VIH to the rescue
This yarn happened when I was at Hobart Radio. A trawler called in from
the south west coast to say that he had a very ill crewman, suspected appendicitis.
He was in very heavy weather and too far from any suitable port to take
the crewman for attention, could we arrange assistance. I called the Harbour
Master and MOC Canberra to let them know then called Hobart Hospital.
A Helivac was suggested and subsequently arranged. The helicopter crew
phoned in and I arranged for them to come up on 2182 kHz. They set out
from Hobart and immediately hit heavy weather but decided to brave it
out.
I don't recall how long it took them traverse Tasmania but it seemed
an eternity. In the meantime I'd arranged with the trawler to find a sheltered
area in the lee of one of the nearby islands so that the crewman could
be taken ashore for pick up by the helicopter. This was successfully achieved
and the helicopter made the pick up.
I kept VIH open until the helicopter had landed on the oval below the
Queen's Domain (where VIH was situated) then drove down to watch the ambulance
take the crewman to hospital.
Ted Bastow
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