Rescued seamen face poaching charges
By Judy Damon

Two men who were found washed up on Macassar Beach on Sunday are expected to be arrested on charges of illegal transportation and possession of perlemoen.

Police suspect the pair, from the Strand, may have been poaching in Gordon's Bay when a massive wave hit their boat, throwing them and a third man overboard. Rescuers found shucked perlemoen worth R7 500 on their vessel.

The third man, Danny Botes, 19, did not survive.

The pair said they had drifted in heavy seas, whipped by fierce winds, for more than seven hours until they were washed up on Macassar beach.

The National Sea Rescue Institute's commander in Gordon's Bay, Stuart Burgess, said the rescue was the biggest along the False Bay coastline in recent years.

He said that emergency flares were spotted in Gordon's Bay harbour at 6.20am and rescue boats were dispatched.

"With the southeaster blowing strongly, they could have been blown all over (False) Bay, making it impossible to find them," said Burgess.

At 9.20am, the five-metre boat was found, minus its occupants. A rescue team of 40 men, three boats and two helicopters searched until 12.30pm, when a family member reported that the men had been washed up.

Botes's body also washed up at Macassar. He could not be resuscitated. The other two men were airlifted to hospital.