The Nathan Drew Foundation, Rock Safety

[korg]

Guys,

Th is probably the most important post that has been made on this site, so please give your information freely as it will save a life one day.

Graeme Drew rang me today about our members helping the Foundation in choosing some new sites for there Silent Sentry system. The spots they are looking at and for are ones that a lot of people fish off the rocks and put themselves in danger and not your secret spots.

The ones they are looking at at this stage are.

The Gap
Cave Point
Cable Beach
The Blow Holes (more for sight seeing tourists)
The steps, do we think we need 1 or 2 there ?
Napp Head
Lowlands one either side of the car park.

Now what he needs from you is two things.

Are these the correct locations?

Can you suggest other ones?

As I said before if there is one post you answer then this is the one, help save a life.

Korg

Ps I need the info before Sunday AM as there is a Foundation meeting on Sunday and we would like to present the feedback there.

[mocdoof]

what about one at the deeps or is that at lowlands (havent been out there)

[dan.p]

i was thinking around the back of middleton beach because heaps of young people go there and the asians. isee people there evertime i go there.

[boomboomjunior]

listed some popular spots there korg, hit the nail on the head as there are lots of tourists go to most of the spots u have listed..

[digger]

Korg

as you have said the Nathan Drew Foundation (through his family) do a fantastic job with the safety gear they have put around the coast and like you say if it saves 1 life (which I am sure it has probably already done) then it is important to all rock fisho's.

I personally know of 2 people lost off the deeps at knapp head and whilst safety gear may not have helped in that situation it would in others. would hate to fall in off the deeps as would be very difficult to get out of the water there and be a case of floating with the assistance of safety devices until help arrived.

In regards to the areas mentioned I would think probably 1 at the steps should suffice as there is not alot of fishing space anyway. The other locations listed are in my opinion good areas to have the devices.

I think personally that areas that should be targetted are ones which if the unthinkable occurs and you find yourself in the water how difficult would it be to get out safely. Of the ones listed probably none would be easy to get out and if a bit rougher near on impossible.

Another spot which may be of merit for safety devices could be Dunsky at the flat rock area. Whilst it may be possible to get out it would and could be very painful and be much easier if a say safety ring could be thrown to someone in the water and then they make their way round to the beach and get out safely. Possibly some in the Gull Rocks area as that is fished by many people from the site.

Whilst it is not possible to have these devices in all areas straight away it is times like now that when the opportunity for suggestions occurs that we as "responsible" fisherman and women need to supply our personal input to ensure that the devices are placed in areas of most danger/importance.

I have myself been in perilous situations and put others in dangerous situations where if things didn't go the right way lives could have easily been lost. The majority of people washed off the rocks in the Albany area are locals which says to me that we do get somewhat complacent in our fishing trips from time to time and we do put ourselves in silly and dangerous situatons just the sake of catching a fish.

Korg maybe a suggestion to look at an area like Ocean beach rocks could be worthwhile. I think they may have a safety ring to tie onto but a life ring would be of immense assistance there too.

If any assistance is required to install or anything is required then you can count me in as I know that I would hate to see one of our young guys go in and we lose them.

One other spot that may be worth considering is possibly the car park area at Golden Gates beach out West Cape Howe, while it is a beach I know of lots of people who do fish from the rocks to the left of the beach mainly.

C'mon guys as Korg says it is us who know the area and fish the area and our input towards the locations is invaluable as the people who are setting up the devices (Nathan Drew Foundation) may not have the local knowledge that us as regular local fisherman have.

Dave

[Wilko]

Not that I do a lot of rock fishing but I would suggest to put them where history says we have had loss of life or near misses. Surely someone at A.S. Rescue or S.E.S. would have kept records of danger spots, numbers ect.

[dawson]

Korg,

I think the most important location for these devices would be the rocks adjacent to cable beach and further out at the arm chair, (just inside cave pt), I stress this location as it is the area hardest hit by slippers (unexperienced rock fisho's) and whilst these folks are most often locals they often don't have a good understanding of rock safety. A lot of Philippine's fish this area as well, and having worked with them I know that the vast majority of them cannot swim at all. It is often the first area out of towner's hit when they come down because of its easy access and exposure! This location is my biggest worry apart from the salmon holes rocks.

Blow holes is an option however I consider it less of a "danger zone" as it is generally fished by the more experienced, and where would you place the device here? Most of the ledges are well and truly under-water in any swell over 2m so a safety device would have to be places some distance from the fishing location. I would say greater than 100m up cliffs, still, it would be much better than nothing.

The gap is another area that could do with one of these devices however faces the same problem as Blowholes.

One question!
How do these devices work? Im under the understanding that once activated they transmit an alarm to the sea rescue?-This is a great use of technology....But the buoys?.... If they are the big floats that are deployed at salmon holes I am unsure of how effective they would be at these locations as huge currents are rips would transport a buoy extremely rapidly and may be very difficult to get hold of once in the water?

