NOT THE SAILOR OF THE CENTURY

Jimmy from Dunsborough made contact a few weeks ago after buying a 35ft steel yacht, ‘Y-NOT’ ( pictured ), with an adventure in mind to sail the west coast. With limited experience and a keen mate, Nick, they completed a marine chart course, recreational skipper’s ticket and purchased essential safety equipment including CO2 cylinders for their PFDs, VHF radios and a safety barrel. I also provided them with an updated list of WA marine rescue phone and VHF radio contacts. I enjoyed our time discussing the logistics of their trip as these guys were keen to plan properly, by their own admission were fair weather sailors, perhaps taking a risk, but at the same time working to minimise them. So during our chats I just had to tell them about a ‘sailor’ I had come across a few weeks ago, who did not minimise his risks.

It was a lovely Sunday afternoon, 3m swell, light onshore breeze, when my phone started running hot advising a yacht had just surfed a wave in on centre reef, almost capsized and was now doing circles. I tried to raise the skipper on VHF 16 and 80, with no luck, but this was just the beginning of a myriad of issues. A recreational vessel raced out to the yacht, which was now anchored in a precarious location. The rec boat returns to the ramp towing the yacht’s tiny tender, with oars only and the skipper on board. I ask him if he realises he is in a very dangerous location, a capsize was narrowly avoided, he did not follow the lead markers and that I could direct him onto a safe mooring as there was only twenty minutes of daylight left. His immediate response was that he was in a hurry to get a carton of beer. I was flabbergasted, strongly advised him to get back on board while there was a vessel to assist and show some seamanship skills. His plan was to go into Margaret River, return in pitch black, 3m swell and attempt to row across the bay. He appeared disorientated, disinterested in my advice and while ‘chatting’ his tender wrapped itself around the end of the jetty in the swell as it had not been secured properly. He hastened to tell me he had sailed around the world and knew what he was doing.

Unfortunately the rec boat owner took him into Margaret River and he returned by taxi to find it was indeed pitch black, 3m swell and impossible to row out. He then makes contact by phone with Marine Rescue looking for assistance to get out to his vessel, but there was no way a volunteer was heading out in these conditions, at night, to deliver him and beer to the vessel. Next morning he rings again after carrying his tender to Huzza’s in an aborted attempted to row out from there. At this stage I pick him and his tender up in the truck, return him to the boat ramp, he then claims he needs medication, which of course is on the yacht and we have another ‘discussion’ about his lack of seamanship skills. By the way, there has been no phone or radio contact with his crew member all night. I organise our rescue jet ski to put him on board and contact Augusta VMR, as he is apparently intending to sail to the eastern states. Two days later he posts an ad on Gumtree looking for a new crew member who has likely jumped ship in Augusta. Two weeks later we hear that Albany VMR have  towed in a yacht that has run out of fuel, I am guessing him again. Definitely an accident waiting to happen!