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Splash and Dash Searey Seaplane Delights

May 2 8:36

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Posted By: Hal Brown

Date Posted: Apr 22, 2011

Description: Sometimes you just gotta find a beach and dry out. Drying out before the New Year’s Eve parties seemed to be a good idea.

Date Taken: Apr 22, 2011

Place Taken: Port Hardy, D’Urville Island, NZ

Owner: Dan Nickens

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Category: 446, Yacht Tending NZ

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Dan Nickens - Apr 22,2011 Viewers | Reply


	The interest of the boat crew supported SeaRey ops even though it added to their work load. Most were frequent flyers. Tony and Sharon, both from Fiji, were not flying fanatics. They helped out anyway.		Attachments: Beach Support

Dan Nickens - Apr 22,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Sharon didn’t have to wait long for her boat to come in. There were plenty of crew members waiting for their SeaRey rides and eager to trade places.		Attachments: Waiting for Her Boat to Come In

Dan Nickens - Apr 22,2011 Viewers | Reply


	French Pass is known for its treacherous currents. It is known by at least one SeaRey driver for its treacherous wires.<br /><br />The narrow channel between D’Urville Island and the north end of the South Island separates Tasman Bay and Pelorus Sound. The first European to pass through it was Admiral D’Urille in 1827. When he made the attempted passage, the vessel swung uncontrollably sideways, striking rocks at least twice, before being washed over the reef and into Admiralty Bay.<br /><br />Powerful eddies develop when the currents change (there is a both a tidal phase and range differential between Tasman Bay and the Sound). Marine charts warn about the currents and reefs. The aeronautical chart warns of a power line crossing the channel at 545’.<br />		Attachments: Treacherous Pass

Dan Nickens - Apr 22,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Everything you need for fun in the sun on a mobile platform.		Attachments: Ready for Some Fun

Dan Nickens - Apr 22,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Well cut entrance to …well, nowhere, or somewhere near else.		Attachments: Nicely Hewn Opening

Dan Nickens - Apr 22,2011 Viewers | Reply


	New Zealand is not all about the water. It’s about the fine greenery too. That greenery supports a lot more sheep than people. With four legs the sheep probably find it easier to stand out on the steep slopes than their more precariously perched two legged neighbors.		Attachments: Fancy Farm

Dan Nickens - Apr 22,2011 Viewers | Reply


	The steeply sloping shore drains into the sea. The sea looks like it will win, but the crust keeps getting pushed back up. Some balancing act!		Attachments: Shedding Shore

Dave Forster - Apr 26,2011 Viewers | Reply


	This is an amazing picture. Very interesting effect of the reflections on the water.

Dan Nickens - Apr 26,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Upon closer investigation, Dave, at wave top level, you would see that the stuff in the water is sediment coming off the cliff.

Dan Nickens - Apr 22,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Nicely rippled ridges.		Attachments: Ruffled Ridges

