Yeppoon Coast Guard flotilla commander issues warning after boat rescue

With no motor, a broken mast, only one life-jacket, no EPIRB and a boat fast taking water, a man and woman far out at sea made a desperate call for help.

Yeppoon Coast Guard volunteers braved rough seas to rescue a couple off of Pelican Island.

With no motor, a broken mast, only one life-jacket, no emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) and a boat fast taking water, a man and woman out a sea made a desperate call for help.

“If they had sunk it would have been very hard to stay afloat in those conditions… they were definitely in danger,” Yeppoon Coast Guard Flotilla Commander Merv Studt said.

He and three other coast guard volunteers were among the rescue crew who saved the man and woman aged in their 30s who found their boat sinking off Pelican Island this week.

Emergency crews received reports of a boat sinking near the small unfrequented island 5km off the Capricorn Coast about 5.30pm on May 4.

“A concerned parent said their son was in a boat and it was sinking out near Pelican Island,” Mr Studt said.

Queensland Police were alerted and dispatched a rescue helicopter, while Mr Studt and his fellow volunteers manned a Coast Guard vessel to rescue the man and woman in danger.

“It was very, very bad conditions,” Mr Studt said.

“It was as rough as anything. It was blowing about 35 knots (64.82km) and about 3.5m seas.

Pelican Island is off the Capricorn Coast, near where a boat sank on May 4. Picture: Queensland Government/DESI

“We went out. It was dark by then, it was nearly half past six.

“The hardest part was getting there in the conditions… roughest I’ve been out inside the harbour.”

Luckily for the couple on the sinking boat, the rescue helicopter managed to locate them and shine a spotlight on them, allowing the Yeppoon Coast Guard to hone in on the sinking boat’s location.

“It was about seven o’clock when we picked them up,” Mr Studt said.

“We got back to the harbour at about 7.30pm... we left the boat to sink basically because it wasn’t going anywhere.”

Yeppoon Coast Guard rescued a man and woman on Sunday, May 4.

Once ashore, the pair declined to be taken to hospital.

According to the flotilla commander the boat was a 4m long open sailing boat.

“He (the male occupant) lost his mast. Apparently the wind was too strong (and) knocked down his mast when he left Pelican, so he had nothing. He had no motor or anything to get him home so he was drifting down the middle of the harbour.”

Mr Studt said the man who was rescued believes he might have hit a rock which made a hole in the boat’s hull however Mr Studt said the seas were rough enough that water was coming over the top and into the boat.

Coast Guards everywhere, including Flotilla Commander Jim Warren who is holding an EPIRB, are always reminding people to be prepared by having the proper safety gear and checking the weather before going out on the water.

Mr Studt said the man was constantly scooping water out of the boat to stay afloat.

According to Mr Studt it isn’t an often that people need to be rescued near Pelican Island.

“It is something different,” Mr Studt said.

“Apparently they were camping on Pelican, but not many people go out that way.

“They had been there for a few days.”

Mr Studt said the incident was a big lesson for anyone taking to the waters over an extended period of time was to check on the weather forecasts.

“Always look at your wind forecast ahead if you’re going to go out for a few days to see what the wind is going to do a couple of days in front,” he said.