Top End crew recover stranded fisho from croc-infested Daly River

A stranded fisho was full of ‘cheers and tears’ when he was rescued from a sandbar in the middle of croc-infested waters.

The NT Towing 4x4 Recovery team removed a boat from a sandbank in Daly River, where it sat about 1.5m above water level. Picture: NT Towing 4x4 Recovery/Facebook

It took a supervisory croc, two cars worth of equipment and a 4am roadtrip to get a stranded fisho down from his sandbar perch and into the water.

Baydon Fawcett and Matt Murray from the NT Towing 4x4 Recovery team said the man had been cruising along the Daly River at about 60km/h when he “cut the corner of Browns Creek a bit too fine”.

They said he tried to free the 6.2m boat but the plan quickly broke apart with the dropping river levels.

“After a few nights in the high and dry boat with very little sleep, thermocells pumping away and stress levels on a rapid rise, they reached out to NT Towing and 4x4 Recovery in a last-ditch effort before leaving it there for the next wet season,” Mr Fawcett and Mr Murray wrote in a Facebook post.

A saltwater croc could be seen from the sandbar watching the team as they worked. Picture: NT Towing 4x4 Recovery/Facebook

Mr Fawcett and Mr Murray said they unloaded half of the team’s rescue gear on the cliff opposite the sandbar.

“We underestimated the steepness of the cliff as we dragged a winch and cradle, battery, generator, chainsaw, charger and bulk straps to the top before selecting our tree of choice and clearing a site in prep,” they said.

The NT Towing 4x4 Recovery team removed a boat from a sandbank in Daly River, where it sat about 1.5m above water level. The team had equipment set up on the sandbank and on the other side of the river along a short cliff edge. Picture: NT Towing 4x4 Recovery/Facebook

The towing duo said the other half of the team set up shop on the sandbar and began “cradling the stricken vessel” with myriad equipment to guide the boat towards the water.

“We prepared multiple 50m winch extension ropes with floating buoys and orange flags while managing river traffic with air horns and hand signals, all while being stalked by a 3m saltwater croc,” Mr Fawcett and Mr Murray said.

“After about 90 mins of prep, we fired up the generator and charger and began loading up the winch to turn the stricken vessel and point it back towards the water.

“She began turning well, sliding on the upturned maxtrax surface as it nosed around.

“After countless winch resets, shortening of the winch extensions and shovelling a lot of sand to prevent it rolling as it neared the edge, we had it teetering on the edge of the sand bank, ready for its final hoorah.”

The NT Towing 4x4 Recovery team removed a boat from a sandbank in Daly River, where it sat about 1.5m above water level. Picture: NT Towing 4x4 Recovery/Facebook

Mr Fawcett and Mr Murray said there were “cheers and tears all around” when the boat finally slid into the water.

“We have to admit, the customer was dubious and had doubts we’d be successful in its recovery, hence had left his empty boat trailer at Banyan Farm and had to go pick it up,” they said.

With another succesful towing adventure, the team has retained its 100 per cent recovery rate.