ALL AT SEA

BOATIES OUT OF THEIR DEPTH

PERFECT conditions are luring Townsville boaties out of their depth, sparking more than 25 search and rescue missions in the past four weeks.

With another pristine weekend forecast Townsville Water Police officer in charge Sergeant Matthew Pegg has urged boaties to keep their families updated on their movements.

Sgt Pegg said many were finding themselves out on the water in ideal conditions, prompting them to stay out longer than planned as they chased more fish or headed to more remote locations.

The conditions were so good Sgt Pegg said many were forgetting to log on or off with the Coast Guard.

Their families were also being left in the lurch, sounding the alarm with emergency services when their loved ones didn’t return as scheduled.

“We’re finding a lot of these could’ve been prevented,” Sgt Pegg said. “It can be a big waste of time and resources.”

EPIRB ( Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) activations and overdue vessels were the main missions being carried out. Sgt Pegg said many were for boats with overambitious skippers.

“A lot of people go further than intended … then run out of fuel,” Sgt Pegg said.

Sgt Pegg said marine search and rescues required a lot of resources and often police and volunteers were recalled from time off to join the efforts, and the vessels were expensive to run.

Townsville Volunteer Coast Guard public relations officer Ted Winterbottom said it cost about $ 1000 each time they were called to take their 15m vessel to the nearest reef, about 38 nautical miles off Townsville.

Mr Winterbottom said they averaged about 10 to 12 rescues a month and the past four weeks had been extremely busy.

He said about 20 per cent of members logged their trips with the Coast Guard, but many more were gambling with their safety on the water by failing to do so.

“If you haven’t logged on you’ve got to rely on passing boats,” Mr Winterbottom said.

He reminded boaties that mobile phone service dropped off past Magnetic Island.

He said this weekend looked set to be a busy one.