Two brothers and their three-legged dog have survived nearly seven hours treading water after a freak wave capsized their boat off the South Australian coast.
Stephen and Brian Innes, aged 74 and 76, were checking cray pots yesterday morning off Boatswain Point when a freak wave hit.
“We were swamped from behind, some people would call it a rogue wave, seemed to come out of nowhere,” Stephen said.
Despite their combined 120 years of fishing experience, they found themselves battling for their lives in the frigid waters.
Although they were wearing life jackets, Brian’s failed to inflate, leaving him clinging to Stephen’s for support.
“It was particularly cold, so after a couple of hours or so, you start getting very dramatic shivering occurring that gets progressively worse,” Stephen said.
Concerned friends who were expecting to meet the brothers raised the alarm, prompting a full-scale search involving police, State Emergency Service volunteers, local fishers, and even a search and rescue plane from Victoria.
Just after 5pm, strong winds and a current brought them closer to shore, but another wave hit them and swept Luna the three-legged Jack Russell away.
“Washed her off my chest and of course I went underwater and gagged and carried on and she was gone… I didn’t know where. I couldn’t see her. She’d just disappeared,” Stephen said.
A local surfer eventually spotted them beyond the breakers, just before a storm closed in and when they reached dry land, they had an unlikely, but welcome, greeting.
“When we got there (Luna) was on shore waiting for us,” he said
“She was probably just getting washed along the surface.
“So she got there a lot earlier than we did and in good condition. No injuries, nothing.”
The brothers received treatment for hypothermia at Kingston Hospital but are recovering well.
This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.
