownings in my lifetime

The families

of the two young women who drowned have agreed that we could share this very personal story, believing that awareness is the key to saving lives.

at Sea Rescue and what I teach children about rip currents rolls off my tongue daily. However, this time it was different. Hearing the people we saved cry for their friends; the helplessness we felt in the pitch dark and mist; and carrying on the search into the cold of the night...

The following morning we were back on the beach at first light, after two hours’ sleep, to search for the remaining young woman. We eventually located her and carried her from the sea. As I lay her down in the vehicle, I said a quiet prayer for her and her family.

The search was over and the rescue came to a close. Or so I thought.

Later, as I was standing at the starting line of the ski race, a four-year-old boy came over, tapped me on my leg and asked, ‘Sir, can you tell me why those girls died?’ I’ve never swallowed so hard to keep my composure. I knelt down beside him and told him that he should never ever go swimming at night, and that he should never ever swim without his parents’ permission or without them watching him. After a few more of his innocent questions, he walked away.

It was then that I sunk to my knees, shattered. SR

Visit the NSRI website to read the full story at http://goo.gl/qdakOb

SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 33

call home

A station building is more than just a place to store rescue equipment; it’s a place that has heart and soul.

By Wendy Maritz

Above: Extreme makeover – these ‘before’ and ‘after’ images of Station 11 (Port Alfred) paint a thousand words. Station commander Juan Pretorius is an architect and kindly donated his time and expertise for the renovations to their boathouse.

34 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

S

PEAK TO ANY OF THE OLD-TIMERS and they will all tell you the same thing: the rescue boat is always referred to as she, and often described as a vessel of great beauty. The boathouse, boatshed or rescue base is her home and a place to be kept in tip-top condition.

In a rescue operation there can never be a technical failure because of lack of maintenance. Or lack of care.

Aside from being the bricks and mortar a boathouse represents a home, a haven and a place of treasured memories. The stations at Knysna and Plettenberg Bay were recently blessed with revamps, generously funded by Italtile. They had both been Cinderella stations with tiny, impractical bathrooms and odd nooks and crannies.

Wouter van der Merwe and Tasmin Mulder from Italtile loved every minute of sitting with the crew, designing new washrooms to accommodate our volunteers after long and

challenging rescues. And they were just as involved in designing spaces to house the rich collection of history and memorabilia.

Spencer Oldham, the training officer at Station 8 (Hout Bay) admitted that, on every overseas business trip that he makes, he goes out of his way to visit a rescue base in the area. Station 20 (Shelly Beach) station commander Pieter Coetzee concurs – he and his wife ticked off a bucket-list trip around South Africa and he sneaked in stops at every rescue base; even if they were locked and he just got to admire them from the parking lot or take a peek through the window.

Station 20 (Shelly Beach), located in the Sonny Evans Small Craft Harbour on the KZN South Coast, shares a building with the local ski-boat club. The doublestorey building houses the three rescue craft, the tractor and the 4x4, as well as a small first-aid annex, crew lockers and

PHOTOGRAPHS: SUPPLIED

A place to

PHOTOGRAPHS: SUPPLIED

STATION UPDATES a washroom, bosun store and a workshop bench. The upper-floor spaces double up as a training room and a private area for families to wait for news during a rescue.

A small closed-off section – the size of a home loo – is the radio room. Backing onto that is a tiny kitchenette. There is an outside deck, which has a little braai facility and a full view of the bay and the coastline.

‘A couple of years ago, the ladies from head office suggested it was time for a few home comforts. Two letters and a phone call later we had two brand-new couches, a kettle and sandwich toaster (all donated

by Lewis Stores), a flat-screen TV for the training sessions, a lick of paint and new (donated) blinds. Boy, did that make us feel loved! We currently have about 30 crew, including trainees, who spend a lot of their free time at the base, and a few creature comforts make all the difference,’ beams station commander Pieter Coetzee.

