Kommetjie:At 12h17, Saturday, 29th April, NSRI Kommetjie and NSRI Hout Bay duty crews were activated following reports of the Simon's Town motor boat
Vita Beata, with 2 Simon's Town men onboard, taking water and with motor mechanical failure after they suspect they collided with a whale, suspecting to have accidentally struck a whale, while underway and their boat lying at a position approximately three quarters of a nautical mile off-shore of Kommetjie.The NSRI Kommetjie sea rescue craft Spirit of the Vines and the NSRI Hout Bay sea rescue craft Nadine Gordimer responded, carrying extra water extrication pumps, and the NSRI ASR were placed on alert.On arrival on the scene 3 NSRI rescue crew were put aboard the casualty boat and found the casualty boat crew, the owner and his skipper, both very experienced boaters, using all of their water extrication pumps and a hand held bilge pump to stem the ingress of water and the boat suffering extensive damage and bent propellor shafts.They were able to stem the inflow of water using their own equipment and while the water ingress damage was repaired NSRI took up a tow-line and towed them to Hout Bay Harbour.The sea rescue craft
Tintswalo Phoenix was launched to assist to get the casualty boat to a mooring in Hout Bay.The casualty boat crew managed to temporarily repair and stop the inflow of water while under tow and once safely moored in Hout Bay Harbour no further assistance was required and the owner will make arrangements to repair his boat.No sign of the whale was found and it remains unknown the condition of the whale.
St Helena Bay: At 19h26, Friday, 28th April, NSRI Mykonos duty crew were activated and towed the sea rescue craft
Gemini Rescuer II to St Helena Bay and launched to search for 4 fishermen, from Bellville, on a 4.5 meter rubber-duck reporting to have run out of fuel and suspecting to be about 2 nautical miles from St Helena Bay harbour.During an extensive search, including NSRI requesting them to shoot red distress flares and NSRI shooting a white illuminating flare, then, after they still could not be located, we requested them to give us their phone app Google Maps location, and from that we found them 8.4 nautical miles from St Helena Bay, and safe.We towed them safely and without incident to St Helena Bay harbour and once safely ashore no further assistance was required.The operation was completed at 01h00.
Plettenberg Bay:At 17h07, Saturday, 29th April, NSRI Plettenberg Bay duty crew were activated following reports of a person bitten by a shark at The Waves, a popular surf spot at Keurbooms, Plettenberg Bay.NSRI rescue crew responded directly to the scene, the AMS/EMS Skymed rescue helicopter was placed on alert, Med-Life ambulance services responded and the sea rescue craft
Free Runner,
Airlink Rescuer and
Leonard Smith were launched.On arrival on the scene a 14 year old Port Elizabeth male teenager was found already on the beach with bite marks and bite lacerations to his right calf sustained from a shark bite while surfing.He was treated by NSRI medics and by paramedics on the scene for lacerations and bite marks to his right calf before being transported to hospital by ambulance in a stable condition where he will receive sutures and although in a stable and satisfactory condition he will be kept in hospital overnight as a normal precaution.The teenager was on his surf-board surfing. 2 other surfers were also out surfing there at the time. At the back-line he turned to catch a wave when he saw a fin approaching towards him, he felt a bump and he felt a bite on his right calf. He caught a wave to the beach where he was met by his dad, who had witnessed the incident, and by bystanders who rendered assistance while raising the alarm.Shark researchers will investigate to determine the species and size of the shark but initial indications lean towards the bite being made by a White Shark of approximately 2 meters length but this has not been confirmed.NSRI, in a statement to media yesterday, requested caution for bathers, paddlers and surfers along the Southern Cape coastline where an increased number of sightings of sharks have been witnessed close in-shore.
TO REPORT A SEA RESCUE EMERGENCY DIAL 112 FROM A CELLPHONE