All occupants, including children, aboard a catamaran sailing vessel which ran aground at Seal Point, Cape St Francis, managed to survive.
Louwrens Bezuidenhout, National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) St Francis Bay deputy station commander, said the incident occurred at about 3.15am on Thursday.
Bezuidenhout said they were contacted by a Gqeberha skipper who reported that he was on his catamaran when it ran aground.
There were four crew members aboard.
“The NSRI St Francis Bay duty crew were activated and launched the rescue craft Spirit of St Francis III.
“NSRI Jeffreys Bay duty crew were also activated and dispatched the rescue vehicle with NSRI rescue swimmers onboard.”
He said Gardmed Ambulance Service also responded and the Transnet National Ports Authority was informed of the situation.
“In dense fog a sea and shoreline search commenced in 1.5m sea swells and light winds.
“But with minimal visibility in the dense fog, there was no initial sign of the grounded catamaran.
“At that stage, two females, aged 13 and 19 from Gqeberha, came ashore on the rocks and were taken into the care of paramedics.
“They confirmed that they had abandoned the sailing vessel and that two adult males remained unaccounted for,” Bezuidenhout said.
He said during the ongoing search the two men were located in the water, about 100m offshore of Seal Point.
One was secured into a life-ring.
“The NSRI rescue craft negotiated sea swells while reversing towards the two men in the water.
“They were then rescued and placed safely onboard the rescue craft.
“The men, aged 46 (from Gqeberha) and 76 (from Port Alfred), were brought to the NSRI St Francis Bay rescue base. Both were relieved to hear that the two females were found safe.”
He said the NSRI suspected that navigational equipment failure may have contributed to the casualty vessel running aground, however that could not be confirmed at this early stage.
“The 19-year-old and the 76-year-old were transported to hospital in a stable condition. Both are expected to make full recoveries.
“The 13-year-old and the 46-year-old were medically treated by paramedics for non-life threatening wounds.”
The Herald