Wearing a quality life jacket would be much more effective in my opinion! Maybe rock fishers should be made to wear a life jacket by law on this coast, just like we wear seat belts in cars!!!

I don't think these devices should be deployed will nilly (apart from the obvious locations) though as they may "attract" fisho's to areas under a false sense of safety that they never would have risked in the first place...Im saying this with blowholes in mind as (otherwise to what you guys may think) it is rarely fished.

Jack,

[korg]

Guys,

Great info keep it coming.

I have asked some of our young anglers why they don't wear PFD's when they rock fish and asked them to post up there reasons.

Please don't pick on them if some of the ideas seem not important to us as this is the sort of info we need to save lifes.

Korg

[zuluroo]

Yeah, definitely the Deeps. It's practically impossible to get out there unless you swim around to the right.

Also Cable beach and the area out by the lighthouse there where the rod holders are.

[Batts]

Hi Korg,

Great post...

For those not familiar with the Silent Sentry System, myself included, what is it and how does it work?

Thanks,

Brett

[korg]

Guys,

The silent sentry system comes in two version I am led to believe, the one at the Salmon Holes sends a signal to three places when the Float is moved from its position off its stand to alert the authorities.

The ones that they are looking to install in other spots ATM are really just life support floats to help the person in the water keep afloat until help arrives or they can make it to a spot that they can get ashore.

I spoke to Graeme today and they are in the midst's of getting hold of a new design float that will offer a lot more than the current model.

Neither the PFD's or the silent Sentry's or even tie off points are the answer, education is a big part of it and I was not aware that Graeme visits our schools spreading the rock safety word. But with all of this things will still go wrong, but armed with all the preceding points things might just turn out well and not another tragic news story.

Korg

[RED-RAW]

I think both ends of Golden Gates beach and Bum Rock- the most south east part (Knapp Head) would be beneficial to saving possible drownings

[poida]

Long Point, Kingie Rock, Castle Rock????????

[Wade]

How bout you cut out all the middle men and ask Chris Johns? After all he's the one who has to fish them out of the water when they end up in the drink and he would know officially where they go in.
I fish the stones every weekend and it is as simple as this. Respect the ocean and you wont go in. Easy. No fish is worth gettin near the edge for and most people that do go in are doing something like that. I was almost twenty years old before I first fished the rocks. I rekon if I had fished the rocks with the brains I had (or didnt have) when I was sixteen, I might be another statistic.
Anyone agree?

[digger]

Wade

agree 100% it's all about common sense and if you choose to do stupid things then that's when you put yourself in danger.

You keen for a fish this weekend Wade?

Dave

[korg]

Wade and Dave,

I agree with your coments 100% about common sense being the best safety device on the rocks, BUT never think it cant happen to you.

One person who I have known for thirty years is Alan Barker (Northern Rock fishing expert and current caretaker at Quobba) Barker has fished the Northern Stones for over 30 years and has always stayed a rock fisherman and never followed most of us into boats, but he had an experence last year on a flat calm day fishing a ledge he had fished a hundered times before that changed him for life and one he was very lucky to get away with. So never let you guard down not for one second.

Korg

[monksie]

appears to me you nailed all the key possies Korg.

maybe consider Cheynes?

others mention further afield from Albany - like Peaceful Bay spots?

hard to say where to position those sentries, as hard to know how many people fish where/how often (outside of anecdotal info)?

priority should be given to most popular spots for mind - even if a bit far from town.

even then - the sentries (or life rings) are probably still more value as educational tools than real lifesavers. seeing one of them, while stomping out to your rockhopping destination, does make you 'think a bit'... even if just for a second. aka the big 'KING WAVES KILL' sign at the Quobba T Junction.

more the merrier... but agree with the priority locations you originally indicated.

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[captain sparra]

well Graham Drew came to school today to talk about ROCK SAFETY!
he talked for an hour and also mentioned pfd's for hire and are free!
if some members of this ite go rock fishing without pfd's it is a good idea
to duck down to traily or albany rods & tackle.
since graham started this trust it has saved 3 lives.
out of 1 tragedy 3 lives have been saved. Gaham has been awarded local hero of the year. ( i think thats what it is called ). i think he has done an excellent job and we can contribute to the foundation by making a donation in one of the many NATHEN DREW FOUNDATION tins around town!


cheers
jack

[D-man@daRocks]

wade u rright u never take ur eyes of the ocean hey ...

[trueblue]

Yeah id definately saw the deeps as this area gets alot of crew fishing over the summer months and when the salmon tuna are running, i have witnessed 2 people going in the drink there luickily for them has been onlow swell days.

I always use my boat anchor rope tied to a floating bouy out there when i fish there.

I hear of close calls at the steps aswell but havent fished it myself buit from the stories ive heard sounds ike a spot worthy also