Ben Carlin book: THE LAST GREAT AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURER

[Lang]

Mike

Just read the false start rescue page in "Half Safe"

Carlin never contemplated scuttling the vehicle. After the bearing failure he said they had all their gear ready packed to board a rescue ship (of which there were several around, being in the shipping lane). The tanker that rescued them came close merely to look at them.

Once on board the Norwegian tanker they were saying goodbye to Half Safe when the Captain said "Hell, you are not going to leave dat goddammed yeep lying around"

There was an unoccupied life boat position on the ship so they just lowered the lines, hooked up Half Safe and whisked her on board.

Also read the Portuguese Frigate story.

Carlin went to great pains to explain that at no time in any of his travels had he ever put out an SOS. "...we heard later that some vessel had reported receiving my SOS - a signal I have never radioed anywhere, any time. The mob demands drama."

The Portuguese Frigate came to check on them after the hurricane in which they were widely presumed lost. Carlin's radio call when he finally got through to give them Half Safe's position was sensationalised as an SOS when in fact it was not. During that call he casually mentioned for them to throw on a few drums of fuel as he was getting low from use during the storm (and probably would have run out close to their destination of Madeira). A similar venture today saved by a sat phone call and a charter boat bringing some fuel out would be looked on as good management solving the unforeseen storm use problem. Poor old Ben gets raised eyebrows about "getting rescued".

Lang