Three fisherman were rescued off the coast of Warrnambool on Saturday after their boat experienced mechanical failure.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Warrnambool Coastguard deputy flotilla commander Barb Heazlewood received the call at 9.40am.
She said the men, on a six metre half cabin boat, were 20 nautical miles south from Warrnambool.
They made contact via radio and mobile phone to let authorities know their boat had stopped.
Commander Adrian Calderwood and three crew responded to the call out.
“They made contact with police by phone,” Mr Calderwood said. “They were lucky to get reception that far out,” Mr Calderwood said.
One of the fishermen on board Matt Alsop said the group, from Geelong, was in the south-west for the day in search of deep sea fish.
The were on their way to fish off the continental shelf when their boat stopped.
“We were heading out and we were about 60 kilometres out when the propeller bush in the propeller sheared or came apart,” Mr Alsop said.
“We lost drive to the motor and pretty much from there we had no drive to the motor so we were stranded.
“We were motoring slowly at one point, but then we lost all drive to the motor. Once we stopped we started drifting. We drifted about four kilometers.”
He said they weren’t too concerned because they knew they “were in good hands”.
“We knew the Coastguard was on it’s way and we had communication”
The boat was towed to Warrnambool, arriving at 3pm.
“We didn’t get to our destination so we didn’t get to fish (from where we had planned),” Mr Alsop said. “We actually had a bit of a trawl as we were getting towed back in so it was alright. We got a bit of fishing done,” Mr Alsop said.
Mr Calderwood said it was a timely reminder that things could go wrong and to always ensure safety equipment was on board before heading out.
“They were very happy,” Mr Calderwood said. “The comment from the skipper of the boat was they were drifting fairly quickly south. They were quite relieved.”
The men thanked the Coastguard volunteers and made a donation to show their appreciation.
“Well done to them (Coastguard) and thanks for always being there. It’s good to know we’ve got them there when we need them,” Mr Alsop said.