Dan Nickens - Apr 22,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Looking out to the horizon, it wasn’t hard to imagine the ridge descending slowly into the ancient submerged valley. Imagine standing on the ridge top during the last ice age and scanning the vast, mysterious landscape now draped in a deep blue plain. No doubt that could inspire a tall tale or two.<br /><br />Such daydreams were inspired by an early end to the day. The boat crew had all been flown and the guests were preparing for the New Year’s party. With hours before sunset, I just wandered aimlessly over the coast, only semi-serious about getting back to Steve's party in Nelson.<br /><br />Splashes off one of the small, rock encircled beaches caught my attention. It was too late to see what it was as I passed over the ridge.<br /><br />“Probably just a seal,” I surmised. I thought about it for a few more minutes as I flew on. “That’s a strange seal. Cream colored? Maybe an albino.”<br /><br />Now, an albino seal is something to see. I thought about circling back. “No, I’m late enough. Steve will already have the helicopter put away.”<br /><br />“An albino seal? That would be easy pickings for a killer whale. How many could there be?” I decided to make Steve wait a bit.<br /><br />Fully expecting the seal to be gone, I was surprised to find the splashes still heading towards the main island. As I swooped closer, I saw it was no seal. It was just a Caucasian of an apparently mundane human variety.<br /><br />“Well, that’s no picture,” I swore, turning back towards base. As I looked up, however, I found I was below the ridgeline. I had to tighten my turn to climb. As I did, the human figure began waiving wildly.<br /><br />“How nice,” I thought, “but I’ve no time now for socializing.” I continued the turn and climbed back towards the top of the ridge. I waggled my wings in salute as I flew over the swimmer.<br /><br />Checking for my effect I saw the figure submerge. The diver didn’t reappear as I crossed low over the ridge.<br /><br />“What kind of reaction is that?” I wondered. It certainly wasn’t expected. “Maybe it’s just a snorkeler who didn’t want to be bothered by seaplanes.”<br /><br />Well, that would be irritating. It also didn’t make much sense. Now I had to turn around again.<br /><br />Back over the ridge I went. This time the person was just bobbing in the water. “No snorkeling gear,” I observed. Now I was getting curious. No one else was in sight. There wasn’t a boat anywhere around either.<br /><br />“Too weird,” I considered. “What’s a person doing way out here with no boat, car or anything else within miles?”<br /><br />I dropped down lower. I could see a young man, motionless in the water, just staring at the airplane.<br /><br />Years before I came across a young man just standing beside a desert road in the middle of nowhere. As I drove by, I got the same intense stare. I stopped and discovered he was stranded, hungry and cold. Worse, his friends were stuck up on the side of cliff by flash storm. It took the park service and helicopters to avoid a catastrophe back then. It made me think that this wasn’t that different.<br /><br />“Crap. Now I have to stop.”<br /><br />The water was a bit rough, but nothing Mary K couldn’t handle. I planned to alight a fair distance away and taxi slowly in to investigate.<br /><br />After touching down I was shocked to see I was almost on top of the swimmer. I shook my head. It just wasn’t possible that I had misjudged the distance so badly. By the time I decided I had, I had to kick the rudder and slide sideways to avoid hitting him.<br /><br />I killed the engine. Before the SeaRey came to rest, two hands appeared on the passenger side gunwale. They were followed immediately by a face, almost covered by long, wavy hair.<br /><br />The young man’s face was strikingly handsome, but that wasn’t what caught my attention. The piercing green eyes locked mine. It was like looking into deep pools of crystalline water.<br /><br />“You’re here,” he announced matter-of-factly and without accent. “We must go and find her.”<br /><br />I just stared at him.<br /><br />“How can I climb aboard?” he asked.<br /><br />“Uh, well, I’ll put the gear down in the water,” I stammered, somewhat perplexed at the prospect of an unknown man wanting to come aboard.<br /><br />“Thank you.”<br /><br />Well, at least he was polite. “Okay, watch out. I’m going to lower the gear.”<br /><br />The gear went in the water and muscled young man smoothly pulled himself up and into the seat. Without asking, he reached for the seatbelt and buckled it. Speechless, I just stared.<br /><br />“I assume you want me to wear this,” he said. “We must go.”<br /><br />Now that was presumptuous. “Why?” I was beginning to think this was the most forward guy I’d ever met.<br /><br />“Because she will drown if we don’t get to her quickly.”<br /><br />This was making no sense. I didn’t move.<br /><br />“Please,” he added. “She is getting very weak. We must go now.”<br /><br />He was so certain. I started the engine. “Where are we going?”<br /><br />“She headed out to sea. We’ll find her there.”<br /><br />“Out to sea? Out into the bay?”<br /><br />“Yes.”<br /><br />“Who are you talking about?”<br /><br />“Her. She has paddled out to sea in a kayak. She’s in trouble.”<br /><br />I looked out into the huge bay. “Out there?”<br /><br />“Yes. Now, please, we must go now.”<br /><br />Those intense eyes left no room for argument. I started the engine, raised the gear, turned into the wind, and launched.<br /><br />I focused on the task of flying off the water without further delay. When we were off, however, a thousand questions and concerns flooded in. I grabbed the spare headset and handed it to him.<br /><br />“Okay, who are you?”<br /><br />“I’m not important. The girl is.”<br /><br />I was getting irritated. “Fine, but just how do we find her?”<br /><br />“She would have headed straight out. Just fly that way,” he replied and pointed.<br /><br />I turned the airplane in the direction of his finger. “How do you know she headed this way? She might have turned back to shore. And, how do you know she’s in trouble?” I demanded.<br /><br />“She left a note. She decided to kill herself. She would have simply gone straight out.”<br /><br />Suicide! Now this was getting serious. “Look, we’ll never find her out here. We need to climb and call for help.”<br /><br />“Help is here. There is no time for anyone else.”<br /><br />I pushed the throttle fully forward and started to climb. “Maybe not, but I won’t take that chance.”<br /><br />“Chances are what got us here. It’s all she’s got.”<br /><br />That made me pause. “It’s not much of a chance then,” I replied. “This is a big sea and a little seaplane.”<br /><br />“But look,” he said, pointing again, “there she is.”<br /><br />Several miles ahead there was a spot of white cresting waves. It looked like a shoal to me, but so far from land it couldn’t be. Without reducing the throttle I turned directly towards it, pushing the nose down towards the water.