NSRI commends witnesses for their ‘good intentions’ after responding to false alarms

04 August 2016 - 09:00 By TMG Digital

A research buoy was believed to be the cause of one to two “false alarms with good intentions” the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) attended to on Wednesday. At 6.40pm‚ its Hermanus and NSRI Gordons Bay duty crews responded to “an eyewitness report of an unidentified object floating in the water 400m off-shore of Pringle Bay”.“The eyewitness feared that he may be witnessing a lone paddler signalling for help‚ but in the fading light he could not be certain of what he was seeing and he raised the alarm‚” said NSRI Hermanus station commander Deon Langenhoven.Two sea rescue craft - South Star and Surfski - were launched from Gordons Bay‚ and coastal watchers in Pringle Bay were alerted to the report.“On arrival on the scene‚ in moonless night conditions‚ following a brief search‚ a floating buoy was discovered 400m off-shore - in the same position where the eyewitness indicated spotting the floating object - anchored to the sea bed‚” Langenhoven said.“It appears that the floating buoy is an ocean data research device belonging to the Department of Environmental Affairs: Oceans and Coasts.”He explained that an “antenna on the buoy‚ bobbing up and down and swaying in the swells‚ gives it the appearance of a human arm or a paddle being waved in the air‚ particularly in the fading light”‚ and commended the eyewitness “for his good intentions” in raising the alarm.Station commander Ian Gray said the NSRI Port Elizabeth received reports of a stricken “windsurfer or a kite-boarder suspected to be in difficulty off-shore of Flat Rocks” at 5.43pm.“In 1.5m swells‚ a 45-knot south-westerly wind‚ which dropped to a gusting 30 knots as the evening progressed‚ and in rain squalls‚ a sea and shoreline search commenced while investigations continued to determine if a sail boarder may be missing at sea‚” he said.“Sail boarding fraternities were alerted and‚ through their networks‚ they confirmed to have no knowledge of any members overdue or missing.“At 8.30pm‚ following an extensive search and with all avenues exhausted and with no sign of any person or sail boarder in difficulty and no reports of anyone overdue or missing‚ the search was suspended and we will continue to be monitor for any new information although this appears to be a false alarm with good intentions.” ..

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