They were from Goolwa so you may assume they might have tried to get through the mouth. I agree that now they are probably into phone range but they would have been in phone range going through backstairs passage so I daresay they were happy while they were going in the right dorection. Now they have missed their mark to get to the mouth they needed help.

Agree that AIS and VHF (and the knowledge/sense to use it) should be mandatory.

The SAR cost is irrelevant. The excercise that the SAR crews run through is expereince that you cannot buy or get with training, they will now be better prepared for the next incident. Having said that, I am sure they would have rather been at home with their families than flying around so a $700 AIS would have solved that problem.

As a previous poster said there have been a number of lost boats in SA recently and I would put it out there that at least 2 of these seem (from the outside) to have been exteremely inexperienced people using unseaworthy boats that they had just bought or been given. Suggests to me that there needs to be better licensing requirements including some kind of seamanship training.

Undertow now and getting a good AIS ping!

Looks like they are under tow to Victor Harbour. Depending on if the mouth of the Murray is'nt silted up, looking at satellite pics you might get through on a good day and a high tide.

www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-10/sa-men-missing-on-boat-found-alive-near-salt-creek/12647950

Still looks like finding them was a bit of a needle in a haystack this morning , I wonder if they asked them to activate the EPIRB?

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Guitz said..
Looks like they are under tow

I can't helping thinking some overpaid managerial desk jockey in some office building " somewhere " saw the earlier footage this morning of the escort boat crew talking to the missing gents...and choked on his porridge...while they were steaming along...

And then demanded the EB take them under tow so there would be good footage of them being towed in.

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tired said..

Guitz said..
Looks like they are under tow

I can't helping thinking some overpaid managerial desk jockey in some office building " somewhere " saw the earlier footage this morning of the escort boat crew talking to the missing gents...and choked on his porridge...while they were steaming along...

And then demanded the EB take them under tow so there would be good footage of them being towed in.

I'm underpaid desk jockey and I have them on AIS 12 nm from Victor harbour!

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southace said..
Still looks like finding them was a bit of a needle in a haystack this morning , I wonder if they asked them to activate the EPIRB?

It looks to me they flew straight to them after an initial run along the coast and a turn around just off Victor Harbour. On expanding that birds nest view, the aircraft track goes straight to the centre of the nest which is aprox the position the police boat stopped from 20 knots and began the tow at 6 knots.
The SAR aircraft was flying around them until the police boat arrived. Yesterday the SAR flew around Port Phillip for a while then out to King Island and back.They often do a grid pattern in the bay here for training i suppose. If there is a serious search on in the bay the Police boats are also out looking.

I think there's going to be a media frenzy at the granite island jetty soon. Very divided outcome from what I'm seeing.

The video footage on the ABC shows their motor was going and the prop was pushing water. I'm wondering why they had overshot their destination. They were 20 NM SE. Did they go through the passage or outside the Island? Why didn't they call in to Kingscote, Penneshaw or American River? Was the prop slipping on the shaft? Maybe they took a dive overboard and fixed it a bit?

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Guitz said..
The video footage on the ABC shows their motor was going and the prop was pushing water. I'm wondering why they had overshot their destination. They were 20 NM SE. Did they go through the passage or outside the Island? Why didn't they call in to Kingscote, Penneshaw or American River? Was the prop slipping on the shaft? Maybe they took a dive overboard and fixed it a bit?

They called in Friday night saying heading to KI , light Northlys Sat and Sunday, search started on Monday after reported by family member sunday night. Monday very strong NE when the Ariel search started. I doubt they would have been in investergator strait. Also phone towers and VHF towers are still getting repaired on KI after the fires. KI vhf repeater only came back online when I passaged through a couple of months ago.

" live " footage now showing bilge pump active constantly,
And someone holding another bilge " pump " hose over the side...

Will the vessel take on more water than " two scared men with buckets " can handle?

Will the dolphins then go to the tow boat...or just go?
Will the waiting family members belt the bejeebus out of the missing men or just hug 'em?

More drama than a Home and Away epsiode...and where is the Blaxland...and Alf when ya really, really need them?

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southace said..

tired said..

Guitz said..
Looks like they are under tow

I can't helping thinking some overpaid managerial desk jockey in some office building " somewhere " saw the earlier footage this morning of the escort boat crew talking to the missing gents...and choked on his porridge...while they were steaming along...

And then demanded the EB take them under tow so there would be good footage of them being towed in.

I'm underpaid desk jockey and I have them on AIS 12 nm from Victor harbour!

Get down there and do an exclusive interview for us!

One lesson I learnt from being in the same area 2 months ago with a leak I couldn't find and a pump that wouldn't pump was to have one of these in the locker! Never again will I set sail without a new bilge pump as a spare!

They need to throw the book at these guys to send a message to anyone else thinking about putting to sea in unseaworthy boats and with little experience.

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stray said..
They need to throw the book at these guys to send a message to anyone else thinking about putting to sea in unseaworthy boats and with little experience.

