Alan Meiklejohn, NSRI Gordons Bay station commander, said:
At 12h54, Sunday, 29 January, NSRI Gordons Bay and NSRI Strandfontein duty crews were activated by the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) following Telkom Maritime Radio Services intercepting a VHF radio distress call from the 6 meter ski-boat MI Lady reporting to be taking water off-shore of Strand Beach (Between Strand and Macassar) with 3 crew onboard preparing to abandon their craft.
The NSRI Gordons Bay sea rescue craft Jack and Irene was launched at NSRI Gordons Bay, the NSRI Strandfontein sea rescue craft Grand West CSI, at sea conducting routine exercises, was diverted to respond, the NSRI Simonstown sea rescue craft Spirit of Safmarine III, at sea conducting routine exercises, was diverted to respond and the AMS/EMS Skymed rescue helicopter was activated.
Coordinates provided by the crew of MI Lady were 3 kilometers off-shore of Strand Beach and 7 km off-shore of Macassar Beach before communications with MI Lady were lost.
WC Government Health EMS ambulance and an EMS rescue squad, Gordons Bay GB Med Security ambulance services and Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services were activated.
On arrival on the scene, off-shore of Strand Beach, the crew of the casualty craft set off a distress smoke marker which assisted us to locate them swiftly and their boat was found to be capsized with 3 male crew at the craft, two were sitting on the upturned hull of the boat and one was clinging onto the upturned hull of the craft.
The 3 men, from Strand, aged 55, 42 and 20, were successfully rescued onto the sea rescue craft and they were treated for shock and for hypthermia.
It appears that they had been in the water for over an hour and they were brought to the sea rescue base in Gordons Bay aboard our sea rescue craft where WC Government Health EMS paramedics and GB Med Security paramedics medically assessed the men and treating them for shock and for hypothermia they did not require hospitalisation.
Sea rescue craft from NSRI Strandfontein and NSRI Simonstown remained on-site at the capsized boat and NSRI Gordons Bay sea rescue craft returned to the scene where NSRI rescue swimmers were put into the water and using rope and the sea rescue craft together the capsized craft was righted and then towed to Gordons Bay harbour where it was recovered.
All responding resources, Telkom Maritime Radio Services and the Transnet National Ports Authority Cape Town Port Control are commended for the swift action taken in saving the three mens lives today.
At the same time as this incident was taking place an eye-witness reported a yacht capsized off-shore of Kogel Bay, but while Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services were responding to that scene the bystander confirmed that the yacht had appeared to self right and that the crew onboard had continued sailing. With no report from the yacht that they were in any difficulties the Fire and Rescue Services stood down as they were no longer required and it was confirmed that this second incident was a false alarm with good intentions.
