Intervention story. On Saturday August 15, several volunteer team members from the SNSM of Saint-Martin were doing diving training from a private boat, off the Terres Basses, when the two remained on board heard on VHF channel 16 that a small dinghy-type 420 boat had was spotted, returned in the water, off Galisbay by a private aircraft.
At 11h15, the CROSS-AG (Regional Operational Rescue and Rescue Center of the Antilles-Guyana launches a “MAYDAY RELAY” to all ships in the area to search for the person (s) who may have been on board this boat. Sailing schools are contacted to find out if they have dinghies on the water and if the boat possibly belongs to them ...
Customs DF 24 immediately leaves its home port and Traveler 3 is in transit. They are therefore the first in the area and quickly locate this small upturned boat. Customs divers looked around the half-submerged boat, just off Galisbay Bay, but without success. They do not manage to turn the hull over and decide to tow it to the Fort Louis marina, where they find that it is a converted small dinghy; the centerboard well was plugged and a small outboard motor is positioned at the rear to transform it into a small fishing boat ...
The “DASH 08” plane from the Curaçao Coast Guard announces that it is not far and available to participate in the search.
At 11:45 p.m. the assistance of the SNSM station of Saint-Martin is officially requested by the CROSSAG. Off the Terres Basses, they decide to reach the area as quickly as possible with the private boat on which they are, but also to hire a second team to join them with the Rescue Star. This one sets off at 12:20 p.m. and the two teams of the rescue station then begin to crisscross their respective zones delimited by the CROSSAG, in addition to those assigned to the DF 24 of the Customs and to the DASH 08 already on site.
To 14h30, the Rescue Star receives information from CROSS that a man is said to have come out of the water after swimming off Grand Case, wearing boxer shorts and a t-shirt, with a cap and a backpack soaked. Witnesses reportedly saw him come out of the water a few hours earlier. Perhaps it was he who was on board the small boat? The Rescue Star then decides to go to the Grand Case wharf to try and get more information about it from restaurant patrons and people on the beach, but no one is able to provide any additional information. A mobile gendarmerie team is also dispatched to the site upon request for information.
The crew of the Rescue Star get back on board and leave, taking a tour of the Bay of Grand Case, when a man on a jet-ski comes to tell them that there is a dinghy stranded in the quail near the point. The Rescue Star then warns the CROSS who asks them to leave the boat, if possible.
They therefore get in the water to swim towards the damaged annex which is being stirred on the cays. With their trailer, they manage to get her out of there. But the dinghy was filled with water, because her starboard tube was completely deflated, and began to sink quickly. The only solution is to put the gas to the beacher as quickly as possible on the beach. CROSS confirmed that this annex had been declared stolen the day before and contacted its owner. One of his friends joined the SNSM rescuers on the beach to take care of the annex, so that the Rescue Star could resume their initial search.
Shortly after, the CROSS gives freedom of maneuver to the Rescue Star, which returns to the Marina Fort-Louis at 15:45 p.m..
For its part, the DASH 08 aircraft covered the entire area, without finding anything, and finished its search at 15:40 p.m., him too.
The other SNSM team members on board the private boat complete their grid and have freedom of maneuver at 16:05 p.m. ; they too return to the Fort Louis Marina after a long boat day, half training, half research.
As for the DF 24 of the customs, freedom of maneuver is given to them at 17:55 p.m..
In addition to the towing of an overturned dinghy and a damaged tender, there were 4 teams (3 boats and a plane) deployed offshore for nearly 6 hours to search for a castaway; presumably for nothing, since no one has been reported missing. It therefore seems very likely that this person swam to the coast. The least thing would have been for her to contact the emergency services or the gendarmerie to report that she was safe and sound after having abandoned her overturned boat. This would have avoided unnecessary deployment of material and human resources and wasting them time and money. If such a mishap happens to you, please always notify the emergency services; even if you think that no one has seen you or knows about…. Better to warn that all is well with you, rather than leaving CROSS and local research teams in doubt.
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