My worst of recent memory was planning to camp out on Long Island from Exxy with a few people on different boats but everything got a bit scrambled as the weather was windier than planned first up and its a good 30nm trip out there.  I was taking a s.african bloke id never fished with before but was keen as mustard so thought why the hell not, gonna be heaps of my mates out there to team up with.

Any way, got over to one of the closer islands as it was about to glass off and speared until the early arvo when we planned to goto a commercial mark that was named 400kg reds. Decided to head out further than id gone before, about 75m of water directly north of Long.  Decided to chill out, turn on some tunes and setup drifting north ever so slowly. Ready to go back around and click click, nothing, not a murmur.  A little bit of stressing and a 10 minute wait and tried again with no result, phark.  Bloke im with starts wigging out whilst i try to contact my mates on the radio without result as they were all in the water diving.  About 3.30 i finally get them and they start heading the 7nm out to where i am, in a 6m swiftcraft with a 200hp 4 stroke with 6 people on board.  The only option is a tow and away we go at 7 knots max speed going through juice like it was a cold beer on a 45 degree day. 

About 5.30 we reach the back of the Muirons and make the call that he cant make it in with the amount of fuel he has left and he's parked at the marina. We put the call out and the only boat heading in happens to be Azura, a 40ft mega towered largest game boat in Exxy.  They towed us back to marina at 26 knots, enough to make the sphincter pucker a bit on a pretty short tow line.  As we get to the water tower the wind picks up out of no where to a 25 knot south easter (caught quite a few other boats out we found out later), go to pull us into the ramp where they get caught in the breeze and crush my bowrail against jetty (thought we were well fooked and the whole front was going to go).  

Ok, at the ramp by about 7.30, had rung Deepwater (Jeff) and he gave me a lift up to Bundegi to get my car to return and finally get the old girl out.  Got home just before 9, stressed as all hell but well relieved.

Ended up costing me 2 cartons of coronas, 1 starter motor, 50l of fuel, 8  hours of stress and one very wigged out not to be seen again deckie.

 When I fell off the boat out the shelf and didn't manage to get wet! All anyone could see was white knuckles hanging onto the hand rail.

Back of a boat in Crab Creek Broome - that the skip was not aware of and heading rapidly towards the mouth of the creek, with a gut full of water. Copping a cobbler sting in the arch of my foot one night at Ocean Reef.   Trying to fight of a fergal (whaler) underwater, at the Abrolhos one day, after he decided - he wanted the Mackie on the end of my straight hook.

 Shooting a Wahoo off Rockingham in Winter and losing my spear, and 50m of line to it    

my worst hands down would barra fishing with my young bloke in a car topper we were sitting there quietly soaking a bait as the sun was going down just settling in and relaxing when all hell broke loose on another boat that was fishing about 70 or so meters away . All i could hear was swearing bottles being broken yelling and screaming , by this stage the sun was nearly set  so was hard to make out what was going on . Someone then turned on the light on the boat and all i could see was a massive punch up going on and then someone went over the side . I got the young bloke to wind his gear up just in case we had to pull someone from the water . As i make my way over i noticed one bloke had blood gushing from the back of hos head and his white shirt was saturated with blood i asked him if he was ok and where the bloke went that had gone in the water they said they were ok and didnt know or care where the other bloke had gone but were pretty agitated i then left then and started looking for the other bloke yelling for him and shining the torch trying to find him . I finally hear his voice and on big tides in cossack at night time i reckon i was pretty lucky to find him . As i get close to him i ask him if hes alright and to grab the side of the boat but instead he grabs the boat and starts to pull himself in and he must have weighed 100 to 110kg nearly tips us in the water and as he falls in he starts ranting and raving about wanting to go back to the other boat and kill these other blokes all the while hes asking and searching for a knife . While Im trying to get this clown to settle down he finds a knife so i pull my young bloke to the back of the tinnie with me then rip the knife from this blokes hand slicing his fingers open , throw the knife in the water then he really starfs to go off telling me he wants to kill these blokes so i start heading back towards the ramp wave down another boat and try to explain whats going on the whole time my young bloke (9yrs) was shitting bricks and to be honest so was i more for my young bloke than me as i get close to this other boat he jumps from my tinnie straight onto the other one and straight away strts looking for weapons . I straight away called the cops on my mobile who i spoke to a bout possible injuries on the other vessel and what had gone on . By the time i had got to the ramp there was at least 4 cop cars and an ambulance waiting and the other boat had finally got rid of this mad bastard that we had pulled from the water . As i started walking up the ramp the constable came down and we had a chat about had happened and he then informed me that they had found and arrested this clown he was hiding behind one of the buildings at cossack waiting for these other blokes to return to the ramp. I was trying to talk to my son and calm him down he was pretty shaken up when some flares started going off the coppers were going to head off in another tinnie to investigate but slowly the boat that this mad bastard came off pulled into the ramp and as the blokes got off the boat one of them had been glassed from the bottom of the back of his neck all the way up to 3/4 up the back of his head and just a big flap of skin hanging off . So that hands down is the worst and i have fished in shit weather seen some pretty bad injuries but when its one of your kids that are in real danger of being seriously hurt well its a whole new ball game .