Other stations, such as Durban, have had to adapt to less-than-ideal conditions resulting from developments beyond their control. Planned renovations to one of the NSRI’s flagship bases have been thwarted, delayed and interrupted by harbour upgrades in the form of the widening of the harbour mouth. ‘This widening has exposed our station to water surges that affect us when we launch our vessels,’ explains Station 5’s Ian Livermore. The entrance to the harbour needs constant dredging and in order to do this effectively a pipeline is being installed under the station’s parking area (to offload the dredged sand at a sand-cleaning station). Add to that, harbour construction personnel have been using the station’s conference room as a base of operation.

Changes that are underway include the construction of a cradle for the new 12m

Crew and equipment have taken a hammering, not to mention the rain, dust and mud getting in everywhere.

rescue craft, a new fuel store to pipe diesel into the rescue vessels, and larger ablution facilities. ‘The needs of a base change as crew numbers grow and new assets are acquired,’ Ian acknowledges.

But it appears the end is in sight, and crew will be relieved to get their home back again, restored to its former glory – and with a few surprises.

It’s been a similar frustration for Station 6 (Port Elizabeth). After the elation of hearing that the Rabe Family Trust would assist in funding the renovation of their existing base (an old-fashioned railway-style building with an asbestos roof), the crew packed up and relocated to containers while the planned building work was to be done. ‘That was 19 months ago,’ says Ian Gray. Their ‘temporary’ home was kitted out as best as space allowed, and everything not in use, including historical items and records, was packed and stored in a section of the container. ‘We organised electric power, a gas heater, and the crew were given permission to use the Yacht Club’s facilities for showering after call-outs (a luxury only during the day, as the club is locked up after hours),’ says Ian. Crew and equipment have taken a hammering, not to mention the rain, dust and mud getting in everywhere. But the end is in sight, and PE crew can look forward to moving in before the middle of the year. What is Ian looking forward to the most? ‘No “internal” water features,’ he laughs.

For Station 34 (Yzerfontein), negotiations, permissions and planning lasted seven years until crew finally moved into their brand-new building in October last year.

The base was established in 2006 and, like many of the Sea Rescue stations, started out with a handful of dedicated individuals using private vessels for call-outs and training, and meeting at crew members’ homes.

But additional assets and crew and their training requirements, usually signal the need for a physical base building close to a practical launch

Top: Station 14 (Plettenberg Bay) after renovations, generously sponsored by Italtile.

Above: The original base building on the beach.

Below: Station 12’s (Knysna) transformation means all assets have safe storage and crew have a welcoming home to return to after call-outs.

SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 35

STATION UPDATES

PHOTOGRAPH: MA

RC MILNE

negotiations with the local authorities, community, commercial fishing industry and the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

Rudi remembers his days being filled with meetings and his evenings spent going from door to door with a model of the base building to show to community members – and all this while holding down a day job.

One of the issues was that the optimal location from an operations point of view did not satisfy aesthetics, and because the municipality had no established aesthetic guidelines (since the harbour site was never intended for buildings), further rounds of negotiations were entered into. ‘It was a complicated process of give and take,’ says Rudi, ‘but an amicable solution was reached and the proposed building was moved to

Top: Station 6’s (PE) new base building is near completion – crew are understandably excited to move into their new home, after operating from containers (right) for the last 19 months.

Above: The former PE base building.

Below: Station 33’s (Witsand) base extensions have served to accommodate new assets and crew training.

36 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

site. ‘We were given a temporary location at Yzerfontein harbour, consisting of two shipping containers and a canvas roof in between to house our rescue boat,’ says station commander Rudi Rogers.

‘The nature of what we do often requires a rescue base to be erected where no provision has been made for buildings, like in small fishing harbours or other places that provide a safe launch site…’ he explains further. ‘This leaves authorities with challenges and complex processes to accommodate us.’

The challenges and processes involved in the planned establishment of a permanent base building included lengthy

another location within the harbour.’

Despite the obstacles, the crew remained committed to their task of saving lives, caring for casualties, and making sure the vessels were stored and the station maintained in tip-top condition. ‘But the day our temporary base was moved aside to make room for the building foundations was a huge occasion,’ Rudi smiles.

‘We have been very fortunate that the boatshed was purpose-built for efficiency,’ says Rudi, ‘with sloped floors for easy drainage, slip-resistant flooring installed for the “wet” areas, and efficient storage for all our assets’. The new base also houses a lecture room, an operations room,

ablution facilities, a small kitchen and a first-aid treatment room for casualties.

