Carry a distress beacon video transcript
[Title: James's story – Carry a distress beacon]
[Vision: Man in his 30s talking to camera]
I was always very conscious that it was a risky undertaking, to paddle yourself across a body of water.
But I’d made up my mind, I think, that I was just going to do it.
It wasn’t a freak wave or anything that tipped me over. It was just a regulation sort of a wave, caught me by surprise and tumbled me over.
It was amazing how quickly I went from someone with all the safety measures in place, to just another idiot swimming next to their boat in rough seas.
It’s a bit hard to think straight when you’re in that situation.
In retrospect, the right thing to do at that point is to set off your beacon as early as possible.
After a while I got pretty cold. I realised that my fingers weren’t working that well and that, if I’m going to be setting off this beacon, it probably needs to be soon.
I was just thinking about my partner ‘cause I was well over due by this point. She would’ve been pretty worried.
I was found by one of the islanders kneeling next to my boat. By that stage the helicopter had landed on the boat ramp.
My advice to you is, to always carry a distress beacon.
Prepare to survive: Know the five.
Learn how at msv.vic.gov.au/prepare
