Leaders boat accident

Tell us about your own or others' fishing, boating, 4X4 or camping trip gone wrong. With pictures.
nomad
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Leaders boat accident

Post by nomad »

I wasn’t going to raise this but its been eating away at me.
On sat night, a 4,5m tinny ran aground on a reef near pussycat is near the mouth of Leaders. Two of the boys fishing in the comp made a call to the cops from leaders base but they (cops) said nothing had been reported and no one was overdue.

The boys could only round up around 6 other boats to have a search to find the driver. One of them searched the grounded boat and found 2 flares had been set off.
I made a sat ph call to AMSAR in Canberra to see if they were aware and around an hr later, they got back to me to say the driver had been picked up by another fisho in the area hand was resting his fractured in hospital.
There are many issues surrounding this incident, lack of people willing to stop fishing to help in the search, police not being aware of it, etc etc.
The coppers need a better system to enable them to advise callers of the system. They were aware but the big hand didn’t talk to the little hand.
The inaction by the cops to even think about a search and rescue until the driver was reported missing 24 hrs later is a joke.
The whole search could have been avoided if the cops had a better system to advise anyone who called up.
Thank Christ he is ok but it could easily have been a fatality.
To those who decided to NOT help, just think for a minute if the shoe was on the other foot and you needed help.
I was flabbergasted when I later told several people about the incident and their reply was ‘what a dickhead’ or ‘he deserved it for driving onto the reef’
I would hope that if I was bobbing around in the water that someone would be willing to help out.


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ghound
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Re: Leaders boat accident

Post by ghound »

Hey Nomad

Doesn't sound good at all glad to hear he is ok. Pretty p..s poor on the coppers behalf like you say a simple process to notify everything is under control would have been nice. If nothing else would have saved the boats that joined the search some time and money searching not to mention the safety aspect of buzzing around in the dark.
Did the stricken boat launch from Leaders creek? They took my name and return time on Saturday (not much else). I was wondering how long overdue you would have to be for them to let someone know you didn't return?.

On a side note I think I am going to start using Saltwater Arm from now on. But that is another rant for another time
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Re: Leaders boat accident

Post by jeffish »

A shocking bit of news Mark , we fished there Friday and the took details of when we'd be back,
yet they didn't want any phone # for next of kin or a second contact .

Just a bit sad when fellow Skippers won't help in this type of situation .
Shame on you guys ,,,shame.!!!!!
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Scottie5.3
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Re: Leaders boat accident

Post by Scottie5.3 »

Pretty low no one helped him. I always will do whatever I can then if its warranted call them a dickhead.
Makes you wonder if he had a epirb and how many people don't have them going to remote spots?
Seen some dodgy old two bangers on boat out wide two weeks ago. Only a matter of time till a inexperienced guy breaks down or hits another reef and causes a fatality
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Re: Leaders boat accident

Post by Anon »

Was chatting to Andrew and Robert Veal who put the call into Leaders and who you assisted in the search. Hats off to all you boys that helped out.

I have and always will bend over backwards to help others on the water even if it means stuffing up the whole trip. At the end of the day, we only have each other out on the water. I am sure the bloke was grateful for the search.

Accidents happen and it could have easily been one of us. To hear that up to 6 boats that basically said stuff him.and didn't want to put lines down to help. Especially guys fishing the TEBS Comp. Very disappointing
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Re: Leaders boat accident

Post by fish4me123 »

I have told this story before but About two years ago a flare goes of at sampan crk towards tommy cut. Nobody goes to help out of 30 boats doing the conga line. Another flare goes of so I and my missus .Pull up lines and help them . I was the smallest boat a 4.5 mtr stacer. It is a shame no one else helped. I hope it comes back to bite the others in the ass.
tight lines
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Re: Leaders boat accident

Post by nomad »

Yeah its actually scary that people could put fishing before life. Every week there is a major accident on the water.
Brendan, it was actually Andrew and Robert who organised the search, i was just one of the very few who did something instead of fishing.
Maybe its just the way of the world these days where people dont give a rate about anyone else. like i said, what if the shoe was on the other foot.
At least i now know that if something goes wrong, im on my own.
Actually, i realised that after Jeffish did that tow a few years ago on his own.