The base at Station 33 (Witsand) is also expanding, even though it’s been bit by bit.

The original base, completed late in 2008, consisted of a brick-and-wood shed with three garage doors facing the water, a control room and two small change rooms with a single toilet. Soon after completion, the station acquired a Land Rover and a 5.5m RIB, Queenie Paine. This effectively filled the building and left no room for moving around equipment or for crew amenities. Then came a Rescue Runner in 2010. The base had an open courtyard on its eastern flank, and this was closed in to provide the necessary garage, providing the opportunity to establish an elevated control room on top of a suspended wooden floor. At the same time, crew built a linking mezzanine walkway to create a ‘crew room’ above the existing two small change rooms. ‘This ‘loft’ had restricted headroom, and although it was used successfully for many a debrief, it was the cause of many sore heads as well!’ says liaison officer Rob Wilson.

After the dramatic night rescue of the crew of yacht Gulliver in July 2011, station management motivated for a larger vessel for the station. While approval was granted in principle, the actual procurement and

building-approval process ran through until December 2014 when the new 8.5m RIB Breede Rescuer was taken into service. The new shed will provide storage for the 8.5m RIB and tractor, as well as incorporate a new change room, a wash-down area for seagoing kit and a formal fuel store. It is situated on the eastern side of the current base, immediately adjacent to the public road. It is hoped the construction will be completed by end June 2015.

‘Without the support of the broader NSRI family, none of this would be possible,’ says Rob. ‘But, having said that, each and every project has been supplemented by contributions from locals and crew alike. All work has been designed and managed locally – which is amazing, considering Witsand is a tiny community, consisting of about 250 permanent residents, most of whom are retired,’ he concludes.

Fundraising for maintenance and buildings is our toughest ask. Somehow they just don’t have the same appeal as a shiny new boat or life jackets for crew...

But these boathouses are the foundation that keeps our incredible service ready and steady, they are the arms that our crew return to late at night while the village sleeps. Every one of our crew deserves the very best boathouse we can afford. SR

Above: The splendid new base at Yzerfontein Harbour.

Inset: The temporary home that crew used for seven years while negotiations for a permanent base were underway.

Each and every project has been supplemented by contributions from locals and crew alike. All work has been designed and managed locally– which is amazing, considering Witsand is a tiny community, consisting of about 250 permanent residents, most of whom are retired.

SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 37

EXPLORING

Roadtripping in

Madagascar

MAGINE AN ISLAND FROM A storybook, with plants and creatures so peculiar you’d think the author was just having fun. Except this one is actually real and it’s Madagascar – a destination that is raw, beautiful, unusual and fascinating!

First there’s the coastline, so stunning it makes you want to become an island castaway. Miles of pristine sandy beaches, turquoise waters and palm trees beckon.

What more could you want in a holiday destination? Yet, I know that Madagascar is home to such a rich diversity of landscapes, traditions and wildlife, and there is much more still to explore.

Take for instance Kirindy Private Reserve, approximately three hours’ drive north from Morondava, along a somewhat bumpy road that’s mostly gravel. En route we saw many local villagers commuting to school or work. They stand out in stark contrast against the dusty red earth, and with baobabs in full foliage towering overhead, looking like islands of green in the sky.

A walk in Kirindy’s spiny forest has plenty to offer in terms of wildlife if you know where to look. Birds, chameleons, gheckos and insects play a symphony of sounds as you walk among thin, tall trees. Kirindy is well-known for its white Verreaux sifaka, also known as the dancing lemurs. These creatures leap gracefully from branch to

Above and right: The island is home to a number of exotic creatures, including the panther chameleon and the Verreaux sifaka or dancing lemur.

38 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

branch but, when on the ground, they aren’t able to walk on all fours like other lemurs.

Instead they reach their arms above their heads to balance, appearing to dance from side to side as they move along. It’s quite a sight. Kirindy is also home to the more common brown lemur that isn’t as shy – these fellows come right up to you. Even a mother with her little one clutching her belly descended the tree and posed for close-ups.

