Sailors rescued twice in a week after running aground on Calder Island
April 30, 2025
Two sailors have been rescued from a crevice in a cliff-face after their sailing boat smashed into rocks on an uninhabited island off the Queensland coast.
The man and woman were retrieved from Calder Island, 55 nautical miles north-east of Mackay, after they activated their EPIRB at 2:30am on Wednesday.
The CQ Rescue helicopter was used to conduct an aerial search and located the pair within two hours of the distress call being issued.
Pilot Leigh Wilkinson said powerful wind and low visibility made it a challenging operation.
“Those conditions made locating the people difficult,” he said.
“The vessel had wedged in a small inlet up against a vertical rock ledge.”
David Ugrinic of Marine Rescue Queensland (MRQ) said the chopper was unable to winch the couple to safety “due to the proximity of the cliff face”.
“I believe they were awoken when they struck the rock and then they put their life jackets on and abandoned the vessel,” Mr Ugrinic said.
Two MRQ crew members used a tender boat to travel roughly 50 metres to shore while being guided by the light of the helicopter.
“The island is rocky and has fringing reefs,” Mr Ugrinic said.
“It was at low tide, so the water was only about a foot deep and they could motor up and pull the tender up onto the island.”
The helicopter remained in the air until the volunteers below safely retrieved the man and woman.
“When our crew got there they radioed to say the man was quite confused and he was also very cold, almost hypothermic,” Mr Ugrinic said.
He said the man, 71, and the woman in her 60s had purchased the second-hand, 9.8-metre fibreglass boat from Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast and were on their way home to Bowen.
They told the rescuers the vessel was uninsured.
They were taken to Mackay Base Hospital with cuts and hypothermia and released after treatment in the emergency department.
Second rescue for pair
It was the second time this week emergency services came to the aid of the pair.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) reported that a distress beacon was activated at 5:30pm on Monday and that the Cairns-based Challenger jet located the boat 100 kilometres south-east of Mackay.
“These incidents highlight the importance of always carrying a distress beacon on the water — it can save your life,” an AMSA spokesperson said.
Mr Ugrinic said the jet circled the drifting boat near Sphinx Island until the MRQ vessel arrived.
He said the boat’s sails had become tangled and wrapped around the main mast.
“They could not manoeuvre, so it was pretty much dead in the water,” Mr Ugrinic said.
“He was also unable to anchor because he either had no anchor or it was too short.”
Marine rescue volunteers used an extendable pole to untangle the sails.
Mr Ugrinic said the man was an experienced sailor and declined to be towed back to shore to have his motor repaired.
He said rescuers did not like to leave anyone with ongoing problems, but they could not force the couple to have the boat towed.
