Rescuers rush to aid of whale trapped in fishing rope off the Cape coast

26 August 2016 - 21:59 By Alan Cooper

It had all the elements of an old-school adventure movie. Grizzled mariners armed with razor-sharp tools‚ adrenaline coursing through their veins‚ pursued a whale in a flotilla of mismatched boats. Except theirs was a mission of mercy‚ not death‚ and the blades were there to cut their giant quarry free from rope it had become tangled in.The drama began at 4.30pm on Thursday when SA Whale Disentanglement Network (SAWDN) volunteers launched aboard two National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) sea rescue craft‚ Spirit of Safmarine III and Spirit of Surfski II‚ from Simonstown harbour.They were responding to reports from a fellow volunteer that a juvenile Humpback whale had become entangled in fishing rope and lines anchored to the seabed off Rooikrans‚ between Buffels Bay and Cape Point Lighthouse. The NSRI’s Craig Lambinon said they were armed with additional cutting equipment from the NSRI Kommetjie sea rescue base.When they arrived‚ a game of aquatic cat-and-mouse ensued with the whale who had enough slack in the rope to swim in circles and dive for periods of up to five minutes‚ foiling every effort to cut any of of its bonds.“After dark it became impossible to continue with the disentanglement operation and the efforts were suspended to be resumed at daybreak‚” Lambinon said.The two craft launched again at 7am on Friday‚ arriving to gusting 20-knot South Easterly winds. Again the whale evaded every effort to cut the lines and was at one stage joined by a bigger Humpback who began circling the scene.Then a breakthrough. A grappling hook was used and it snagged the line perfectly‚ allowing the volunteers to attach a kegging buoy which brought the whale to the surface and seemed to calm it.“A specialised hook knife on a long pole was used and the rope going over the whale’s head was cut. SAWDN volunteers investigated the remaining entanglement under water by leaning over the sea rescue craft using goggles‚” Lambinon said.Rope was found still entangled through the whale’s mouth‚ around a flipper and with the bundle of rope trailing underneath and anchored to the seabed.It was at this stage that a rock lobster boat‚ the Northern Star‚ arrived‚ its crew offering to help out. They remained on stand-by in the area to assist with lifting lines‚ sacrificing valuable fishing time despite the fact the rope and lines did not belonging to their fishing company.In the end‚ their help wasn’t needed and the volunteers on the Spirit of Safmarine III were able to lift a line from the anchored end.But the drama was far from over.“While lifting the line a SAWDN volunteer‚ hanging over the side of the Spirit of Surfski II‚ slipped and Mike Meyer‚ head of SAWDN and of the Department of Environmental Affairs - Oceans and Coasts‚ grabbed onto him to prevent him from falling over the side of the boat‚” Lambinon said.During this mishap the SAWDN volunteer jerked on a cutting hook and this‚ coupled with him slipping‚ sliced through the line that SAWDN had attached to the whale.It turned out to be a fortunate mistake.The coincidental jerk that cut the line also relieved pressure on the line around the whale’s flipper‚ releasing it and allowing the mammal to swim free and‚ soon afterwards‚ disappear into the depths‚ bringing the saga to a happy conclusion. - TMG Digital..

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