It was magical. One of Madagascar’s most unusual creatures is the fossa – the island’s largest carnivore. Its face resembles that of a cat, and it has an elongated body. We were fortunate to see a young female fossa dart across the road in front of us. It hid under one of the cabins, occasionally running out and then back into the shade. As fossas are nocturnal, seeing one (almost) in the wild was more than I could have hoped for.

Our road trip back to Morondava was focused on baobabs. The massive sacred baobab has an average trunk diameter of 4m and can grow up to an incredible 50m tall. The ‘Baobabs in Love’ are iconic – these two trees have intertwined, forming a single twisted trunk.

As the sun dipped towards the horizon, we arrived at Baobab Alley, where the lateafternoon light painted the baobabs a rich

red and backlit the cloudy sky. Close-ups and panoramas… I simply couldn’t get enough of photographing these gentle giants all clustered together.

Even driving through local communities is an experience. Malagasy culture has rich traditions in handicrafts and woodcarving.

There is an assortment of beautiful curios for sale, from hand-woven baskets to carvings and metalwork. Bargaining is done with much facial expression and gesticulation. There’s also an opportunity to visit a local fishing village to see large dhows being made and perhaps enjoy fresh coconut picked by a nimble tree-climbing villager.

The capital of Antananarivo is an experience of beautiful chaos. Our driver had the challenge of weaving his way between bicycles, pedestrians, zebu carts and other vehicles while avoiding potholes and puddles. Slate houses lining narrow streets look like they’re the blueprint for fairy-tale gingerbread houses, and there are people simply everywhere.

Outside of Tana the chaos is replaced with vistas of rolling hills, endless rice paddies, quaint villages and imposing dolomite peaks.

Once again we were headed for the reserves to see

PHOTOGRAPHS: CHERELLE LEONG, SHUTTERSTOCK

I

Cherelle Leong shares her experience of Africa’s most fascinating island – home to lush rainforests, natural wonders and myriad creatures, great and small.

lemurs, and along the way we stopped in to visit a reptile park. It was incredible to see the many different species up close and the speed with which a chameleon grabs its prey. Tiny, colourful frogs that are no bigger than one’s thumb hopped among the foliage. A large grumpy-looking tomato frog remained static next to the pond and really did look like a tomato.

At the Voima forest, a narrow winding footpath led us into dense forest for a night walk. I was mesmerised by the forest sounds and how our guides managed to spot the most intriguing creatures.

Nocturnal dwarf lemurs called out from their treetop perches but all we could see was the reflection of their large eyes.

Our guide pointed out spiders spinning elaborate webs, beetles mating, and chameleon the size of a coin, gripping a fern leaf, quite convinced it was the best place to spend the night. Just then, movement in the foliage grabbed the attention of one of our guides and he disappeared into the darkness. As we caught up with him, he indicated a mouse lemur above us.

Scurrying about, it would stop occasionally and sneak a peek, sometimes hanging

upside down to check us out. What a highlight to see the smallest primate on earth!

In Andasibe we trekked through hilly rainforest, seeing wild pineapples, a boa, tiny tree frogs, evidence of the aye-aye (one of the most endangered lemur species in the country), and one of Madagascar’s Small Five: the giraffe beetle. Their shiny blackand-red bodies are striking in appearance but they are so minute you’d never find them unless you knew where to look.

Diademed safika are large golden lemurs that swing effortlessly between the trees and strike a pose just long enough to let you know they’re watching. An echoing call reverberates through the forest. It’s the indri – the largest lemur species. High up in the forest canopy, a troop of indri, complete with a mischievous baby, are lazing in the trees.

Nothing prepares you for the cacophony of sound when the indri start calling right above you. It is from another world, almost eerie, inviting you to explore more. SR

At the Voima forest, a narrow winding footpath led us into dense forest for a night walk. I was mesmerised by the forest sounds and how our guides managed to spot the most intriguing creatures.

PHOTOGRAPHS: CHERELLE LEONG, SHUTTERSTOCK

Clockwise from top right: The ominouslooking fossa; the tiny giraffe beetle; and the majestic baobab forest.

SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 39

A massive stoney coral extends its turret up into the water, providing a perch for a feather star.

