Two charter fishermen and a boat skipper had a close call on Sunday when they were dumped into the sea by a giant wave in the treacherous Kowie River mouth.
Seabreeze skipper Danny Vermaak, 77, said he was racing out the river mouth at full throttle when a sneak wave forced them to change direction to try outrun it.
“The wave broke clean over the motors, for a while the boat was riding in the tunnel of the wave.”
Vermaak, who has been operating in Port Alfred for 21 years, was thrown overboard with two charter fishing clients while an unidentified crew member clung onto the deck near the motors.
“We were very lucky, somehow my crew member managed to bring the boat safely into the beach.”
Vermaak said damage to the R500000 boat was minimal.
“I lost a rod and reel and another rod was broken.
“I was very nervous afterwards when I realised how lucky we were.”
National Sea Rescue Institute spokesman Craig Lambinon said all three men – who were wearing lifejackets – escaped injury during the ordeal.
He said the boat was removed from the beach by a trailer.
Eyewitness Dr Jerome Boulle said he watched the drama unfold from his apartment on a ridge overlooking the river mouth.
“The skipper thought he saw a gap and raced to go out but was caught by massive waves that he did not see coming behind the West Pier.”
Boulle said the longer West Pier made it extremely difficult for boats to see what waves were coming behind the towering harbour wall.
Boulle, who was watching the sea to decide whether it was worth surfing, said the boat surfed the best ride of the morning.
“They were going very fast and were almost out when they got broadsided by a big wave.”
He said he thought the boat would flip over in the rolling waves.
Boulle said he did not realise three people had been thrown overboard when he called the NSRI.
“They were extremely lucky. I am sure they would have been washed into the pier and the boat smashed up if the wave caught up with them and they had capsized in the mouth.” — davidm@dispatch.co.za