Trampers say public 'thank you' to rescuers
Tuesday, 24 September 2019
A water taxi skipper managed one three metre wave but when a rogue one followed, the boat overturned and dumped out six tourists near Stewart Island.
This week the Golden Bay trampers, from Tasman, publicly thanked the people who rescued and cared for them after the incident on September 13.
'It was lovely to see those boats [rescue],' Kathy Hindmarsh says.
Hindmarsh along with her fellow trampers from Tasman, Tracey Osbourne, Lynee Johnston, Jo Randall, Elaine Crombie and another tramper from Sweden were rescued after clinging to an overturned Rakiura Charters and Water Taxi, in Paterson Inlet.
The group had been hiking on the island and spent a night in Freshwater hut before calling the water taxi.
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The boat ride out that day was windy but the water was calm until coming out of the river, Hindmarsh says.
The skipper managed to keep the boat under control after the first three metre wave hit but a subsequent rogue wave caused the boat to overturn.
One of the trampers was drifted away from the boat and Osbourne swam over to rescue them.
The boat had rivets that Hindmarsh used to cling onto and she also wedged her foot on to the handrails to stay secure.
'If you are going to be in that situation make sure its an Osprey,' she laughed.
The group had been in the water for about 30 minutes when the skipper was about to launch a flare but he threw it into the water.
She wondered why the skipper had done that and when she turned around she saw the rescue boats coming.
'It was very lovely to see those boats.'
They didn't realised they were hypothermic until they had jumped on the rescue boats.
Adrenaline kept them going but as soon as they were rescued they started to shiver, she said.
It was somewhat ironic that the trampers from Golden Bay in Tasman, ended up being rescued and taken to a place called Golden Bay at the island.
Residents and emergency services rallied behind them, and Hindmarsh recalls being offered a jumper by stranger.
Hindmarsh says she had a great holiday and the accident won't deter her from visiting Stewart Island again.
The support shown from Southlanders on and off island has being amazing, she says.
After the incident, Rakiura Charters and Water Taxi owner Matt Atkins thanked the support shown during the rescue in what was testing conditions.
Transport Accident Investigation Commission senior communication advisor Simon Pleasants says it will be 12 to 18 months for a report to be finalised on the accident.