<br /><br />Now I could see it was no shoal. It was a kayak, and it was upside down. Hanging off one side, head barely above water, was a girl.<br /><br />My approach was fast, and we quickly passed over. I pulled up in a steep, circling climb.<br /><br />The swells were huge out this far. There was no reasonable way to put the little seaplane down on that sea. I was just about to say we would climb and call the Coast Guard when I saw her slip under water.<br /><br />Now I would just have to land parallel to the swell and hope for the best. If we did sink, we would at least have the life jackets and Personal Locating Beacons.<br /><br />“Get a jacket from behind you“, I ordered. “You’ll find a PLB attached. We may not be able to put this thing down without sinking in these waves.”<br /><br />I set up my approach as he got the jacket. He held it on his lap. “Put it on,” I commanded.<br /><br />“It’s for her,” he said. “I won’t need it.”<br /><br />“You’ll need it if you get hurt in the rough landing these waves have in store.”<br /><br />“The waves are settling,” he said quietly.<br /><br />And they were. The sea was flattening. It screwed up my approach. I was now about to land across the wind on lightly rippled water.<br /><br />“Destructive interference,” I was told.<br /><br />“Huh?”<br /><br />“The waves here are interfering and counteracting. Focus on getting down.”<br /><br />“No way,” my mind said. The sea told a different tale. The SeaRey slid smoothly onto the water, stopping feet away from the upset kayak. The girl was still nowhere to be seen.<br /><br />I killed the engine. Before I could get my seatbelt off, he had slipped into the water. He still had the headset on.<br /><br />I stood up in the seat looking for them. He appeared a moment later without the headset, gently lifting the girl’s head above the water. Quickly he put the PFD on her, inflated it, and swam towards the airplane.<br /><br />Grabbing the paddle, I extended it to him. He pulled them both to the side of the SeaRey.<br /><br />“She’s not breathing,” he said.<br /><br />Reaching for her arm, I checked for a pulse. It was weak, but steady.<br /><br />“She probably has water in her lungs. Let’s get her aboard and try to clear her lungs. Watch out and I’ll lower the gear to give you a hold.”<br /><br />Lifting a limp body aboard a SeaRey should not be easy. He made it seem effortless. I guided her into the seat. She folded forward, water streaming everywhere.<br /><br />“Mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing?” I struggled to remember the basics. I pulled her head back up. I checked once more. She was breathing. Shallow breaths, but breathing.<br /><br />I knew she needed quick medical help. I looked over at the young man. How was I going to get him in a two place cockpit?<br /><br />“You go,” he said without my asking. “I’ll get the kayak back up and return with it.”<br /><br />“I’ll help you get it up right.”<br /><br />“No need. You need to go before the waves return.”<br /><br />That jerked my head around. Not far away the waves were moving towards us.<br /><br />“Here is my PFD and rescue beacon. Take it and activate the beacon.” He took it from me.<br /><br />“Now, back away. I’m starting the engine. I’ll send help.”<br /><br />He swam over to the kayak. I raised the gear and checked the water. It was quickly getting rougher. Without waiting any more, I turned into the wind and launched.<br /><br />The water was definitely rougher. Beyond the small waves loomed SeaRey killers. Just before they arrived, I pushed the stick forward, jerking it back suddenly. The nose tucked, then bounded skyward, dragging the skeptical wings with it. We settled back down, smacking the first of the big waves, before staggering up into ground effect.<br /><br />I relaxed a second before turning towards Nelson and setting up for a maximum performance climb. Checking I found the girl was still breathing. Then I turned to look for the young man.<br /><br />He was sitting in the kayak. He didn’t wave as I climbed over him. He just nodded his head.<br /><br />Nelson monitors the airspace out over the bay. I switched to their frequency. “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. November six oh nine mike kilo declaring an emergency.”<br /><br />There was no response. I was still too low. I kept repeating the call until I did get a response. I explained I had a medical emergency. I got vectors directly to the airport.<br /><br />The girl coughed. She opened her eyes. She looked at me in blinking surprise. She said something I didn’t hear. I shook my head and took off the headset.<br /><br />“Are you okay?” I yelled.<br /><br />Her reply was faint and almost inaudible. “Where am I?”<br /><br />“We’re on our way to Nelson to get help. We had to leave your boyfriend, but I’m sending help.”<br /><br />All I got was a blank stare in return. “We’ll be down soon. We’ll talk then.” I put the headset back on and focused on getting back on the airport.<br /><br />We were met with fire trucks and an ambulance. I didn’t get to say anything to the girl as the paramedics began their work.<br /><br />I gave the fire chief and airport security manager a quick outline of my tale. They quickly called the Coast Guard. The sun set out over the western mountains. The Guard helicopter lifted off and headed north in the dimming light. I was late to Steve’s party.<br /><br />Steve had questions. <br />“What were you doing out there anyway?”<br />“Just flying around.”<br />“How come you stopped?”<br />“It just seemed to be the right thing to do.”<br />“What are the odds you could find a kayak in the middle of the bay?”<br />“Pretty slim.”<br />“And destructive interference? Have you ever seen that happen to waves?”<br />“Yes, in the laboratory.”<br />“And you just left the guy out in the middle of the Bay?”<br />“It seemed to be the only good option.”<br /><br />The only really good answers lay in Steve’s rum and coke.<br /><br />Too early on New Years Day I got a call from the police. “We have some questions. We found a kayak, but no one was in it,” I was told.<br /><br />“Oh, no. Well, fine. Where should I meet you?”<br /><br />Back at the airport I repeated the whole tale in detail. I gave them a description of the young man. At the end I asked, “How is the young lady?”<br /><br />“She’s fine, but a bit disturbed. She admitted to attempted suicide, but changed her mind. She thought she had drowned. She said she has no boyfriend.”<br /><br />“That was just an assumption on my part,” I admitted. “But you did find the kayak?”<br /><br />“Yes. And a PFD, a headset and your beacon. They were in the kayak. There was no one else there. We’re still looking.”<br /> <br />And I am too. After filing the report, I flew back to the island, searching the shore as I went. I passed an official helicopter and other search boats too. I never saw the young man or even an albino seal. There was nothing but the rough waves relentlessly pounding the rocky shore.<br /><br />Some tales have no satisfactory ending or answers. But that’s life. Improbable odds. Just one big tale. <br />		Attachments: Converging Lines

