Tourist almost drowns
‘Stupid’ to ignore high wind danger
Howling winds gusting to nearly 100kmh created havoc around Port Nelson yesterday and nearly cost the life of a 50-year-old German visitor who was close to drowning when rescued by the pilot boat, Waimea.
Harbourmaster Dave Duncan estimated the man, who was clinging to a stay on a moored yacht in the harbour, would not have lasted for more than another five minutes.
He had been swimming with his exchange student son, an action Captain Duncan said was ‘‘stupid’’ in the conditions.
The Waimea, which had been on the way to deliver a pilot to an incoming tanker at around 6pm, was asked by police to help the man and his son, who had managed to clamber on to the yacht.
‘‘When the pilot boat arrived, we believed he might have had about five minutes left in him – he was exhausted, hypothermic and he’d swallowed a lot of sea water.’’
St John Ambulance team manager Jon Leach said the man had apparently got cramp when swimming between Haulashore Island and Wakefield Quay, could not swim any further and nearly drowned.
People on the shore had noticed his distress and raised the alarm. Met at the wharf by an ambulance, he was taken to hospital in ‘‘a moderate condition’’, and discharged after treatment.
‘‘It was very lucky the pilot boat was on the way out at that moment.’’
The rescue was the most dramatic point in an afternoon that Captain Duncan said was ‘‘very scary’’.
The pilot had rightly postponed the arrival of the tanker Kakariki, which berthed instead at 5.50am this morning. It was fortuitous that both the pilot boat and a tug were on the water at the time. The wind, which had steadily increased, gusted to 52 knots (96kmh) around the time of the rescue.
Meanwhile, a keeler yacht with a rope around its propeller and ‘‘some very ill passengers’’ was well out in Tasman Bay and struggling to make headway towards port. The tug WH Parr and the pilot boat were sent to help, but because the winds were so strong it was too dangerous to come alongside or attempt a tow.
The yacht was able to reach port under its own power.
The larger tug Huria Matenga also came into play when it shepherded another yacht through the Cut, creating some shelter so it could make progress.
Earlier, the young sailors in the P Class national yachting championship had also been hit by the storm. The little yachts race well out in Tasman Bay and Captain Duncan said they enjoyed several hours of perfect conditions before the wind ‘‘suddenly blew up’’ to 38 knots (70kmh) during the last race.
He went out on the pilot boat to assess the conditions and at around 3.30pm he called the racing off, a decision he said the organisers supported.
‘‘There were 14 young people out there sailing – when we got involved six of them had capsized and were in some seriously big conditions.
‘‘In fairness to them they’re very, very good sailors and three or four of them managed to sail all the way back in.
‘‘The seas were half a metre to a metre high and very steep – some great sailing skills were demonstrated, but it was survival, not sailing at that stage.’’
Captain Duncan said similar conditions were forecast for today and he was ‘‘seriously concerned’’ about the attitude of some people towards ‘‘taking on the elements’’.
It had been ‘‘just stupid’’ for the rescued man and his son to swim in the harbour in an outgoing tide and a strong southerly, and he had also spoken to a family with a toddler in the water off Rocks Rd, ‘‘an accident waiting to happen’’.
‘‘I just can’t stress enough that people need to take care with the weather. When the tide changes at midday or one o’clock today, it’s just as liable to build back up again. If they can avoid going out on the water, just do so.’’