| Sinking sailor calls Mum |
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They're pretty cool Downunder, especially in Cairns. When a sailor's yacht was sinking this week, he didn't call rescue authorities, he called Mum. I guess when your sailing ground behind the Great Barrier Reef is full of islands, you think you don't need an EPIRB. The man, who has not yet been named, merely took to his dinghy and went to the Hinchinbrook Island Wilderness Lodge for the night.
He must have been running out of battery-power, as after 'Mum' contacted authorities, they were unable to reach him by phone. However, search and rescue authorities immediately launched a search operation. No distress beacon had been activated. Meanwhile, in spite of the inconveniences of the Lodge and its lack of welcome, he slept the night at the resort, then the next morning, presumably having turned his phone on, called - his girlfriend. This was all that was needed as then Ingham Coast Guard was sent to locate the man, 41, from Portsmith, a suburb of Cairns. He was found, safe and well, if yacht-less, at Cape Richards, on the northern end of Hinchinbrook Island, around 11am.
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