THE BIG BLUE

It’s a

kind of magic Coral reefs are much like underwater rainforests – fertile, buzzing with activity, and sometimes just a little eerie, says Georgina Jones PHOTOGRAPHS

BY GEOFF SPIBY

40 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

A

CORAL REEF TRULY IS ONE OF THE wonders of this world, and the opportunity to dive one is a singular experience. It is amazing to reflect that this fairytale architecture of turrets, caves, gothic spires and gargoyles has been created by the slow work of tiny creatures each no more than 3mm across. These are reef-building corals, and their minuscule lives have, over time, created huge edifices such as the Australian Barrier Reef that shelters 2 600km of the Australian East Coast. Some islands, like the Maldives, wouldn’t exist at all without these miniature beasts. More species of animals live on and in coral reefs than in any other environment in the world, and exploring their variety is an endless delight.

Reef-building corals are colonial animals that live only in warm sunlit water. Each individual is a small polyp that looks rather like a little sea anemone.

It has a mouth surrounded by a ring of stinging tentacles for catching floating prey, and the body stalk is mostly stomach. The mouth is tidal: food, eggs, sperm and wastes go in or out of it, since the body lacks another exit.

The polyp makes itself a hard outer covering of limestone out of sea water, to protect itself from damage and predators. Importantly, it has minute

photosynthetic algae living within its tissues. These algae, known as zooxanthellae (zoox for short), use sunlight to build sugars, which they share with the polyp. Some estimates suggest that over 95% of reef-building corals’ nutrition comes from these energetic sun eaters. This lavish supply of food gives the polyps the energy to build their stony casings, and it is the photosynthetic pigments of the algae that give the corals their wonderful colours. When the polyp dies, new polyps build their stone cottages on top of the skeletons of the old ones, and in this way, over millennia, huge reefs are built.

Because of their dependence on the light-dependent zoox, reef-building corals are limited to shallow waters where sunlight can penetrate. They also need warm water, because only at higher temperatures can the coral skeleton be laid down fast enough to withstand wave erosion. But it’s a balancing act. If the water temperature is too high, the corals become stressed and eject their algal partners in a process known as coral bleaching. Without the sugars supplied by the algae, the corals usually starve and die.

A healthy coral reef, however, is an astonishing place to visit. Even though they are most people’s idea of paradise, tropical oceans are watery deserts for the most part. There is very little food in their clear

waters. The presence of reef-building corals changes those deserts into marine wonderlands where all manner of animals and seaweeds can flourish. It’s rather like growing a rainforest. The photosynthetic zoox in the corals use sunlight to help the corals build the structures of the reef. These structures provide habitats for any number of creatures, all pursuing their own lives, eating, excreting, reproducing and dying, while corals themselves are eaten by predators, and those coral eaters are in turn eaten by higher-level predators. And to deal with the excretion and the deaths, as in every ecosystem, there are cleaners who tidy up, and in the process, eat, excrete, reproduce and die themselves.

Some cleaners rove over the reef looking for leftovers and waste. For the bigger fish, there are cleaning stations. Here shrimps and small wrasses set up shop on a particular patch of reef, advertising their services with their brightly striped bodies and wriggling dances. Fish as large as manta rays will come in from the open ocean to have dead patches of skin and parasites nibbled off their bodies. Fish wait patiently to have their gills and skin tended to, and hang vertically in the water so that the cleaners know they’re not about to be turned into a snack.

The vast bulk of a coral reef is made of the

accumulated calcium carbonate skeletons of ancient polyps, with a thin skin of living polyps on their surfaces. There are more than 3 000 species of reef-building corals and they exist in a bewildering array of shapes, sizes and colours. Staghorn corals poke their small turrets up into the water, sheltering scorpion fish and commensal crabs. Brain corals usually have a transparent goby or two skittering around on their surfaces. Some corals form wavy plates or protrude in stacked table format, schools of brightly coloured damselfish flickering around their layers like mobile cupcakes. Any hole usually has a blenny peering from it, or in some cases, reef hermit crabs. These small crabs use the whole reef for protection. Schools of transparent glassies shoal under overhangs and vibrant male sea goldies perform ritual dances for their harems.

