Sharp-eyed boy, 11, saw boatie in water
THE man rescued by a passing ferry after his boat filled with water off Magnetic Island might not have been pulled to safety so swiftly if it wasn’t for a young boy’s hawk-like vision.
Coen Ross, 11, was returning to Townsville on the ferry with his family, when he spotted “two little dots” in the distance.
It wasn’t until he made out a person waving that he decided to alert his dad.
It’s understood the man, believed to be in his 70s, ran into trouble when his 4m fibreglass boat took on water from a large wave offshore from Picnic Bay.
Mr Ross said after a few moments of double-checking it wasn’t some driftwood, the proud dad flagged the discovery with the skipper.
“We had to point them in the direction of where the guy was,” he said.
“They couldn’t see him initially because he was a fair distance away.
“They caught sight of him and as we got closer we could see him clinging to the boat in the water.”
The family was upstairs looking down into the water as the man was pulled to safety by crew members.
“I chatted to the (ferry) crew, they said that he seemed in fairly good spirits,” Mr Ross said.
“Their words were that he had only been in the water for about 15 minutes, so he was still in pretty good condition and not too panicked.”
The man was taken back to Townsville and later returned to Magnetic Island. It’s understood that the boat was recovered.
Mr Ross said Coen would have a good story to tell his mates when school returns today.
“(I’m) very proud. He’s a good lad,” he said.
“As I said to him, had he second-guessed himself and not thought to tell me that it was a person in the water, that guy could still be there, you j just never know.
“It was just a bit of a lucky situation.
“Luckily the guy wasn’t too far off the ferry route, so I’m sure somebody would have seen him at some point, but every extra minute in the water is a bit concerning.”