Game still on

By Melissa Grant
FOUR local fishermen, including two from Tooradin, have been labelled heroes after rescuing three sailors off the New South Wales south coast on Saturday afternoon.
John and Robin Sandy from Tooradin, along with Darren Sandy and Scott McDonald from Kooweerup, were returning from a Canberra Game Fishing Club tournament in Bermagui, which had been cancelled due to bad weather, when they heard cries for help.
A 23-foot motor cruiser had been struck by a large wave and the boat’s four occupants fell overboard.
It took Darren and Scott 15 minutes to locate three of the sailors, aged 20, 29 and 43.
“We heard one of them screaming for their life,” Darren said. “Our crew threw them a lifeline.”
Scott added: “It was a line with a life, literally.”
The fourth man was later found, however attempts to resuscitate the 36-year-old Sydneysider proved unsuccessful.
The three survivors suffered hypothermia and were taken to the Bega District Hospital for observation.
Darren played down suggestions that his five-man crew on Game Over, who ultimately saved the three men, were heroic.
“We were just in the right place at the right time,” he said.
“We put out a Mayday call and all the other boats tied up in harbour had come back out to help look.”
Canberra Game Fishing Club secretary Sanchia Glaskin, who was coordinating the search and rescue via radio, said the survivors were extremely fortunate that the 27th Annual Yellowfin Tuna tournament was called off at 2pm.
“I had 123 boats in this tournament. Usually you’d be lucky to have a boat near anyone,” she said.
“It’s a big ocean out there and it’s just lucky that we had so many boats there.
“It was by sheer fluke that one of the guys in (Game Over) spotted them.
“If we didn’t have a tournament on, we would have had four fatalities.”
Mrs Glaskin praised the men aboard Game Over for their actions.
“They did it without hesitation,” she said.
“And they’re all so humble about it, but they deserve to be commended.”