It was zipping along quite nice at 6 knots on abc news when it arrived in Victor. He was even putting the fenders out. Like I say activate EPIRB only in grave imediate danger. Everyone is making assumptions it's not seaworthy and not caring safety gear. I doubt the book will be thrown at them. Perhaps some lessons to be learnt.
Southace Still thinks AIS would have saved a lot of search time.

It looked seaworthy on the TV clips, no damage, engine and prop working, no torn sails, no frazzled sailors, no panic.
Maybe they had engine problems, slipped propellor - too early to speculate and blame. The only fault I see is failing to have a great passage plan with a relative, a panicking relative, and/or no update to the relative via VHF or phone message. Apart from that, like in pre-electronics days, they were safe and it just took a little extra time to deal with the weather or motor.

I'd prefer to have a working set of sails, as a back up, as well as more peaceful than constant motor noise.

Apparently the boat hit something Friday night that damaged the prop so they turned off the engine.
A Westernport fisherman I knew hit a submerged object on his way to fish the Glennies off Wilsons Prom in the early 90's. He said he thought the vibration caused by the bent prop and shaft would shake the boat to bits! In desperation he beached the boat in Wisky bay using a stern anchor, as luckily there was minimal swell, and a low tide, radioed Welshpool for a tow and did his best to straighten the prop and shaft and slow the leak around the stern gland.
He got a successful tow and saved his boat. He was as good as certain it was a partially submerged shipping container that he hit.

Sensible people with decent boats don't need these sort of twits giving the rest of us a bad name.

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Strachan said..
Sensible people with decent boats don't need these sort of twits giving the rest of us a bad name.

......proving, with a comment like the above, that they aren't needed to give sensible people like you a bad name? So many assumptions placing yourself above those who you don't know from a bar of soap yet are so willing to put down in absence of the full story.

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Guitz said..

Strachan said..
Sensible people with decent boats don't need these sort of twits giving the rest of us a bad name.

......proving, with a comment like the above, that they aren't needed to give sensible people like you a bad name? So many assumptions placing yourself above those who you don't know from a bar of soap yet are so willing to put down in absence of the full story.

Looking at some of the news footage, the boat wasn't in good condition, wasn't set up for possible bad weather at sea, (cockpit non draining and open to following seas)
they didn't seem to know where they were.
Seems they didn't have a working vhf.
We will probably never know the full story.

Superb effort by AMSA and the RAAF as well as all others involved to find these two.

www.9news.com.au/national/missing-south-australia-fishermen-found-alive-in-waters-near-goolwa-after-police-search/fd8bc5a8-8c8d-4ffe-ad5f-87b09b9fed3e

As per Guitz let's not pre-judge or slag these two before we know all the facts - and even then don't do that but learn from this event and go forward with continuous improvement as relevant.

Guitz that fisherman you knew must have been as strong as an ox and a better seaman than James Cook to get out of that situation in the early 90s.

Lean and strong. He was a battler with an old rough looking boat but the essentials where in good order. One of the last to fish Bass Strait out of Hastings. Luck was on his side but he would have survived if the boat went down. His other option was to beach her on the shore of Gt Glenny Is where the anchorage is out of the south westerlies.
Another example of a rough looking boat you would shake your head at with a close look was Alf Stackhouse's Alcheringa 2. A 44 gallon drum for fuel tank etc, old school engineering, but it was as strong a boat that anyone would want. Alf had the lease on Badger Island and if you saw him on the street in Melbourne you would think he just got out of the salvos shelter if you were quick to judge a man. He had his pilots licence as well and his own plane and was no fool. www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-27/alf-stackhouse-the-king-of-badger-island/8058508

That said I do think these men might have lacked experience and should have had better communication and luck was on their side with the weather.

The open non draining cockpit is a debatable issue as there are many boats I know, of that design with skippers who have experience that have done multiple Bass Strait crossings using the weather window usually staying at an anchorage each night. Port Phillip to the Glennies on to Deal then to Flinders Is west or east coast and on down the east coast of Tassy. Give yourself two and a half weeks and it's a great trip. A heavy displacement long keel boat is wonderful way to go!

The boat in this story looks like it was built by Axel Stenross from Port Lincoln. Axel was a ships carpenter on the South Australian Grain Traders, the last sailing ships to work the trade up until the 2nd world war. They were built in the Aland Islands of Finland as a way of supplementing the income of the farmers there. He was from generations of boatbuilders. He got paid off the ship in Port Lincoln because he fell in love with the place and built boats in the tradition of his home with obvious viking heritage. They were unique and different to boats built by Australian boat builders. I had one of his canoe stern boats like this one for a while. It fished out of American River, Kangaroo Island in the 1950's. If, as I suspect it is, I hope this boat gets a good restoration because it is a piece of Australia's maritime history.

