North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Just wondering if you still have a "grab bag" positioned in the boat or other "new" habits that you could pass on for those who get a bit lax on safety gear.

Just make sure you know where everything is, it all works, is in date and EPIRB is registered and contact details are up to date. Also put the EPIRB in a place where it is easily accessible and where you spend most of your time in the boat i.e. near the console (if you have one)

Firstly you need to be able to alert somebody that you're in trouble.

Secondly you need to be able to survive OK until help arrives.

Concentrate on those 2 things and those decisions will make themselves.

Your only decision (which is where we get down to the nitty-gritty) is to what degree your budget will compromise that.

One of the first things I'd do is to visit the people who are most likely to be involved in organising assistance and find out how proficient they are.

i did a impeller one trip and spent the night with 20 milliion mossies.

had all the safty gear,food,water ect

would of killed for a mossie net...put one in the boat and never used it since

?

ronje wrote:Firstly you need to be able to alert somebody that you're in trouble.

Secondly you need to be able to survive OK until help arrives.

Concentrate on those 2 things and those decisions will make themselves.

Your only decision (which is where we get down to the nitty-gritty) is to what degree your budget will compromise that.

One of the first things I'd do is to visit the people who are most likely to be involved in organising assistance and find out how proficient they are.

Ha Ha
Yep. Join the Coast Guard but dont expect them to help because their boat is out of the water more than it is working. They are the only rescue organisation

The cops are the only reliable rescue organisation up here.
They have done heaps of tows in the past few weeks

Hey bretto, I think rossco was one or the two blokes who's boat blew up off dundee. Hell of a story, in the water for 40 hours or something. The esky saved them. Correct me if I'm wrong rossco.
I remember reading the story and it scared the sh!t out of me! How quickly things can turn bad. Maybe I should read it twice a year to stop becoming slack safety wise.

Yep. Join the Coast Guard but dont expect them to help because their boat is out of the water more than it is working. They are the only rescue organisation
.....They use E-tecs

Anyone have data on how often the Darwin Coast Guard boat is out of the water? That is a pretty serious claim ... would like to hear the facts.

And yes, everyone should know Rossco's story, it makes you sort your safety gear out quick smart. Where you put the stuff is important, bad things don't usually happen at a leisurely pace ...

Matt, its a bit like the old boy scouts motto 'be prepared'. I am still a bit on edge when I go out of sight of land after all this time but I am getting better at it. I think the best advice is pretty standard. Let your crew know where everything safety wise is located , a bit like a quick safety briefing on a charter. If it starts to turn nasty put on a life jacket. Life jackets need a check over every year at least to keep them in good service. Flares are great but no good if your crew do not know how to use them. Grab bags are great, just don't put it on the bottom of the pile under a hatch somewhere. The same goes for life jackets. Keep your fire extinguisher in service. Let someone know where your are going. I regularly use the trip details option on the AMSA EPIRB site when I am going offshore or on a big trip away from the maddening crowd. It helps them when you let an EPIRB off. It is a good idea to update your personal details if things change as well. Keep your boat serviced and give it a quick run before heading off. The ramp is not the place to find something is not right. Double check your boat and gear after a run on some of our favourite dirt roads (Gunn Point springs to mind).The mossie net mentioned by someone is a smart idea. Water, water ,water - have enough. It kept us alive for the 32 hours we were in the drink without a boat. I keep a spare hat and old sunnies in the grab bag. I also religiously wear lightweight long pants and a long sleeve shirt - it helps with bities like jellyfish when your are in the water plus it is obviously sun smart anyway. I guess there are lots of other things but importantly, don't panic if the cr****p hits the fan. Unfortunately some things just happen that are outside of one's control. cheers

Matt Flynn wrote:Anyone have data on how often the Darwin Coast Guard boat is out of the water? That is a pretty serious claim ... would like to hear the facts.

And yes, everyone should know Rossco's story, it makes you sort your safety gear out quick smart. Where you put the stuff is important, bad things don't usually happen at a leisurely pace ...

Gday Matt
The coast guard don’t like to make it public knowledge that the boat is a dud so you would be hard pressed to get stats.
They went on line 1/11/10 and since then it has been out of action many times. Currently its on a hard stand getting work done
Since being brought online, the engines failed, the controls malfunctioned and it collided with the Cullen Bay lock doors
The roster is often cancelled because it is out of action
Ive bailed out because of a number of reasons, least of all that it is rarely working

Seano and Nomad - sorry guys but have to disgree somewhat with Coast Guard comments, the Arafura Guardian has had a few mechanical problems from time to time (including now) but if you take into account the age of the vessell the problems would not considered that uncommon and it has definitely not been out of the water more than its been working.

I think its a bit poor when people start running down a volunteer organisation where people give up their valuable time for free to try and help with the safety of all of us on the water.

You never know a bit more positive help might assist it to still be there the day when you might need to make that call and ask for their help.

Wasnt aware ETecs came in inboard diesel config - as i'm pretty sure thats whats on the Coast Guard vessell. You might be thinking of the other rescue vessell (the resurrected marine branch vessell - Gunyana )which now belongs to the Surf Lifesavers

Must people would know about rosscos drama. Reason why i asked the ? is do you need an up date with your ohs garrynt.

Sorry my bad.

Fellas

I wasn't referring to the CG.

The people most likely to be involved in helping you would be under the control of the NT Police unless the matter was determined to be beyond their resources. The States have responsibility for inshore waters and the Feds for off-shore waters via some Federal- State agreements. On a State basis, police have the prime responsibility for that sort of work.

They can get others to do things under their control like the CG, SES, Parks & Wildlife etc.

How much slack they give the other people basically depends on how confident the coppers are that those organisations have the structures, resources and coordination tools to do the job safely and effectively.

I'd firstly have a talk to the water police and find out exactly how the system operates. For example, if out off Darwin, the police, CG, harbour authority or shipping would/could be involved.

If u're in the Daly it could be the SES, Daly coppers, rangers or reliable locals.

One of the first hurdles u'll come up against is that you probably don't know enough to ask the right questions in the first place.

Ask the coppers/CG what they need you to do to enable them to help you. Things will flow from that sort of question. Time frames for response etc.

There are 5 basic stages of a successful rescue. Awareness, alerting, searching, recovery and debriefing. Talk about these things with the coppers. Get AFANT or CG to invite the coppers to a open night to get the facts on how things happen. The coppers would love to do a nice easy job like that and everybody would benefit.

Knowing what a rescue organisation can do is not as important as knowing what they can't do. (And most organisations are reluctant to admit their shortfalls).

Having unrealistic expectations can lead to all sorts of problems at your end.