Steve Kessinger - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Damn......

Frank A. Carr - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Another gem, thanks Dan. Now, about those "skeptical wings": this would be a great title for your book, or perhaps the name of a flight manual?<!-- >'"><br><font color=red size=6>' or > missing in user HTML. Please fix the HTML.</font> -->

Martin West - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Well, that's just sent shivers down my spine. I bet the maori would be able to explain what happened. They have a great belief in the 'spiritual world'.... A kindly taniwha perhaps? Good one.

Dan Nickens - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	That could explain a lot of what happened later, Martin. Maybe I violated a tapu. I certainly didn't leave a tribute like the guys from Transit New Zealand do (the headset probably wasn't enough). The girl's guardian, likely one of the respected kaitiaki, may have become my Hotu-puku.

Philip Mendelson - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Great job.....

Kenneth Leonard - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Them that take cakes<br />Which the Parsee-man bakes<br />Makes dreadful mistakes. (RK)

Martin West - Apr 24,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Well, this must have been someone looking over the girl and not connected with anything you may have/have not done in possibly violating a tapu. Therefore I go along with your suggestion of the kaitiaki, or the taniwha, which I favour. If the girl had previously shown respect for the local taniwha then it would protect her. In maori legend taniwha are sometimes seen at sea and look like large fish or whales or sharks. In fact the maori name for the Great White shark is mango-taniwha. Begins to fit together, doesn't it.... I reckon there's more to this 'living' business than we know.... yet... and we shouldn't ignore or discount the beliefs of indigenous people like maori and Aboriginals.

Eric Batterman - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	I didn't know Daniel had green eyes. Also Tommy (11) loved the skeptical wings too.

Kenneth Leonard - Apr 22,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Wonderful job Captain Nemo.

Dan Nickens - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Stop hinting at the conclusion, Ken. Submarine driver. Harumph.

John Robert Dunlop - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Someday I must tell Mackenzie that story. I'm sure she'll love it when she's old enough to understand SeaReys and Mermen...<br />(She was born on Thursday, the day before you posted..)

Frank A. Carr - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Congratulations John. She must be a new grand daughter?

John Robert Dunlop - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Yep. Bouncing off walls!

Dan Nickens - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Gee, John, if I had known I would have mentioned the unicorn. Congratulations, mate.

John Robert Dunlop - Apr 24,2011 Viewers | Reply


	unicorn? hmm not a stork? unicorn,.. OK go for it!

Kenneth Leonard - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Congratulations John!

Russ Garner - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	Oh man Dan, doesn't this island have a outback to get lost in? This tale didn't do much for me, I would have loved to have heard a story of guts and glory, like the one from your trip downunder were you and Ann got lost in the Australian outback and she was the hero now that was a fun story.

Dan Nickens - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	There just might be blood and guts before this story is over, Russ!

Russ Garner - Apr 23,2011 Viewers | Reply


	You're my hero man, go for it...

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