Man rescued treading water 1 mile off Gouritz

Sea Rescue – Mossel Bay – Saturday, 19th February, 2011: Boat capsizes in the Gouritz River Mouth.At 11h08 NSRI Mossel Bay and Metro EMS were activated following reports of a ski-boat capsized in the Gouritz River Mouth, near Mossel Bay.Our Mossel Bay Sea Rescue crew responded in our Sea Rescue 4x4 towing the sea rescue boat Vodacom Rescuer IV, to be launched on-scene. A Metro EMS Ambulance, a Metro EMS Rescue team and the Metro EMS Red Cross AMS helicopter responded.On arrival on-scene it was confirmed that a local ski-boat, Larona, had capsized in the Gouritz River Mouth in dense fog and rough sea conditions with two men on-board.One survivor, 45 year old Boetie Zyman, from the Gouritz River area, was found to have been washed onto the beach, with the ski-boat but the skipper was missing.An extensive air, sea and shoreline search for the skipper, 25 year old Gert Marx, from the Gouritz River area, was launched but was hampered by rough seas and dense fog.During the search the Red Cross AMS helicopter extended their grid pattern search, after finding no sign of the missing man in the immediate vicinity of where the boat capsized.While flying near to The Point, about 1 nautical mile out to sea and about 1 nautical mile from where the boat had capsized, the fog lifted to reveal the missing man treading water and waving for help.The rescue helicopter guided the rescue boat to the casualty and the man, suffering exhaustion, hypothermia and near drowning symptoms, was rescued.Due to the rough sea conditions it was decided to hoist the casualty by helicopter to shore. The helicopter’s NSRI rescue swimmer was deployed into the sea, and Gert Marx was secured into a rescue harness and they were both hoisted by a static line short-haul to the beach, where they were met by the rescue team.Metro EMS paramedics treated Gert Marx for near drowning symptoms, hypothermia and for exhaustion and he has been transported to hospital by a Metro EMS ambulance in a stable condition for observation for secondary drowning.