Boat rescued just in time

A DARING marine rescue operation off the Clarence Coast on Tuesday prevented a Murwillumbah man and woman, believed to be father and daughter, from drifting out to sea in their boat. Wooli Volunteer Rescue Squad president Stephen Reading said he and fellow rescue skipper Richard Taffs responded to an emergency call about 10am, after receiving information from the Iluka-Yamba Volunteer Marine Rescue base. A six-metre vessel was stranded six nautical miles off Minnie Water with a disabled motor, and had drifted far from its home port of Sandon River in deteriorating conditions. The boat, unable to be anchored, was rapidly heading towards the busy inshore shipping lanes. The skipper, a man in his late 50s, tried to start the motor both electronically and manually before calling for help on his VHF radio. Mr Reading said had the crew not reached the vessel, it could have been a 'hairy' situation. "The conditions were not good ... it was blowing pretty well and it was pretty ugly on the sea," he said. Shortly after the vessel was taken into tow, conditions changed, allowing the crew to head towards Sandon. There, they waited for enough water on the notoriously shallow Wooli bar to cross safely. "It was a long day," Mr Reading said.