The NSRI Hartbeespoort team spent most of their time on the Hartbeespoort Dam last weekend following numerous rescues and calls for assistance from boats.
According to Arthur Crewe of the NRSI, conditions on the Hartbeespoort Dam were extremely rough with “gale force winds” on the water.
“Following the recovery of a body on Saturday, we were kept very busy on Saturday and Sunday. Together with SRU Emergency Rescue Service, we assisted a number of boats that ran into trouble and saved the lives of people who ended up in the water,” he said.
During one of the incidents, two sailboats capsized during a strong gust of wind. The NSRI rescued the people who were on the boats. In another incident, a boat and its skipper got separated after the skipper went overboard. “We rescued the skipper and recovered the boat.”
“In quite a few incidents, boats got into trouble because they could not handle the waves. We also had to assist a number of boats that were illegally on the dam after dark. And there were a lot of intoxicated people on the dam. We are reporting these issues to SAMSA,” Crewe said.