Got a call from one of the home bases last night alerting us of a mayday call sent out from a sinking yacht with two locals on board. By the time I'd got down there the rescue boat was well on its way to the position given during the mayday call and a radio operator and co ordinator had things up and going .

Some twenty minutes later and we got a call from water police letting us know that their epirb had been set off and Canberra AUSSAR  centre had their position from the first satellite pass. Got a second position report from Canberra giving a new position some 1nm away from the first oneand looking as though it was in the same direction as the tidal current flow. We got another call from water police telling us the search and resue dornier plane with all the high tech search gear had taken off and was on its way.

Some ten to fifteen minutes later we got the call from the boat that we all love to hear that they had sighted the blokes in the water clinging to the submerged yacht and were heading over to get them out of the drink .Both men were pulled on board and were on the way back in and the planes assistance would not be needed.

Cheers all round in the radio room for a job well done. They arived back in at around 0130 in the morning cold and wet but still alive and thats the bit that is most important.

From info given to us from water police, this is the third epirb actuation this month resulting in persons having to be rescued while in the water after their boats had either sunk or were full submerged and all have finished with all being rescued alive.