Post by JohnV on Jul 19, 2017 0:06:57 GMT
Went to bed early about 9 pm (as I am hoping to sail in the morning) and I woke up about 11 ............
Lying there I could hear an odd sound, I thought at first it was just ropes creaking or the gulls making a noise but I realised it was someone shouting for help.
Got up in a hurry and went on deck but I couldn't see anyone (but it's a large dock) and the voice seemed to be coming from the opposite corner somewhere.
The person yelling had a hell of a set of lungs on him and was bellowing for help. I switched on my deck lights and decided that getting the Harbour master's office involved was probably more likely to get people down quickly than just some odd person calling 999.
I called Lowestoft dock on ch.14 and told them and then put some shoes on and started walking round the bits of the dock I could access occasionally yelling back. The voice was getting a bit fainter by then but kept going, so I kept yelling back encouragement and shouting where are you ? (stupid question and deserving of a reply such as "in the water you effin idiot" as a reply)
Finally I spotted splashing, way out in the dock heading towards my direction. (the wind and water was pushing him across the dock towards my side) I ran and got one of my life rings with a long line on it and was just heading for the closest point when the first police car arrived (just one person).
We threw the ring out to him and we managed to pull him to an old aluminium dory tied up on the dock wall (probably a painting dinghy by the state of it) and while the policeman held him close in with the line, I went down the ladder and into the dory and hung onto his arm. All the time the policeman had been yelling in his radio for backup.
There was no way that the two of us could even get an exhausted man (and he was a big chap) who was probably starting hypothermia into the boat, let alone up a 12 foot ladder covered in weed to the dockside, so we just had to hang on to him and keep talking to him and encouraging him until the cavalry arrived.
More cars and an ambulance arrived and with three hefty coppers lifting and me and another guy standing on the other side of the dory to counterbalance they got him on board. Even then there was no way we could get him up the ladder, so we towed the dinghy, with someone from the ambulance and a couple of policemen on it with the casualty, and pulled it round to Sabina H, to one of the removable rail sections amidships and using my boarding ladder got him on board. ( would have liked to try out my man overboard lift out with the crane but they were too damned quick for me)
By this time the dock was covered in vehicles, police, ambulance, coastguard rescue team, the Harbour Master himself plus some of his staff and an RNLI lifeboat cruising round the dock trying to see if there were any other people in the water (Not an inshore RIB either but the full blown Lowestoft lifeboat)
So much for trying to get an early night !!! Much too much excitement for an old bugger !!!
Lying there I could hear an odd sound, I thought at first it was just ropes creaking or the gulls making a noise but I realised it was someone shouting for help.
Got up in a hurry and went on deck but I couldn't see anyone (but it's a large dock) and the voice seemed to be coming from the opposite corner somewhere.
The person yelling had a hell of a set of lungs on him and was bellowing for help. I switched on my deck lights and decided that getting the Harbour master's office involved was probably more likely to get people down quickly than just some odd person calling 999.
I called Lowestoft dock on ch.14 and told them and then put some shoes on and started walking round the bits of the dock I could access occasionally yelling back. The voice was getting a bit fainter by then but kept going, so I kept yelling back encouragement and shouting where are you ? (stupid question and deserving of a reply such as "in the water you effin idiot" as a reply)
Finally I spotted splashing, way out in the dock heading towards my direction. (the wind and water was pushing him across the dock towards my side) I ran and got one of my life rings with a long line on it and was just heading for the closest point when the first police car arrived (just one person).
We threw the ring out to him and we managed to pull him to an old aluminium dory tied up on the dock wall (probably a painting dinghy by the state of it) and while the policeman held him close in with the line, I went down the ladder and into the dory and hung onto his arm. All the time the policeman had been yelling in his radio for backup.
There was no way that the two of us could even get an exhausted man (and he was a big chap) who was probably starting hypothermia into the boat, let alone up a 12 foot ladder covered in weed to the dockside, so we just had to hang on to him and keep talking to him and encouraging him until the cavalry arrived.
More cars and an ambulance arrived and with three hefty coppers lifting and me and another guy standing on the other side of the dory to counterbalance they got him on board. Even then there was no way we could get him up the ladder, so we towed the dinghy, with someone from the ambulance and a couple of policemen on it with the casualty, and pulled it round to Sabina H, to one of the removable rail sections amidships and using my boarding ladder got him on board. ( would have liked to try out my man overboard lift out with the crane but they were too damned quick for me)
By this time the dock was covered in vehicles, police, ambulance, coastguard rescue team, the Harbour Master himself plus some of his staff and an RNLI lifeboat cruising round the dock trying to see if there were any other people in the water (Not an inshore RIB either but the full blown Lowestoft lifeboat)
So much for trying to get an early night !!! Much too much excitement for an old bugger !!!
