‘Someone was watching over us’

Press, 10 November 1981, Page 3

‘Someone was watching over us’

PA Hamilton. “Someone was watching over us . . That was the reaction yesterday of a Hamilton boat builder, Mr Michael Court, who with two companions, Messrs Robin Hood and Matthew Holl, was rescued from a barren rock out at sea on Sunday. “It seems incredible that we drifted so far during darkness to find ourselves within a few hundred metres of the only land off the coast,” said Mr Court. The

rock was Gannet Island, 15km offshore. The three men had gone diving off the Raglan coast on Saturday afternoon. “We got to the spot and decided the weather was going to pack up,” said Mr Court, a former Waikato swimming champion. “It was then the motor would not start.” A battery pack had failed and the men were without an auxiliary motor, radio, or flares. “We saw the two Raglan

trawlers going into port about 6 p.m. on Saturday and after that we had to really start working,” he said. Sea anchors were rigged to keep the bow of the boat into the wind. “That helped save us,” said Mr Court, who said Saturday night was the longest in his life. “About 2 a.m. on Sunday with the wind getting stronger we thought our end had come,” he said. Winds gusted to 40 knots, whipping up the sea and threatening to overturn the small craft. The

men had donned wet suits and buoyancy aids which helped ward off the cold. “When dawn came and we saw Gannet Island we saw it as our only hope,” he said. “If we had missed the rock I do not think we would have survived.” An R.N.Z.A.F. Iroquois helicopter and a Fletcher topdressing aircraft were involved in the search for the men, who were eventually rescued by the Auckland trawler Rockfish 11. “It was a pretty emotional time for them all,” said

5. Constable John Leach, of i Raglan. “They were very happy and grateful men.” J Mr Hood, a 19®6 Commonwealth Games diving rej presentative, and Mr Court . had been on many diving trips before, and Mr Hall s was an experienced surf r board rider and scuba diver. “Their experience and pree cautions they took gave them y the edge over the elements,” 1 said Constable Leach, “But it is a fair warning to boaties 1 to take every precaution i when they head out to sea."