‘THE LONGEST FIVE MINUTES OF MY LIFE'

Station 22 (Vaal Dam) assisted a ski-boat owner trapped between two open sluice gates at the dam wall. By Cherelle Leong

AT THE START OF 2022, the Gauteng region experienced excessively high rainfall and by April the Vaal Dam was at 115% capacity. The Department of Water and Sanitation systematically opened a few sluice gates in the dam wall to manage rising water levels. Each sluice gate, when opened, is capable of releasing 115m3 of water per second. It was when two of the sluice gates were open that Jake Manten, station commander at NSRI Vaal Dam, received a call from a passerby. The person reported that a ski boat was caught up against the dam wall, directly between the two open sluice gates.

This was the type of call that Jake had been dreading. The area near the dam wall no longer had safety cables to keep boats away. The fast-flowing water wasn’t the only concern: on the other side of the dam wall, the water cascaded down a height of 90m. Anyone swept through the open sluice gates would have little chance of survival.

As the crew prepared to launch, Jake made a call to the Department of Water and Sanitation, asking them to close the sluice gates to slow the flow of the water. Fortunately there were staff on site who responded immediately. By the time the crew arrived on the scene, however, the water was still flowing so fast that it was not safe yet to approach the casualty, who was holding on to the dam wall to avoid being pulled through the open sluices on either side. The casualty, a new boat owner, found himself in this dangerous position after engine failure had caused him to be swept towards the dam wall.

The station’s 7.5m RIB stood by at a safe distance from the dam wall while waiting for the water flow to slow enough to approach the stricken ski boat. Everyone was briefed and ready – there’d be no margin for error once they started their approach. When it was estimated the flow had slowed to about 8 knots, the rescue boat headed towards the casualty. A towline was rigged to the bow of the rescue boat, with a crew member ready to assist the casualty. They couldn’t be sure whether they’d be able to attach a towline, so the contingency was to evacuate the casualty onto the rescue vessel if the tow couldn’t be established.

Station 22’s rescue craft approaches the casualty vessel with caution.

The bow of the rescue boat was used to pin the casualty vessel up against the wall while a crew member boarded it quickly to attach the towline. Then, once connected, the RIB carefully manoeuvred astern, pulling the casualty vessel away from the dam wall. Once safely out of the current, the towline was moved to the stern of the rescue boat to tow the casualty back to shore. The rescue manoeuvre took no more than five minutes, but for Jake it was the longest five minutes of his life – helming astern with the knowledge that everyone’s lives were in his hands was not an experience he’ll quickly forget.