MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A pleasant cruise aboard their yacht from Cape St Francis to Mossel Bay turned nasty on Wednesday afternoon 14 January, as the Holmes couple neared the Mossel Bay harbour.
Skipper James Holmes and his wife Diane say seeing the NSRI vessel appear in the rough sea to assist them was an utter relief.
"The NSRI is our heroes. We are ever so thankful for the support and assistance we received from Station 15 of the Mossel Bay NSRI. They were on a routine training exercise and, was it not for their help, we would have been in a spot of real trouble. I was about to instruct Diane to get ready to abandon ship when they appeared and approached us," Mr Holmes says.
Fairly strong winds of up to 30 knots had the skipper sailing bare pole and the waves sometimes towered over the yacht.
"Nearing the harbour, we also found one of our engines had developed a problem. Just when things were looking rather dire, the NSRI Rescue 1 team came dashing through the waves - what a welcomed sight! They hailed us and asked if we needed assistance and did we ever!
"With their help, we managed to navigate our way into the harbour, without it we would not have made it. They are without a doubt our heroes," says Mrs Holmes.
Weather predictions reasonable
When they had set out from Cape St Francis, the weather predictions were reasonable. It was only when nearing the Mossel Bay harbour that the conditions turned rough and they encountered heavy swells of up to six metres.
The Holmes couple admit to being novices and has only been sailing for about two years. They and their cat are currently on a Trans Atlantic cruise on their way to the Kingdom of Tonga.
"We would dearly love to thank Arno Cloete and his team of the NSRI for their help. Arno even approached us after we had moored to see whether there was anything else we needed. He went the extra mile and we are very grateful," the Holmes couple told the Mossel Bay Advertiser.
The NSRI, on a routine exercise approached the Dayo 1 and assisted the vessel into the harbour. Photo supplied
ARTICLE: NICKEY LE ROUX, MOSSEL BAY ADVERTISER JOURNALIST
