Can anyone hear me, we’re in Trouble - The Australian Magazine 24-25 Nov

[time]

I spend a lot of time remote travelling, always in company with at least 3 other vehicles, with at least 2 sat phones in the convoy, with lots of pre trip preparation, with lots of budget to cover any unforeseen costs ($10,000 limit credit card with that amount of credit available), with at least 10 days extra food and water and the knowledge and experience of being in a 4WD Club for the past 20 years. The rule, even if 4WD day tripping near home, is ALWAYS go in company.
The biggest issue I see is people who don't know what they don't know ........... pity they don't do more research, but hey I watched Pat in the hat and Simon and Jase, I know it all now!
Blaming anyone but themselves for their predicament shows they have yet to learn the full lesson of their experience.

 

[Rhett HS]

Were promises made? Lack of communication was the key to this whole saga. The stranded family were ill prepared by not having a sat phone and the “rescuers” had a broken VHF relying on relayed messages.
Tink

I agree the travellers were primarily at fault, however from the article it seemed that sunday was promised, then monday, then tuesday? Shiite happens, no real finger pointing at mt dare from me, we havent even heard their side of the story.

 

[shanegtr]

Now to the couple who came along to help. Apparently they were experienced remote travellers. Why then did they attempt a desert crossing with a broken VHF aerial?
Tink

The antenna was broken earlier on their trip so its not as if they started out with a busted aerial.

 

[Chatty]

As far as fault and finger pointing, IMO they had enough water and supplies but bad luck fixed that, how much can you carry with a family that size?
Any more gear and a broken car then everyone would be saying its your fault for over loading...

They said they had food and water for four days, which was their expected crossing time. That's nowhere near enough - common sense you should carry at least 3 or 4 days extra food and water for a Simmo crossing . It's not only the risk of breakdown you have to think about, there's also the risk of weather.
Last time we crossed with four adults in the Pajero we got to Mount Dare with about half our food (largely dehydrated "emergency" supplies) and water left and about 25% reserve fuel capacity - and I was fine with that. The next time the crossing may not go so well...

 

[discomatt]

They lost 110 l. of water, how much more would you take? That would have been plenty , the lesion should be not how much but how...
All the water in one tank which was damaged was their main issue IMO, if they had that supply there would not have been such an issue or if they only lost half it would be much different situation

 

[Albynsw]

They lost 110 l. of water, how much more would you take? That would have been plenty , the lesion should be not how much but how...
All the water in one tank which was damaged was their main issue IMO, if they had that supply there would not have been such an issue or if they only lost half it would be much different situation

I learnt that lesson when someone didn’t turn the tap off properly and lost all of my water, carry it in a few different containers now.

 

[Spooner]

If you want to do these types of trips you need to have the coin to fund it.

Especially if something goes wrong and carrying a already maxxed out credit card is worthless , you are asking for trouble.

 

[discomatt]

I learnt that lesson when someone didn’t turn the tap off properly and lost all of my water, carry it in a few different containers now.

I learnt that gem from the brains trust here, 2 x 60l in the camper and we always carry 30-40 in the car in 3 or 4 containers, 20 l is always the minimum for just in case

 

[Albynsw]

I learnt that gem from the brains trust here, 2 x 60l in the camper and we always carry 30-40 in the car in 3 or 4 containers, 20 l is always the minimum for just in case

Always better to learn these things from others instead of the hard way yourself eh.

 

[Rhett HS]

No satphone. No good.

I reckon what is happenning is people are hearing and reading about large numbers of people going through, so they are dropping their standards of preparation.

If this family were told they would absolutely not come across a single vehicle for at least a month from their departure date, would they have progressed in exactly this manner?

 

[Bomber2012]

No satphone. No good.

I reckon what is happenning is people are hearing and reading about large numbers of people going through, so they are dropping their standards of preparation.

If this family were told they would absolutely not come across a single vehicle for at least a month from their departure date, would they have progressed in exactly this manner?

Agreed Rhett , you only need to read some of the pages on faceache with hero's claiming "you can do that track in 2WD" . Any remote/hard tracks should be respected .

 

[cam04]

Nice, towing on the French line late in the season in a home made v8 patrol and when it all goes to custard it’s someone else’s fault. They never had the right to even begin that journey much less finish it. They were one passing car away from killing themselves and their babies - and would have done it with a bemused look by the sound of it. Typical.

