A tough place

THE windy and stormy weather of the past week has reminded us just how tough a place the sea can be.

October and November are usually unsettled times of the year, with high winds and seas along the coast. Things normally become a lot more settled from December, which is perhaps worth thinking about when making plans that involve a trip at sea.

Unless you enjoy rough seas, of course, in which case – no problem.

Reports from the National Sea Rescue Institute remind us of this, with a surge at weekends when recreational activities are at their peak. All along the coast this past weekend there were reports of people swept out to sea, or washed off surf skis and other recreational craft.

From Port Elizabeth comes a report of the NSRI having to launch its rescue craft on Saturday morning to evacuate a 24-year-old fisherman suffering chest pains on board one of I&J’s fishing trawlers, Blue Bell. He was taken ashore and admitted to hospital.

Later in the day came reports that the duty crew was being placed on alert by Transnet National Ports Authority because 23 containers had fallen overboard from the ship Seroya Lima, which was lying at anchor in Nelson Mandela Bay offshore of Port Elizabeth.

An alert went out to shipping to keep a lookout and arrangements were made to try to recover the containers.