Two happy ending stories today

Today there are two successful rescue operations to report: One is in south U.K., reported by Des Ryan of Sail-World:

A romantic boat trip to mark a wedding anniversary that turned into a dramatic rescue operation this week shows again how difficult it is to get someone back on board a sailing boat once he or she (particularly he) has fallen overboard.

The husband and wife, from Hertfordshire in the UK, set off from Birdham Pool Marina in Chichester Harbour to celebrate their 40th anniversary.

The yacht was a mile off Hayling Island and he was on the bow, changing sails, when a rogue wave washed him off the boat into a choppy sea.

He was wearing a life jacket, and his wife, who was not an experienced sailor, threw him a rope and tried desperately, but could not pull him back on board. He was left hanging, the wife called for help, and hypothermia began to set in.

The wife made the distress call at about 4pm and two lifeboats were sent. The man was plucked from the water approximately 45 minutes later by lifeboat crew member Jasper Graham-Jones, and was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital.

Carol Carter, from Hayling Royal National Lifesaving Institute(RNLI), said:
'He had a lifejacket on. Had he not had a lifejacket on, he would not have survived.'

The other one is off Baylys Beach northwest of Auckland, New Zealand, reported by Rose Stirling of Dangaville News:

A father rescued his son in a sea drama after their boat capsized when it hit two rogue waves just off Baylys Beach.

Boat owner Grant Tregidga was on a fishing trip with his 19-year-old son Shannon and family friend Jason Ward on Monday morning, when their boat capsized 150 metres out to sea.

"Two rogue waves came up from nowhere and the boat just rolled upside down really slowly," he says.

The three occupants were thrown into the water and with no time to contact coastguard, they relied on the locals to spot them.

"We were really lucky two people were walking along the beach at the time the boat tipped up," says Mr Tregidga.

While locals contacted emergency services, he found himself involved in a rescue bid for his son
Shannon.

"I was all right but my son was caught in a rip so I went out to rescue him because I could see he was struggling."

Mr Tregidga managed to swim out to Shannon and pull him to shore.

Shannon says he was worried. "I was in trouble but my dad was out in front of me and he helped me out".

The boat’s third occupant, Jason, also made it safely to shore.

According to the trio, it was about half an hour into their ordeal that the Te Kopuru inflatable rescue boat TK Rescue and crew arrived on the scene.

"I think their response was fantastic," says Mr Tregidga.

The troubled boat named Bling It On only received minor damage to its hull and outboard motor.

"We were very lucky."

Locals and officials on the scene said the trio were lucky not to have been hurt.

Two cases, half way across the globe apart, one in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern, both encountered freaque wave and survived their ordeal. We have to thank the rescuers for their timely operations and admire the cool and collection of the people affected to be able to do the right thing at the right time that all resulted in happy endings. It is wonderful world after all. Thanks be to God!