In Table Bay on Friday 19 February 2010 at 09h00, NSRI Melkbosstrand responded to North of Robben Island to assist the skipper of the yacht Morgenster taking part in a yacht Regatta to Langebaan.

The skipper knocked her head on the yacht boom and suffered suspected concussion.

NSRI Table Bay launched their rescue craft Spirit of Vodacom to tow the casualty yacht to the Royal Cape Yacht Club after medics from NSRI Melkbosstrand found the skipper to be showing signs of a concussion injury to her head and the yachts crew did not feel competent to sail the yacht back into port without the skills of their skipper.

NSRI Table Bay deputy station commander, Ian Gross, said that to add to the casualty yachts dilemma rope had fouled around her motors and the decision was taken to tow the yacht into Port at Table Bay.

Ian said that once safely in the port the female skipper was taken to hospital as a precaution although she seemed to be doing fine.

And in Hermanus on Saturday, 20 February 2010 at 09h25, NSRI Hermanus launched their rescue craft Hunters Gold rescuer to respond to Harder Bay following reports of a dinghy capsized.

NSRI Hermanus deputy station commander, Ian Alton, said that on arrival on-scene a Mr. J de Kock, from Onrus River, and a Mr. C. Van der Merwe, from Somerset West, were found to have already been picked up by a private boat and they were found to not be injured.

The NSRI duty crew righted the dinghy and towed her to Harder Bay slip-way where no further assistance was required.

At 11h25 NSRI Hermanus responded to Kwaai Water following reports of a swimmer in difficulty.

Ian Alton said that on arrival on-scene the unidentified swimmer was found to have already made it safely ashore and required no assistance.

At 11h42 NSRI Hermanus were then activated to respond back to Harder Bay where a semi-rigid-rubber-duck had capsized.

On arrival on-scene both victims had been picked up by a private boat and they were not injured.

The NSRI duty crew righted the rubber-duck and towed it to Harder Bay slip-way.

Ian Alton said that the twist here is that it was again Mr. J de Kock who had capsized for the second time after requesting his friend, a Mr. PJ Swart, to take him out into the Bay to retrieve his fishing nets which he had left behind after he capsized in the dinghy earlier.

The same private boat that picked him and Mr. Swart up was again on hand to rescue him in the second incident.

The NSRI have suggested he doesn’t launch to go to sea again until at least tomorrow!

Milnerton, 20th October, 2009. At 14h20 following an eye-witness account to a radio station of a whale suspected to be beaching at Sunrise Beach, between Milnerton and Bloubergstrand, Marine and Coastal Management (MCM) officials were dispatched to investigate despite suspicions at first that the whale may be mistaken for two old wrecks that are often mistaken as a beached whale at the Spring Low Tide in the same vicinity.

“On arrival on-scene MCM authorities confirmed that a 4.6 metre female Killer Whale (Orca), approximately 3 years old, was beaching on rocks in the shallow surf at Sunrise Beach and NSRI Table Bay, NSRI Melkbosstrand, the Police Dive Unit, the SPCA and Metro Rescue were activated to assist MCM officers on the scene to attempt to move the whale back out to sea.

NSRI rescue craft were launched from NSRI Table Bay and NSRI Melkbosstrand.

Prior to the arrival of the emergency services and the NSRI rescue craft the MCM officials, assisted by members of the public, managed to successfully get the whale back out to sea at approximately 17h00 but an hour later the whale was reported to have beached again at Milnerton Lagoon Beach and MCM were dispatched to assess the situation.

Mike Meyer of MCM assisted by four MCM officers swam the whale back out to sea despite the whales attempts to continue to beach.

Police, the Police Dive Unit, Metro Police, NSRI Table Bay, the SPCA, Nature Conservation, EMT (Emergency Medical Training) and officials from the City of Cape Town stood-by on-scene while MCM monitored the whale swimming parallel to the beach front until after dark and a shore patrol will be conducted again in the morning to assess if the whale has re-beached herself.

Mike Meyer confirmed that the animal appears to have an injury on her head but it is not known if this is contributing to the whale attempting to beach herself.