Deon Langenhoven, NSRI Hermanus station commander, said; “At 13h15 on Sunday 4 September our NSRI Hermanus volunteer duty crew were activated following a request for assistance from the 12 meter Bayliner motor boat SWEET CAROLINE reporting a 19 year old male onboard suffering seasickness and needing to be taken off the motor boat which had left Cape Town early this morning and was now off-shore of Hermanus in 3 to 4 meter swells.
“It appears that the voyage to deliver the boat from Cape Town to Durban, being undertaken by the owner of the yacht, 55 year Durbanite Mr. Kim Labuschagne, his two sons, a 19 year old and a 23 year old, and 3 crewmen, one of which is skippering the boat, (the 3 crewmen also happen to be NSRI Durban volunteers commissioned in their private status to deliver the yacht to Durban), had endured rough sea conditions coming around Cape Point and the 19 year old son had succumbed to severe motion sickness.
“The boat could have come into Hermanus harbor to offload the son but the voyage would have lost valuable time and they wanted to reach Mossel Bay before nightfall so the skipper called his NSRI colleagues in Hermanus and we were happy to launch a rescue craft to rendezvous with them at sea.
“Our NSRI volunteer duty crew launched our sea rescue craft HUNTERS GOLD RESCUER and we rendezvoused with the SWEET CAROLINE 7 nautical miles off-shore of Hermanus.
“Once on-scene the father and the second son opted to join their family member to come ashore leaving their 3 crewmen to get on with the job of delivering their boat to Durban.
“Once safely at our sea rescue base in Hermanus the 19 year old started to recover and feel better and we have arranged for them accommodation at a local guest house and they will make arrangements to get home tomorrow.
“Their boat has continued on its voyage and they will meet up with their boat once she is safe in Durban’s Port.”