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r13 said..
Superb effort by AMSA and the RAAF as well as all others involved to find these two.

www.9news.com.au/national/missing-south-australia-fishermen-found-alive-in-waters-near-goolwa-after-police-search/fd8bc5a8-8c8d-4ffe-ad5f-87b09b9fed3e

As per Guitz let's not pre-judge or slag these two before we know all the facts - and even then don't do that but learn from this event and go forward with continuous improvement as relevant.

Guitz that fisherman you knew must have been as strong as an ox and a better seaman than James Cook to get out of that situation in the early 90s.

So that news report basically says they contacted police when they got phone reception back.
Just the fact that they had no idea people would be worried or possibly looking for them shows a lack of planning or knowledge of basic safety procedures like logging in with VMR.
If they had a working vhf, which is a very basic piece of equipment for such a passage they could easily have had a message relayed via another vessel.

Yes assumed as much - lean and strong, resourceful, always had a plan B.

The name Alcheringa tweaked a memory cell - see the first one in the 66 Hobart. As per the programme at the below link below stock up on your Craven Filter and go buy your Renault car when you get back..............

archive.cyca.com.au/media/3435156/1966-sydney-hobart-official-programme.pdf

Top story there re Alf and Badger Island.

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Guitz said..
The boat in this story looks like it was built by Axel Stenross from Port Lincoln. Axel was a ships carpenter on the South Australian Grain Traders, the last sailing ships to work the trade up until the 2nd world war. They were built in the Aland Islands of Finland as a way of supplementing the income of the farmers there. He was from generations of boatbuilders. He got paid off the ship in Port Lincoln because he fell in love with the place and built boats in the tradition of his home with obvious viking heritage. They were unique and different to boats built by Australian boat builders. I had one of his canoe stern boats like this one for a while. It fished out of American River, Kangaroo Island in the 1950's. If, as I suspect it is, I hope this boat gets a good restoration because it is a piece of Australia's maritime history.

Great read you know your stuff . I have been working from the slip past few years they say the axel stenross is one of the best marintime museums in Australia. so glad they made it.

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southace said..

Guitz said..
The boat in this story looks like it was built by Axel Stenross from Port Lincoln. Axel was a ships carpenter on the South Australian Grain Traders, the last sailing ships to work the trade up until the 2nd world war. They were built in the Aland Islands of Finland as a way of supplementing the income of the farmers there. He was from generations of boatbuilders. He got paid off the ship in Port Lincoln because he fell in love with the place and built boats in the tradition of his home with obvious viking heritage. They were unique and different to boats built by Australian boat builders. I had one of his canoe stern boats like this one for a while. It fished out of American River, Kangaroo Island in the 1950's. If, as I suspect it is, I hope this boat gets a good restoration because it is a piece of Australia's maritime history.

Great read you know your stuff . I have been working from the slip past few years they say the axel stenross is one of the best marintime museums in Australia. so glad they made it.

I love the wooden work boats of Southern Australia. My very first memory was as a 3 year old was pinching one of the shipwrights morning tea at Ron Stewarts shed in Portland. My father used to employ him in the building trade when there was not much on in the boat yard. Ron's son Garry Stewart built one of the last and best cray boats, the culmination of the development of the Lacco design of cray boats. The boat was the Jane Kerr built for Garry Kerr a Portland fisherman and maritime historian. My bro in law was a tuna pole fisherman and shark fisherman from Port Lincoln, a survivor. After the tuna he was on the Orange Roughy boats off Tassy's south coast, then went to uni and did marine biology and helped get the salmon farming going, then back to Port Lincoln for the tuna farms. Back to uni foe a marine engineer qualification and onto working on the support vessels off the WA coast. It is another dimension to ones education to spend a few hours in the pub at Port Lincoln with Joe after the boat's return from a few weeks fishing in the bight. He also spent time tuna poling out of eden. Thats another whole story. I've alway been on the periphery of things but lucky enough to have shared some memorable cruises and experiences with these people.

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r13 said..
Yes assumed as much - lean and strong, resourceful, always had a plan B.

The name Alcheringa tweaked a memory cell - see the first one in the 66 Hobart. As per the programme at the below link below stock up on your Craven Filter and go buy your Renault car when you get back..............

archive.cyca.com.au/media/3435156/1966-sydney-hobart-official-programme.pdf

Top story there re Alf and Badger Island.

Not fir me - i want to put on a 'Bonds Yachtie', get me an 'AWA Teleradio 65', and fly home on 'TAA' !
Yeeeha!

Personally I thought AMSA jumped the gun a bit on Monday morning. Without a distress message sent other than a phone call.
My thoughts are also they searched In the wrong place it was quite easy to do passage plan once they disclosed the time of the call Friday night heading to KI . I personally got phone covarge as far as Neptune islands on a good day. From there 24 to 48 hrs to SW KI @6 knots basicly by Monday when the strong NE they would have been in the shelter of southern KI while the planes where searching the gulf and Neptune island area. He did get fined $1000 for out of date EPIRB and flares but that's not the reason this was a total screw up.