On this day in 1978, comes a rescue story of Dean Dixon, Jacquelyn Wood, and Brian Thornton. They were Canberran residents who hosted a celebration party approximately 60 kilometers offshore from Jervis Bay.
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Even though it was the last bits of food left, they shared a single can of Fanta and a couple of dry biscuits among themselves. Their consumption was driven by the anticipation of rescue as despite drifting out at sea for 2 days, they noticed a rescue plane circling overhead.
Their ordeal began when their 6.1-metre cabin cruiser encountered mechanical issues while fishing far from the shore. Despite attempts to return, their motor failed, leaving them adrift in rough seas. They had initially set out with two other boats but became separated earlier in the day. "It was pretty frightening when we couldn't see land" said Wood.
"The drift was fairly strong so we thought we'd give it a miss and go back in", explained Mr Thornton. He continued "then we had trouble with the motor. It kept cutting out at 2,000 revs and we were hardly making headway against the cur rent. Eventually it wouldn't start at all".
With their radio malfunctioning and unable to transmit, they found themselves isolated and vulnerable. Despite the anxiety of drifting further from land, they remained calm, hoping for a change in the wind or for rescue.
Their first night adrift was uneasy, marked by the passing sight of a tanker that they were unable to signal for help. The following day, their spirits lifted as search helicopters, aircraft, and boats passed by, but they were still overlooked.
Eventually, their distress was noticed, and they were towed back to shore behind a torpedo-recovery boat and a police launch, a journey that took five hours. While Wood and Thornton returned to Canberra, Dixon, the skipper, opted to remain at the coast.
