Marooned fisherman rescued by whale watching cruise

Tourists on a whale watching cruise took an unexpected detour to rescue a boatload of young fishermen marooned 18 nautical miles off Burnett Heads on Sunday. WATCH THE VIDEO:

A group of marooned fishermen had a lucky escape on Sunday when a whale watching cruise and Volunteer Marine Rescue Bundaberg combined to rescue them 18 nautical miles from Burnett Heads.

The Reef Empress, the flagship vessel for the Lady Musgrave Experience, was packed with tourists on a whale watching cruise around midday when the skipper, Brett Lakey, was contacted by Hervey Bay Water Police informing them that a nearby vessel was in distress.

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Mr Lakey diverted his ship, and on arrival the crew and passengers saw a Javelin 7.6m fibreglass fishing boat with four men aged in their 20s on board.

The Javelin 7.6m fibreglass fishing boat had a complete power failure, making the crew unable to radio for help. Photo: Kevin Hill / Lady Musgrave Experience

One of the men called out to Mr Lakey to tell him the boat had no power due to a flat battery so they had been unable to radio for help.

“They had no way to contact anyone, no way to contact VMR,” Mr Lakey said.

“We gave them a handheld (radio) and just waited beside them until the VMR came in. They were all in good spirits, that’s for sure.”

While they were waiting for the VMR to arrive, the fisherman and tourists were treated to a show of six whales passing by.

A pod of six "inquisitive" whales passed by while the crew waited for the Volunteer Marine Rescue Bundaberg rescue vessel to arrive. Photo: Kevin Hill / Lady Musgrave Experience

“There were six whales passing through at the same time, they were all very inquisitive,” Mr Lakey said.

“So they got a bit of a show from every angle.”

The VMR vessel skippered by Erwin Hoffman arrived and towed the boat to Burnett Heads, arriving in port about 5pm.

VMR Bundaberg vice-president Graham Kingston said the fishermen had all the necessary safety equipment and the incident was testament to the importance of having an EPIRB on board.

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“They had all the relevant safety equipment, it was just a total electrical failure; they did all the right things,” Mr Kingston said.

“That’s why the EPIRB is one of the most important pieces of safety equipment you can have on board.”

The VMR Bundaberg vessel skippered towed the boat back to Burnett Heads, arriving in port by 5pm. Photo: Volunteer Marine Rescue Bundaberg

While Sunday’s calm conditions meant the fishermen made it home safe and sound, the incident could have quickly escalated if the weather had worsened before VMR’s arrival.

“The conditions were quite good, but if left unattended, with weather changes and things like that, it could very quickly escalate to distress,” he said.

“So it was a good outcome overall.”