Originally Posted by
JDNSW
I would point out that I have sailed offshore for the last fifty years (but not to any extent in the last fifteen). In that period I have had two alarms about me, both by wives of a crew member. The first was actually on Moreton Bay, and when she raised the alarm, was informed that "If it is a sailing boat (it was) I would not worry - the bay bis like a mirror, and there is not a breath of wind".
The second was in Bass Strait, and we were a day late returning to Westernport due to adverse winds - this was before mobile phones, we did not have HF radio and there was no VHF coverage until well into the bay.
My only real experience of an actual emergency, was not our emergency, but that of another yacht which had lost its rudder in rough seas off the Glennie Group in Bass Strait. We took it in tow, and towed it to Refuge Cove on Wilsons Prom. By then VHF coverage had improved, both boats had VHF, as did the rescue helicopter which turned out not to be needed. If we had not been nearby, in another hour or so they would have been on the rocks.