 Shit!!!! You win Carry....would have been terrifying for you both. I remember reading about this when you posted it up years ago. Crazy!!!!

Cheers

Mullows

hindsite is 20/20 tho should have just pulled over on the bank somewhere let him take the $1200 tinnie and i could have walked back to the ramp let those clowns kill each other  . I still regret having my young fellah go through all that . One good thing that did come from it was that we did find out these idiots were known to the coppers and off there heads on meth or ice so he has seen first hand what these drugs can do and we still talk about it today so hopefully we grows up not touching that crap .  

Out at Turtle Bay off the northern tip of Dirk Hartog with my older brother and his son aged 12 in a 19ft cabin cruiser.  His son started getting seasick even though it was very calm so we decided to run into Turtle Bay and put him on the land for a while.  Idled in and it was flat calm, about 100 metres from the shore I looked behind and a monster wave was about to break.  My brother gunned the boat but the back partly filled with water and the motor conked.  Could see another wave forming, we both dived over the side and pointed the boat into it.  (Our worst mistake, should have gone in closer)  My brother jumped back in, got the motor started with me hanging on the bow rail.  He tried to get over the back but the wave broke on top of us.  The boat went down, regained its buoyancy and popped up like a cork and threw me in the air.  I saw the top and bottom windscreen gone and cabin doors wash out the back.  It washed us in closer, and the next wave just creamed us.  We jumped over, swam to shore where his son had concussion from standing in front of the cabin doors that blew out.  Put him on the beach, salvaged what we could including my brothers wallet floating in the water and the flares.  Grabbed the anchor and pulled the boat in a far as we could.  No more waves for the rest of the day.  I walked to the lighthouse hoping to find a radio or something, got there but nothing, walked back with feet full of double gees.  We could see commercial fishing boats out a long way, so decided to light a fire.  Got a big fire going and by this time it was late afternoon.  My brother grabbed the flares and tried to light a parachute flare but it was too wet.  He threw it into the fire cursing and walked to the beach about 30 metres away.  The flare went off, and like a guided missile homed in on his leg and hit him.  He jumped into the air and dived into the water.  Cursed even more.  That night two commercial boats came in and anchored right where the waves hit us.  They came and got us with a dinghy and we towed the boat off the shore and it flipped, it had been smashed along the chine.  My brother dived on it trying to right it in the dark, I refused to help as all the fish we caught had been disappearing off the surface that afternoon in big gulps, and besides, the baot was stuffed.  Couldn't right it so anchored it upside down.  The commercial boat radioed through to Perth (old SSB radio) saying it had found us but they misunderstood and assumed that we were missing, and the newspapers next day carried the story that two men and a boy missing off Turtle Bay and wrecked boat found.  They wouldn't come in until they had filled with mackeral, so we spend the next two days catching fish with planes flying overhead that had spotted the upturned boat.  Towed the boat back upside down to Denham two days later, arrived to TV cameras etc.  Our families thought we were dead because of the newspapers, they said it was the worst 2 days they had experienced.

 Faarrrkk. Those are two gnarly stories!!

both of them,had some excitement but nothing to match that

 Blowing a piston in my 4wd on the last little hill fully loaded 

of gear and crap for a 7 day stay!!! Thought I'd have to leave 

it there !! Just parked it on the cliff and didn't drive it and 

sooked for most of the time thinking how I'm gonna get 

out of here  and with all the gear !! Luckily got us out and back to 

perth with it blowing a lot of smoke ! then off to the mechanics for 6;500$ rebuild !!! That really 

sucked !!!

 About 2 months ago I took a old fella from work who had been hassling me to take him fishing I wasn't sure because having to do beach launches can be difficult enough and the swell was up a bit I said to him I don't no mate looks a bit sketchy but he convinced me it will be ok( I should off trusted my own judgment)

