A crew of two set off in a storm to find a ship in distress off the coast of the Gulf of Jürgen, almost about to name that night when a flare illuminated a floating yacht.
A group of friends were traveling from Carnarvon to Perth on a recently purchased 11.5-meter yacht by the skipper when bad weather happened at three in the morning on Tuesday.
It was decided to head to the pier for the bay of Jurien to find shelter, but on the way to the ship ran out of fuel.
Mike Cockburn and Chrissy Hae of Jurien Bay Marine Rescue Service volunteers received a call around 1am that an EPIRB emergency device had been activated west of the pier.
The couple spent the next two hours searching for a needle in a haystack that was the yacht and its crew, with 5-meter shafts and a wind of 30 knots hampering their efforts.
Mr Cockburn said the sea was getting too dangerous and he was about to turn the lifeboat when a flare sent them towards a stranded yacht.
As they approached, another rocket illuminated the boat and found that two men had been thrown on a small raft about 4km from shore.
The skipper stayed aboard the yacht to try to attract the attention of the EPIRB strobe.
After safely returning to land, the trio were taken to Jurien Bay Medical Center, where they were treated for hypothermia. Now they have returned to Perth with their families.
Mr Cockburn described the incident as the hardest rescue in which he was involved.
“The conditions were pretty awful,” he said.
“The second time we went out around the reef, I then almost called it. If we had to stay there, I was going to call it that. “
Mr Cockburn said the group was surprisingly calm when their rescuers arrived.
“They were very happy to see us. They looked quite calm, did not shout and did not shout, ”he said.
“It was just two guys sitting in a life raft waiting for us to show up.”
On Tuesday morning, the yacht, which had to be left during the rescue, was thrown ashore along with the raft.
Mr Cockburn said it was impossible to know what would have happened to the group if he and Ms Hugh had not arrived when they arrived.
Sergeant Kevin Burcroft, the chief officer of the Yurien Bay police station, said the incident should give a clear message to sailors to avoid risky behavior in the ocean.
“The message is quite clear – as a skipper, you are responsible for yourself, your crew and your ship. You have to know your limitations, ”he said
“You always have to take into account the weather forecast. They thought they could get around the storm, the storm, unfortunately, was too strong for them. “
He praised the “courage” and “devotion” of Mr. Cockburn and Ms. Hae, saying that thanks to their skill and courage, no one was seriously injured in the incident.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/disaster-and-emergency/jurien-bay-sea-rescue-volunteers-brave-horrendous-conditions-to-save-three-men-c-6922985