No-one and i mean NO-ONE would even answer the stricken vessel's call for assistance. there were many boats on the water that day incl charter boats - everyone ignored the call for help
I decided there and then that i would get a sat phone just in case.
obviously a fish is worth more than a mans life.

people whinge about 'down south' but i would bet my balls that if the same thing happened anywhere else, there would have been boats and people everywhere trying to help out. thats the way it is

at least we now know where we stand if the poop hits the fan. -

THE SAD FACT IS THAT YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN FELLAS. Its fish before people - really???
Think about it and take a good look at yourselves and think WHAT IF?.
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Scottie5.3
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Re: Leaders boat accident

Post by Scottie5.3 »

I've had to tow a 6.5m barcrusher for 45kms in my 535 tropic which wasn't fun but did it for four hours. Was sitting wide of Dundee when call come through and once again I was the smallest boat out there. No one else helped so I did.
There's still good guys out there fellas

Also no one had touched on what I asked earlier. I don't mind helping but people need to help themselves too. Where was his epirb?
Everyone needs one up here if going to remote spots
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Re: Leaders boat accident

Post by Anon »

Agreed Nomad. Spoke with Robert later Sunday night when I got back into range and he filled me in. He mentioned you helped and used the sat phone. Awesome work

I have also towed a bloke back agreed shoal bay after he broke down when his crab pot rope got caught around the motor.

Three other boats drove around him after he waved for help
nomad
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Re: Leaders boat accident

Post by nomad »

Yeah scottie i agree. that would have been the first thing i used (after the toilet paper)
the number of people i speak with who dont have a radio and/or an epirb astounds me. the response is that they dont need one because they dont go off shore enough
they think nothing of spending $1000 on a couple of rods but shy away from something that might save their life - epirbs works out around $50/year

I suppose it doesnt matter if you have a radio or not because no one will help if you ask for it

i sold a boat here about 3 years ago and the new owner removed the radio because he didnt know how to use it. :bonk: :bonk:
another bloke i know only turns his radio on when HE wants to talk to someone or ask for help :bonk:
i dont know which one of them would win the Darwin award
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Re: Leaders boat accident

Post by JewieQueen »

Robert just told me this tonight over dinner. Scary shyte. Good on everyone who did help out searching and you nomad for being the one to make sure someone knew. A better system is definitely needed for these types of situations. Bit gobsmacked about old mate at leaders.base not knowing a thing :?
Without going into great lengths of details we had a scary incident early in the year up the finniss and called over the radio for help and no one came so we thought our call did not work, how ever back at the ramp that night people kept asking us did you hear the call on the radio about the boat in trouble up the finniss. .... :banghead: if you know, see or hear someone is in trouble.... HELP! It really is that simple.
It has always been my private conviction that any man who pits his intelligence against a fish and loses has it coming.

Give a man a fish, and he can eat for a day. But teach a man how to fish, and he'll be dead of mercury poisoning inside of three years.

“Fishing, with me, has always been an excuse to drink in the daytime”

"Soon after I embraced the sport of angling I became convinced that I should never be able to enjoy it if I had to rely on the cooperation of the fish."
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theodosius
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Re: Leaders boat accident

Post by theodosius »

I often don't have my radio turned on when I'm inshore, but what vhannel should I have it on to keep an ear out for distress calls?
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Re: Leaders boat accident

Post by jabsy »

theodosius wrote:I often don't have my radio turned on when I'm inshore, but what vhannel should I have it on to keep an ear out for distress calls?
Channel 16. Mine is always sitting on that. When we need to chatter, we switch over. I use the radio a lot now.
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Re: Leaders boat accident

Post by nomad »

Its a legal requirement for everyone to keep a 'listening watch' at all times.
theodosius wrote:I often don't have my radio turned on when I'm inshore, but what vhannel should I have it on to keep an ear out for distress calls?
Im not having a go but I.m interested to know why you wouldnt turn the radio on all the time?
Ch 16 is the channel.

most radios will scan every channel or you can just put it in dual watch. so you and a mate want to talk on another channel , say 71, you can set it to switch between 16 and 71 so you dont miss anything.

Lets get our act together and do the right thing. It could be your own life you save
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Re: Leaders boat accident

Post by slug »

Never had a radio in a boat I've owned and never will (other than am/fm jobby to listen to races & footy .... ) - why would u want to go fishing and listen to all that $hite !!!

And whoever it was that said when u go fishing be prepared to take responsibility for your own safety - now there's an idea ......
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