Yacht assisted to Port

Pic credit: Station 10 Simon's TownDarren Zimmerman, NSRI Simon's Town station commander, said: At 01h05, Friday, 15th April, NSRI Simon's Town duty crew were activated by the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) following a request for assistance from the local yacht Hakuna Matata, with 3 crew onboard, a Fish Hoek husband and wife, aged 75 and 63, and their 16 year old grand son, reporting their yacht trapped in lobster fishing lines off Cape Point.The skipper reported that they were safe but the yacht was caught in lobster fishing lines off-shore of Cape Point, near to Anvil Rock, and the yacht's propellor shaft and rudder were caught up in the fishing lines which are anchored to the sea bed. They are returning to Simon's Town from Saldanha Bay after the skipper had been advised by doctors in Saldanha Bay to abandon a planned round the world voyage that they had embarked on from Simon's Town earlier this month to rather postpone their voyage to a later date for personal health reasons and they were returning to Simon's Town when the yacht got entangled in the lobster lines off Cape Point.The sea rescue craft Spirit of Safmarine III and Spirit of Surfski II were launched and the SA Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN) gear, housed at the NSRI Simon's Town sea rescue base, was taken along. On arrival on the scene our sea rescue crew used the SAWDN disentanglement cutting gear to free the yacht from her entrapment to the fishing line and then towed the yacht free of the lines but with still some line wrapped around the prop shaft and the rudder the casualty yacht was towed to Simon's Town harbour by the sea rescue craft arriving safely and without incident at 07h00 this morning and once safely moored they required no further assistance.TO REPORT A SEA RESCUE EMERGENCY DIAL 112 FROM A CELLPHONE