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Floods Bring Unlikely WaveRunner Hero |
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Written by Peter Hunter
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Wednesday, 15 August 2007 |
Rugby League identity Ben Donaldson became a local hero in the midst of the recent Newcastle floods by rescuing scores of stricken locals onboard his Yamaha WaveRunner PWC. Over a tense three and a half hours, the ex-Newcastle Knights player worked frantically onboard his WaveRunner in the dark, negotiating submerged cars and fences to search, locate and ferry stranded people to higher ground.
Having already spent the day onboard his Yamaha WaveRunner XLT 1200 assisting local authorities with waterway patrols around the recently grounded Pasha Bulker ship, Ben had arrived home to a neighbourhood slowly disappearing under rising floodwaters.
A quick paddle out on his surf rescue board to scout the rising waters delivered his first rescue; a lady and her son whom he rescued from a drowning car. After paddling the duo to higher ground, a decision was made to step up the rescue mission.
“My WaveRunner was still on the trailer and ready to go from my morning’s work in supporting the Westpac rescue response crew at the stranded ship,” said Ben.
“After dropping off the first group of people, I paddle home, wheeled the trailer out from the garage until the WaveRunner just floated off its platform. Initially I was nervous about damaging my PWC on the submerged objects but after my first rescue, I just knew what had to be done.”
Motoring out of his front garden, Ben first came across a Japanese family whose 7 month old daughter was showing signs of hypothermia. Ben loaded the family onto his PWC and headed back to his home where an indoor heated pool could treat the ailing baby.
“My wife took care of the Japanese family and the baby began to show signs of life in the warm pool. After that incident, I stopped worrying about the ski and just went flat out rescuing people.”
Over the following few hours, Ben had rescued approximately 20 – 30 people- mostly from stranded cars which failed to outrun the rising flood waters. Remarkably, Ben and his Yamaha PWC avoided any serious collisions amid the murky waters to only bottom out on several submerged car roofs.
At one stage, Ben was supporting a local police door knock to locate any stranded residents in need of a lift to a waiting bus on nearby higher ground. With their few personal belongings in hand, the residents were quite surprised when they realised their waiting taxi was Ben on his Yamaha WaveRunner.
“The whole situation was just very surreal,” said Ben.
“I could carry two extra people on my WaveRunner plus another on the tow mat on the back, but I never thought I’d have two cats in cages sitting either side of my feet in the gunnels.”
When Ben is not engaging in flood rescue missions, he can be found on the water as a PWC rescue response operator. From F1 Superboat events to pro surfing tournaments, Ben and his team have specialised the art of rapid water rescue operations and PWC rescue skills training.
Ben’s form of relaxation is also closely linked to his rescue work as he and his friends push their limits in the extreme sport of tow-in surfing. Tracking large swells across Australia, Ben and his friends tow each other using their Yamaha PWC’s onto waves that are too big to paddle into. The result is a spectacular ride or an even more spectacular wipe-out.
As the flood waters dry up and the Newcastle community begins an extensive restoration effort, a long line of people would gratefully look back on that night when a knight stepped up to be counted as a true Novocastrian.
Full story: http://www.yamaha-motor.com.au/
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 15 August 2007 )
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