October 2017

Thursday 4th OctoberAbell Point Marina VMR1 was activated today to assist a member that had broken down at Triangle Reef, near Hook Reef, and about 36 miles from Airlie Beach. VMR1 departed Abell Point Marina at 11:20 am and was alongside the 19 foot half cabin boat at 1:00 pm, after beautiful conditions en route with 5-10 knots of north to north-easterly in hazy conditions. It was nice to find the stricken vessel exactly where they said they were on the GPS – it is not always that easy! After completing the necessary paperwork they were towed back to Abell Point Marina at 20 knots with even less wind than on the outward journey. After putting the towed boat on the boat ramp jetty VMR1 was refuelled and back in its berth and washed down by 4:00 pm, Abell Point VMR1 performed very well, sitting on 22 knots at 2700 rpm and using just 120 litres per hour on the way out and 20 knots at slightly lower revs on the way back – still giving 120 litres per hour towing a 19 foot half cabin with three pob! Superb performance, and the photos show the advantage of the walk around decks for ease of access. Love the new boat!

Many thanks to the crew of Michel, Tom and Rod for putting in the time for what could have been a very long activation – all went well thanks  to their capable crew work. Total activation time 4 hours and 40 minutes.Mal Priday (VMR Skipper) ____________________________________________________________________________________Saturday 7th OctoberSkipper, Ray Lewis Crew, Mal Priday, Stu Applegate, Rod Wilson  I received a call just after 3pm from Mal advising that my neighbour Ken had run out of fuel out near Hayman Island and could I bring a twenty litre container of fuel that was in his shed, so after topping it up at a nearby servo I met the crew of Mal, Stu and Rod at the boat, we departed APM  at 1550 and headed out in ideal conditions to a waypoint that Kenny had given us but as we were getting closer to the point Kenny said that he could see us and that he was off about twenty degrees to our portside so we changed direction and found them. With the paperwork completed and the fuel transferred into their fuel tank we followed them back to Airlie and were docked and finished at 1520. Ray Lewis, (VMR Skipper)____________________________________________________________________________________

Night running on VMR1 Wednesday 25th OctoberAt 0230 I received a call from the emergency phone holder that  4.5m fishing boat had a flat battery near Gloucester Island and with a crew of Geoff, Michel and Rod we departed Abell Point Marina at 0300 and headed off on a very dark night but when we just got past Grimston Point we received a phone call to say that the person had got their motor started and no longer required our assistance so we returned to APM and were finished by 0425. Ray Lewis (VMR Skipper)____________________________________________________________________________________

Thursday 26th October Task: Failed starter on Day Fishing Charter boat, 6 miles East of Pinnacle Point, 5 POB. Crew: Rod Wilson, Lance Robbins, Iain McCabe, Geoff Smith (Skipper). VMR Mackay called at 09.15; a vessel was drifting with a dead engine off Hook Island. VMR Mackay was asked to collect more information as there is no phone reception on the eastern side of the islands. They reluctantly found out it was a white 7m Commercial vessel with 5 pob and gave us the rego number.  I went to VMR1 to try and contact the vessel on Ch16 and, as the reception on 16 is iffy at Abell Point Marina and failed. I contacted VMR Mackay by phone and asked them to call the distressed vessel to ask them to switch to 82, which they did. Having established contact with the vessel we could finally confirm we had a definite call out, get the details, and ensure the owner knew that there would be a charge. We were able to leave APM at 10.25 arriving at the target at 11.53. They had drifted 3 miles south since 09.15. On arrival I recognised the skipper; he has been running Fishing Charters out of Airlie for several years. A quick hook up and transfer of passengers to reduce towed weight and we were off to Muddy Bay at 12.03.  2500 rpm, 110l/h and low 18’s. Iain is a prospective skipper and took us through Stonehaven (note: the only Port Lateral in The Passage is off Stanley Point) to the boat then to Muddy Bay via Hook Passage. We arrived at Muddy Bay at 13.45. Not unusually, the vessels skipper hadn’t got any cards or ID on him so he had to go to his car to allow us to finish the paperwork. Back to APM, fuel up and into the pen for 14.20. Duration: 4 hours Geoff Smith (VMR Skipper)

VMR1 on the fly ____________________________________________________________________________________Saturday 28th October Task: 28’ Sundancer, overheating engine off Mandalay Crew: Jim Dunn, Dave Burge, Geoff Smith (Skipper). There was a confusing situation between phone calls from the skippers friend and incorrect phone numbers.  The skipper had also tried to call VMR442 on 16 but the message at the VMR Base was garbled. We departed APM at 15.00 arriving at the boat at 15.15. As it was a 15 knot northerly the sea was very choppy. David had just finished a brief and commented that trying to do the Anchoring  Training was quite scary. The 28’ red and white boat was at anchor so we manoeuvred upwind into the slop and passed Toms Hook. We needed a slight detour out to sea as it was very rollie beam on. When we got into APM we got them alongside for the paperwork. It seemed to take longer doing the paperwork than do the tow. Into the pen at 15.50 and ready to depart at 16.00. Geoff Smith (VMR Skipper ____________________________________________________________________________________VMR1 towing, Whitsunday passage, (courtesy Gary Nicol, VMR member)