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posted to rec.boats
JimH
 
Posts: n/a
Default We don't need no stinkin' lifejackets!

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http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3695724a10,00.html

Four people were rescued from shark-infested seas near Tonga yesterday after
being spotted by the crew of a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Orion.


All four were clinging to the wreckage of their boat, and were not wearing
lifejackets.

The Orion was on its way to the RNZAF Base at Whenuapai near Auckland when
it received a report of an emergency beacon, about 50 kilometres west of
Tonga.

The crew spotted the group, who were holding on to boat debris in a
desperate bid to stay afloat, about 1pm. They dropped a liferaft, and all
four clambered on board.

Aircraft captain Flight Lieutenant Nick Cooper said the group was very
fortunate, as he had spotted a shark nearby.

"I saw the shark swimming around the flotsam the people had been holding on
to just beforehand," he said. "There was only room for two or three of them
on the flotsam at any one time, so one of them would have been in the
water - luckily we had managed to get the liferaft to them quickly so they
were in a safer position."

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