Spencer Oldham, NSRI Hout Bay station commander, said:
At 09h20, Saturday, 20 April, NSRI Kommetjie, NSRI Simonstown and NSRI Hout Bay duty crews were activated following reports of a fisherman missing at Brightwaters, on the Atlantic side of Cape Point.
Cape Medical Response (CMR) had received the call from SA National Parks rangers (TMNP – Table Mountain National Parks) who raised the alarm, contacting CMR, after 2 men arrived at the Cape Point main gate and reported that their boat had capsized at Brightwaters, 1.5 nautical miles South of Olifantsbospunt, during the early hours of the morning and their skipper was missing.
They confirmed that they had both managed to reach the shore after their boat reportedly capsized in the surf zone in dense fog, and their boat had then washed ashore, but they had found no signs of their skipper (of their boat) and they feared that he was missing in the surf zone.
They had been brought to the main gate at Cape Point by a local resident and SAN Parks rangers had raised the alarm by calling CMR.
NSRI rescue vehicles from NSRI Kommetjie, NSRI Hout Bay and from NSRI Simonstown responded.
2 NSRI Hout Bay rescue craft, Nadine Gordimer and Albie Matthews, were launched and responded.
Metro Control activated the WC Government Health EMS rescue squad “drone rescue unit” and NSRI alerted the SA Police Services (SAPS), SAPS Sea Borderline Control and SAPS WPDS (Water Policing and Diving Services).
A Police patrol vehicle responded.
CoCT (City of Cape Town) Law Enforcement Marine Unit and TNPA (Transnet National Ports Authority) were alerted
A CMR ambulance and a CMR response paramedic responded to Cape Point Main gate where the 2 survivors, males aged 29 and 17, both from Hout Bay, were treated by CMR paramedics and they were transported to hospital, both suffering injuries but both in stable conditions, by CMR ambulance and they are both recovering.
Telkom Maritime Radio Services and NSRI EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) assisted with communications (marine VHF communications were also assisted by the NSRI rescue vehicles that were on the scene).
On arrival on the scene the casualty boat was found beached and an extensive sea and shoreline search commenced for the missing 39 year old skipper, a fisherman who is from Oceanview.
It appears that the casualty boat may have been swamped by a wave before running aground on the shoreline.
During the search the body of the man was located approximately between 30 and 50 meters off-shore at Brightwaters and was recovered onto the NSRI rescue craft.
Sadly the man was declared deceased.
The body of the deceased man was brought to NSRI Hout Bay rescue station aboard the NSRI rescue craft in the care of NSRI Hout Bay crew and the body has been taken into the care of Government Health Forensic Pathology Services.
Family were assisted at NSRI Hout Bay rescue station by NSRI Hout Bay rescue crew, the Forensic Pathology Services and by the Police.
Condolences are conveyed to family and friends of the deceased man.
Police have opened an Inquest docket.
We believe that the casualty boat remains beached at Brightwaters and is in the care of TMNP rangers.
Grave Digger
Yebo – yes [yeh-boh] Often expressed as a double positive by combining it with the English “yes” in “Yebo, Yes!” or as an extremely expressive “Yeeebo!” This Zulu word is used regularly in South Africa to show agreement or approval with something or someone.
New York Sixlet
Diary of an Englishman after he moves to South Africa….
**August 1**: Just got transferred with work from London, UK to our new home in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, South Africa. Now this is a town that knows how to live! Beautiful, sunny days and warm, balmy evenings. I watched the sunset from a deckchair by our pool yesterday. It was beautiful. I’ve finally found my new home. I love it here.
**September 1:** Really heating up now. It got to 31 today. No problem though. Living in air-conditioned home, driving air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun every day like this. I’m turning into a sun-worshipper – no blasted rain like back in London! Had the back yard landscaped with tropical plants today. Lots of palms and rocks. No more mowing lawns for me! Another scorcher today, but I love it here. It’s Paradise !
**October 1:** The temperature hasn’t been below 35 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least today it’s windy though. Keeps the flies off a bit. Acclimatizing is taking longer than we expected. Fell asleep by the pool yesterday. Got third degree burns over 60% of my body. Missed three days off work. What a dumb thing to do. Got to respect the old sun in a climate like this!
**October 25:** This wind is a bastard. It feels like a giant fucking blow dryer. And it’s hot as hell! The home air conditioner is on the blink and the repair man charged R200 just to drive over and tell me he needs to order parts from @#$# Johannesburg. The wife & the kids are complaining.
**October 30:** The temperature’s up around 40 and the parts still haven’t arrived for the fucking air conditioner. House is an oven so we’ve all been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now. Bleeding R4 million house and we can’t even go inside. Why the hell did I ever come here?
**November 4:** Finally got the fucking air-conditioner fixed. It cost R1,500 and gets the temperature down to around 35 degrees. Stupid repairman. Fucking thief. If one more smart bastard says ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I’m going to fucking throttle him. Fucking heat! By the time I get to work, the car radiator is boiling over, my fucking clothes are soaking fucking wet and I smell like baked cat. Fucking place is the end of the Earth.
**November 9:** Tried to run some errands after work, wore shorts, and sat on the black leather upholstery in my car. I thought my fucking backside was on fire. I lost 2 layers of flesh, all the hair on the backs of my legs and off my fucking behind. Now the car smells like burnt hair, fried bum and baked cat. The Weather report might as well be a fucking recording – hot and sunny. Hot and sunny, Hot and fucking sunny. It’s been too hot to do anything for 2 bleeding months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Fuck!!
**November 15:** Doesn’t it ever rain in this darn place? Water restrictions will be next, so my R5,000 worth of palms might just dry up and blow into the fucking pool. The only things that thrive in this hell-hole are the fucking flies. You don’t dare open your mouth for fear of swallowing half a dozen of the little buzzards!
**November 20:** Welcome to HELL! It got to 45 degrees today. Now the air conditioner is gone in my car. The repair man came to fix it and said, ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I wanted to shove the car up his backside. Anyway, had to spend the R2,500 of the mortgage payment to bail me out of jail for assaulting the stupid fool. Fucking PHALABORWA! What kind of sick, demented idiot would want to live here!
**December 1:** WHAT!!!! The FIRST day of Summer!!!!
You are fucking kidding me, right?