 

[itlldoo]

so many gaps in that story ! to many to lay blame. but if you offer a recovery service, YOU DO IT and sort the logistics after or pass the job to someone that can help, now ! not extort money out of terrified people before a rescue so you can get parts for the rescue vehicle WTF. yes things should have been different but not to help because of cash is just F%&Ked

 

[Rhett HS]

If i was offering that service i would feel exposed even when i got the first $5k. The cost is probably a painful shock to most people, i bet some people get snakey about it and become a problem. Try to slink off.

Where is the guarantee the recoverer will get the rest? Having the credit card details doesnt mean there is money in the account to cover the rest. Maybe the recoverer can just charge it, and accompanied by a signed invoice, will get it in the end? The customer may be in a position to have zero balance in all accounts with that financial institution.

Does insurance ever cover part or all of it?

 

[silkwood]

so many gaps in that story ! to many to lay blame. but if you offer a recovery service, YOU DO IT and sort the logistics after or pass the job to someone that can help, now ! not extort money out of terrified people before a rescue so you can get parts for the rescue vehicle WTF. yes things should have been different but not to help because of cash is just F%&Ked

Here I disagree entirely. No-one forced anyone to undertake such an adventure. The risk to life would have been negated by the authorities. The police said they would have organised a rescue in an emergency situation, but that would have been for people only, no equipment or vehicles. At that point there was no life-threatening emergency.

Not sure all was handled well by Mt Dare, but then, I'm not going to form conclusions based upon a journalist's article. Regardless, I have no problem with Mt Dare or anyone only providing these services upon pre-payment. Not only that, my view is that, even if rescued, the people should have been held responsible for removing their vehicle from the park, driveable or not.

I'm not sure they did too much wrong, other than I disagree with taking camper trailers and all the mod-comforts over this area. This much weight and dragging non-powered wheels is only going to deteriorate tracks faster, making it more difficult for all. Then again, who am I to draw the boundaries of participation?

Cheers,

Mark

 

[smitty_r51]

so many gaps in that story ! to many to lay blame. but if you offer a recovery service, YOU DO IT and sort the logistics after or pass the job to someone that can help, now ! not extort money out of terrified people before a rescue so you can get parts for the rescue vehicle WTF. yes things should have been different but not to help because of cash is just F%&Ked

How many rescues do they set off to then get a call halfway that someone has called past with a spare belt and we are moving again... Or they turn up and they have left without any comms. As a comparison What does it cost to ship a 4x4 Sydney to Melbourne, similar distance, easier journey... To me it is not extortion it is someone who has been burnt before...

 

[madmonk]

I see a difference between recovery and rescue. Rescue requires an immediate response as someone's life is in danger. Recovery is focused on retrieving something or getting something working again. In this case, people broke down and were unable to recover themselves and had no means in which to contact anyone else to aid in their recovery. At some point, if they hadn't met another traveler (which was by sheer luck), they still were ill-prepared to escalate the situation and get rescue assistance.

All this could have been avoided if they had invested in sat-phone, EPIRB or HF radio (or even all three) and chosen to travel with another vehicle.

 

[Albynsw]

As the article said, the police were made aware of the situation but it was not escalated to a rescue as they did not feel it was warranted.
Bottom line is that people need to take responsibility for they own actions

 

[mac_man_luke]

I think its a combination of factors

They should have had a satphone / working HF radio and more supplies especially water in multiple containers.
Mt Dare should have been more up front with inability to recover them and tried to work out another option eg birdsville
Travelling with multiple vehicles would also be wise, might have been able to drag them out of the desert rather than just sit in one place saving a big $$$ recovery bill.

If supplies were really getting low then that should have been communicated to police and a proper rescue operation enacted.

 

[cam04]

The SA desert parks pass pack is extremely well set out and goes to great lengths to outline every safety method stated above, also very very strongly recommending against towing in the desert, and exactly what the minimum standard of preparation should be. The amount of ignorance shown in this circumstance is staggering.
Also, when you hit the button on the epirb or call a mayday over the radio, you are legally surrendering the situation to the authorities and they are only interested in keeping you breathing. Personal effects are never part of that equation, neither is your opinion - you become a passenger. You can bet your life the coppers don’t call a vehicle recovery service to come and save your dumb arse. It was the family’s emergency, not Mt Dare’s.