Game fish speed in and out on hunting forays, whereas stealth predators like potato bass hide out under overhangs waiting for unwary prey.

Camouflage hunters like stonefish, scorpion fish and frogfish mimic various parts of the reef, all the better to lull their victims into getting just close enough to become a meal.

Other fish help maintain the reef. Parrotfish use their horny beaks to scrape algae off the reef surface.

Although they also scrape off some living coral in the process, reefs without parrotfish are soon overwhelmed by shading algae and cannot thrive.

Corals have external fertilisation, so each species tends to synchronise its spawning. On a specific night annually, sperm is released in smoke-like puffs, and eggs leave the polyps in a steady stream, all to mix and fertilise in the midwater. The fertilised eggs then develop into the larval form, which promptly develops into the next polyp generation.

Reef-building corals are usually withdrawn into their protective casings during the day while the zoox do their work, and emerge at night to catch any passing prey. They also stage territorial battles with other corals, overgrowing them or fatally stinging them.

Although coral reefs are fairylands of wonder, they have their dark side. SR

Above: The fairy-like beauty of octorals belies the batteries of stinging cells on their tentacles.

Below: Reef hermit crabs use coral reefs for protection instead of shells.

Below left: Sea goldies dance above a stghorn coral, while a lionfish lies in wait for the unwary.

SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 41

PERSONAL SAFETY

The recent introduction of the free Safetrx app will provide an extra safety feature for small-craft users as well as invaluable information for rescue services responding to overdue casualties. By Wendy Maritz

Safetrx

ON BOARD IN SA

F

ILING TRAVEL PLANS AND notifying a contact of your route and estimated time of return are part and parcel of responsible water use. Additional safety protocols, such as carrying flares and a means of communication, and wearing a personal flotation device (PFD), are standard – even if you’re only planning to be out on the water for a short period of time. In fact, it is often during a quick jaunt that the wind may change or something unforeseen may occur that could put your life at risk.

The NSRI knows how quickly circumstances can change on the water and how important it is to have as much accurate information about a casualty’s position as possible. That is why a routetracking app such as Safetrx can prove to be a vital tool in search and rescue.

The app comes to South Africa after being developed in Ireland in conjunction with the Irish Coast Guard and Australian Volunteer Coast Guard. It’s being used in Ireland, Australia, the UK and Spain, ‘and we’re the fifth country to start using it,’ explains NSRI operations manager Brett

42 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

Ayres. ‘Basically, each country tweaks the app to the requirements of the rescue organisations involved,’ he adds.

‘It’s a logical and user-friendly app that doesn’t cost the user anything, but they will need an Android or Apple iOS device to download it from the South African Apple Store or Google Play Store. Once it’s downloaded, you register your craft – whether it’s a power boat, yacht or canoe – and enter your route, how many people are on board, what time you expect to be back and the name of your emergency contact,’ Brett explains. When you’re ready to launch, tap ‘Set sail’. The phone’s GPS system tracks your route in real time, sending your position to a secure server, which can be accessed by the monitoring console, housed at the MRCC, every 1km (or every five minutes if the vessel is stationary). When you return, tap ‘End trip’ – which notifies Safetrx that you have arrived home safely. You can also amend your ETA and/or sail plan en

route by using the ‘Review’ button on the ‘Trip progress’ screen if any of your plans change.

If you do not return at the designated time, your emergency contact will be alerted and advised to inform the MRCC, who will have access to your location and trip data via the secure Safetrx server – this information can then be reviewed and used by the NSRI and other rescue services in their rescue response.

‘On the water, there are no street names and suburbs,’ says NSRI CEO Dr Cleeve Robertson.

‘You’re dealing with an endless waterscape, so the real value of this app lies in being able to locate a casualty or casualty vessel. We’ve had about 700 downloads of the app since its introduction earlier this year, and we urge users of all forms of small craft to make use of it. Having the last GPS location gives rescuers a place to start, thus cutting down the search time and increasing the chances of a positive recovery,’ he adds. SR

“Saving time and lives by taking the ‘search’ out of search and rescue.”