S0 we unloaded boat on the beach and waited for a break in the swell I told him we have to be quick and get over the breakers, we start pushing and he says get in I got this so I jump in grab a ore to start trying to paddle out by this time the next set was coming in and I yelled QUICK u need to push us further i look back he already trying to get into the boat then smash the first wave hits launches the dinghy in the air Steve (old fella) got flung out the back FUCK I start paddling like a demon adrenaline pumping throwing up on myself just trying to get over the next waves but got smashed again with Steve still pushing he goes I can't touch the bottom and hanging off the side soon as I had the chance I told Steve hold on dropped motor and started it and dragged him out about 50 metre were it was safe and then I look back couldn't see Steve oh no we're is he and then he popped up the back off the boat. He was stuffed he couldn't get him self in the boat and he said I need help so I threw the anchor out and tried for about 15min to get his big arse in the boat he couldn't move I ended up rolling him in like crocodile. Once on the boat he didn't look to well I said are u ok he said just give me 10min to recover I was like no worries mate we ok now I pull the anchore pack it away start the boat and then dies within seconds and we start drifting back into the breakers I said Steve quick anchor out he just looked at me I can't move so I quickly got it back over and realised when I rolled him in he tore the fuel hose off the motor a quick fix and we're off, I had the shakes by this time spew all over me we start heading out 5 min into the trip the boat was kicking out off gear and free reving until I lowered the revs then it would grab and go I looked at Steve and said I don't think we should be fishing today he said it probably just seaweed catching it and we were at the spot anyway we start fishing and I couldn't relax knowing I had to still get boat back up the beach without sinking it.

A few hours pass and not even a bite and every other time we got our bag for dhus I said it has to be u Steve by this time he felt better and it was time to head in as I start picking the revs up it was slipping into neutral again and would only stay in forward gear on idle by this time I'm thinking shit because I need every bit off power I can get to catch the wave up the beach. We get about 30 metres out and wait to see what the swell is doing and sitting out there for 10minites shitting I thought fuck it and I start picking revs up to catch the wave but just kept slipping I got on the wave it was going ok I was on top off the wave when It clicked out off free reving into forward put the dinghy over the front of the wave as it was curling to break and crash onto the beach Steve launched again out the back into sand everything everywhere I jumped up and ran to ute to drag it up befor to many waves swamp the back, hooked snap strap up and went to drag it up the beach and bang the tow hitch on the boat broke off and by this time water was getting in the boat, fist bit off luck  guy came down in a petrol for a look I asked him if he could try snap us out my ute wasn't powerful enough now it had water in we hooked snap strap around anchor lug and a shackle I was bucketing water out as quick as possible he had a couple off goes It was moving up in millimetres then his next pull BANG shackle snapped and smashed into his back door I would off been pissed but he was awesome he was more worried about the boat after all that I offered him a couple off carton and he said no what goes around comes around so I owe him some quality fillets if i see him next after all that got it back home and haven't been out since. Oh and Steve hasn't asked to come out again.

Are going to give me nightmares for the next couple of months.Sheeesh

 Flew up to Karratha with my 13yo son to have a long weekend fishing with a good mate of mine. At the time he only had a dingy so he had organized for us to go out, the day we arrived, with someone else in a reasonable 18-20ft ali boat that looked in pretty good nick.

We arrived before lunch and put our gear in the back of my mates car and headed straight for the boat. Everything was sorted, fuel, food, beer etc. We added my fishing gear and drove up to Point Samson or somewhere near there and did a beach launch. We then headed West, on a glassy sea, for what seemed like forever. Probably an hour and a half at 3/4 flat out. From what i could tell we were in the middle of nowhere. As it turns out this was a pretty good spot with me and my son getting our first Reds ever and all of us picking up some impressive fish. 

Just after mid arvo we have bagged out and it's time to head home. Start her up, turn towards home and Bam. The steering cable snaps inside the sheath right near the outboard. The motor slams hard to one side, throws us all to the other side of the boat, almost tips over, and starts some pretty impressive doughnuts. Well no major injuries and all somehow still onboard so we check the problem, work out it cant be fixed at sea and start to work out a solution. Now i consider myself pretty good with a rope so i come up with the idea of getting the anchor rope and rigging up a pully system from each side, tied around the top of the outboard leading from the outside of the motor to give you as much stability as possible. The skipper thinks of something simmilar but attaching the ropes to the points close to the transom where a hydraulic system might be attached but because of the small size of the attachment points we have to go with a thinner rope. Something like that cheap ass trailer rope you buy for $2.50. Well he is the skipper so i rig up something like a double truckies pull down on each side, get the motor pretty straight, and off we go. 2kn good, 4kn good, 6kn good, 8kn and the force on the motor snaps the rope, flips the motor to the side and we are doing doughnuts again. Skipper still cant see the merits in going with the anchor rope so we re-attach the trailer rope and head off again. 6kn all the way with 2 blokes struggling to keep the boat straight, rope snapping every hour or so.

We got back to the trailer about 11.30pm and back to Karratha completely exhausted.

 Some of these stories are down right scary, goes to show having all safety gear readily available and not tucked away in places is probably the best idea.

a gun would have been handy !!