Charity rowers warned of risks

By ALISON HORWOOD

Two men rescued from a failed bid to row across the Tasman were warned of the risks by the Maritime Safety Authority before they set out.

Their brush with death has prompted the Australian Search and Rescue agency to speak out about the need for vigilant safety measures during high-risk adventure boating.

Nick Barbara and Cathal Dickens, both trained soldiers but inexperienced boaties, tried to be the first to row from Australia to New Zealand in a largely open-air rowboat without a support vessel.

They were raising awareness for the Kidz First neo-natal unit at Middlemore Hospital.

But 10 days after leaving Sydney, the men hit a storm, lost their sea anchor and failed to make contact by satellite phone.

On Friday night, a tuna trawler found them 200 nautical miles east of Sydney. They had spent two days clinging to the upturned hull of their boat, Dream Weaver II.

Lindsay Sturt of the Maritime Safety Authority said the Tasman could be a treacherous stretch of water for any vessel.

"The men were warned of the risks. We are talking about a rowboat on the Tasman Sea."

In May, the authority set down two conditions for Dream Weaver II to meet for category 1 safety clearance. The plan was to go from Auckland to Sydney and back.

But the 7.7m rowboat, built by Unitec marine technology students, did not make it past the breakers at Muriwai Beach.

So the 40-day planned journey was postponed and cut to a one-way trip from Sydney to Auckland.

To gain clearance, the rowers completed a 100-nautical-mile sea journey and installed a self-righting mechanism.

"We tried to give them advice. They were determined. You might recall that the boat capsized in the breakers," Mr Sturt said.

He said that although the pair were not experienced on the water, they were fit and trained hard.

A spokesman for Australian Search and Rescue, Ben Mitchell, said his organisation should have been alerted to the pair's planned journey before they left Sydney.

Safety within "adventure boating" was under the spotlight because it often involved greater risks.

He said the International Maritime Organisation, an arm of the United Nations which set maritime regulations, was looking at setting up regulations for adventure boating.

Glenis Philip-Barbara, Mr Barbara's wife, said the bid was made with utmost regard to safety.

The men had emergency locator beacons, liferafts and vests, a marine radio and a satellite phone.

She was in constant contact and updated a website every 12 hours so the relevant authorities could monitor their position.

The men are due back in Auckland from Sydney today.

Further reading
nzherald.co.nz/marine