STATION DIRECTORY THE NSRI IS MANNED BY MORE THAN 900 VOLUNTEERS AT 35 BASES AROUND THE COAST AND ON THREE INLAND DAMS. OUR VOLUNTEERS HAVE DAY JOBS BUT WILL ALWAYS RESPOND TO YOUR EMERGENCY.

STN 2 BAKOVEN StatCom: Bruce Davidson

☎ 082 990 5962

STN 14 PLETTENBERG BAY StatCom: Deon Truter

☎ 082 990 5975

STN 26 KOMMETJIE StatCom: Adrian Scholtz

☎ 082 990 5979

STN 27 VICTORIA LAKE, GERMISTON StatCom: Graham Hartlett

☎ 082 441 6989

STN 3 TABLE BAY StatCom: Pat van Eyssen

☎ 082 990 5963

STN 15 MOSSEL BAY StatCom: André Fraser

☎ 082 990 5954

STN 4 MYKONOS StatCom: Casper Frylink

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STN 16 STRANDFONTEIN StatCom: Mario Fredericks

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STN 28A PORT ST JOHNS StatCom: John Costello

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STN 5 DURBAN StatCom: Clifford Ireland

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STN 17 HERMANUS StatCom: Henk Henn

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STN 29 AIRBORNE SEA RESCUE StatCom: Andy Connell

☎ 082 990 5980

PORT ELIZABETH STN 6 StatCom: Ian Gray

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MELKBOSSTRAND STN 18 StatCom: Rhine Barnes

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STN 30 AGULHAS StatCom: Reinard Geldenhuys

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STN 7 EAST LONDON StatCom: Geoff McGregor

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STN 19 RICHARDS BAY StatCom: Dorian Robertson

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STN 31 STILL BAY StatCom: Enrico Menezies

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STN 8 HOUT BAY StatCom: Lyall Pringle

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STN 20 SHELLY BEACH StatCom: Pieter Coetzee

☎ 082 990 5950

STN 32 PORT EDWARD StatCom: John Nicholas

☎ 082 990 5951

STN 9 GORDON’S BAY StatCom: Anton Prinsloo

☎ 021 449 3500 (Duty crew)

STN 21 ST FRANCIS BAY StatCom: Paul Hurley

☎ 082 990 5969

STN 33 WITSAND StatCom: Attie Gunter

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STN 10 SIMON’S TOWN StatCom: Darren Zimmermann

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STN 22 VAAL DAM StatCom: Dick Manten

☎ 083 626 5128

STN 34 YZERFONTEIN StatCom: Rudi Rogers

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STN 11 PORT ALFRED StatCom: Juan Pretorius

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STN 23 WILDERNESS StatCom: Hennie Niehaus

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STN 35 WITBANK StatCom: Dean Wegele (Acting)

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STN 12 KNYSNA StatCom: Jerome Simonis

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STN 24 LAMBERT’S BAY StatCom: Leon De-Gruchy (Acting)

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STN 36 OYSTER BAY StatCom: Mark Mans

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STN 25 HARTBEESPOORT DAM StatCom: Rod Pitter

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STN 37 JEFFREYS BAY StatCom: Rieghard Janse van Rensburg

☎ 079 916 0390

General needs

Data projectors and speakers or flat-screen TVs for training • GoPros or similar waterproof devices to film training sessions • Good-quality waterproof binoculars • Prizes for golf days and fundraising events • Towels for casualties • Groceries such as tea, coffee, sugar and cleaning materials • Long-life energy bars • Wet and dry vacuum cleaners • Dehumidifiers • Small generators • Good-quality toolkits • Top-up supplies for medical kits • Waterproof pouches for cellphones • Tea cups/coffee mugs/glasses for functions • Training room chairs.

You can also make a cash donation through our bank account and let us know which rescue base you would like to support.

Cheques can be mailed to: NSRI, PO Box 154, Green Point 8051.

Deposits can be made at: ABSA, Heerengracht branch Branch code: 506 009 Account number: 1382480607 Account holder: National Sea Rescue Institute Swift code: ABSA-ZA-JJ If you choose to do an EFT, please use your telephone number as a unique reference so that we are able to acknowledge receipt.

SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015 • 43

BEWUSTHEIDSVELDTOG

Veiligheid

BO ALLES

A

S JY GERED WIL WORD, moet jy gesien kan word. Daarom het die NSRI die kampioen-seeroeier Dawid Mocke nadergeroep vir sy Be Brighterveldtog om mense te leer hoe om nie net helder van kleur nie maar ook helder van verstand te wees op die water.

‘Om veilig in die water te wees, is supermaklik, kos jou niks en belemmer nie jou pret nie,’ sê Dawid, wat 20 internasionale seeroeititels agter sy naam het en vier opeenvolgende jare die Wêreldreeks gedomineer het. ‘Ons moet ’n kultuur van veiligheid skep sodat meer mense die water veilig kan gebruik en geniet.’

Die Be Brighter-veldtog het ontstaan na aanleiding van die groeiende aantal seeroeiers wat gered moet word – en spesifiek as gevolg van die oplettendheid van hul redders.

Die NSRI het die afgelope tyd ’n hele paar seeroeiers gered, en met elke redding het die NSRI-vrywillers gesê alhoewel hulle die drenkeling nie kon sien nie, het ’n

44 • SEA RESCUE • AUTUMN 2015

flits van helder kleur van iets wat die roeier aangehad het, hul oog gevang. Só kon hulle die persoon in die water opspoor en het die reddingspogings ’n gelukkige einde gehad.

Die les hieruit te leer: dra helder klere as jy in die water gaan, veral om jou arms en kop, want die kanse is goed dat dit al is wat bo die oppervlak uitsteek as jy in die moeilikheid beland. Hoe helderder, hoe beter. Daarby is die volgende absoluut onmisbaar, sê Dawid: maak seker jy het ’n individuele dryftoestel (PFD, vir ‘personal flotation device’) by jou, asook ’n ligfakkel en ’n selfoon in ’n waterdigte sakkie, en haak jou ski se voetband êrens aan jou lyf vas.

Hierdie maatreëls is glad nie daar om mense van die water weg te hou nie.

Inteendeel, sê Dawid, is dit om juis meer mense buite te kry.

‘Mense moet hul grense kan verbreed en hul passies kan uitleef. Dit is mý passie om hulle daarmee te help.’

Hy wil sy eie ondervinding gebruik om mense aan te moeding om meer uit te kom,

Dra helder kleure om in die water gesien te kan word. ’n PFD, ligfakkel, en ’n selfoon in ’n waterdigte sakkie is ook essentieël vir veiligheid.

en om veilig in die natuur te wees deur verantwoordelikheid te aanvaar vir hulself en hul aksies.

‘Ek was self al in ’n situasie waar ek gered moes word. Die reddingsboot was naby my maar hulle kon my net nie sien nie,’ vertel hy. ‘Toe het ek gewens ek het ’n fakkel of ’n foon by my gehad.’

Dawid was ook self by drie onlangse reddings betrokke. ‘Twee het goed afgeloop. Die derde nie – en die feit dat die persoon blou aangehad het en dus nie sigbaar was in die water nie, het dinge ongelukkig baie moeiliker gemaak.’

Ná dié voorval het hy die NSRI genader om te vra hoe hy kan help om ’n bewustheid van veiligheid onder seegebruikers te skep.

En so het hy die Be Brighter-segsman geword.

Hy’s ’n pa van twee (Samuel is vyf en Sarah twee jaar oud), en die kinders het hom opnuut laat besef dat ’n mens na jouself moet kyk. ‘Jou aksies het ’n uitwerking op ander mense,’ waarsku hy.

‘As jy nie die kultuur van veiligheid volg nie, stel jy boonop ’n swak voorbeeld.’

Sy boodskap: wees helder, wees verantwoordelik en kom leer roei! SR

FOTO’S: JOHN HISHIN/CAPE TOWN SPORT PHOTOGRAPHY

Waterveiligheid is maklik, kos niks en bederf nie jou pret nie, sê die kampioen-seeroeier Dawid Mocke. Met sy Be Brighter-veldtog, in samewerking met die NSRI, beoog hy om mense te help om ons waters met gemoedsrus te kan gebruik en geniet. Deur Hanlie Gouws