Rough sea warning

Sea Rescue reminds bathers that the Spring High Tide will cause strong rip currents and rocks being swamped by waves at high tide along the shoreline.Bathers and anglers should be extremely cautious and a special warning goes out to learners on their school break.Surf Lifeguards are deployed during the school break and bathers should swim only where they are on duty.The following are rescue reports from Sea Rescue spokesman, Craig Lambinon, for Friday 24 September.Sea Rescue – National – Friday, 24 September, 2010. 3 separate drownings (2 are suspected drownings) and a yacht assisted. Durban, Cape Town, Hermanus:WARNING – SPRING TIDEDURBAN:At 11h08 NSRI Durban launched to assist a yacht with a damaged rudder, near to the entrance to the Port of Durban. The yacht, taking part in a local regatta, was assisted into Port by Sea Rescue Durban volunteers aboard the rescue craft Eikos Rescuer II and once safely berthed the yacht and her crew required no further assistance.At 17h09 Sea Rescue Durban, the Police, the Police Search and Rescue and the KZN – Emergency Medical and Rescue Services responded to Inanda Dam following reports of a drowning in progress.Andre Fletcher, of Sea Rescue Durban, said that on arrival on-scene an extensive search commenced for a 22 year old male who had disappeared below the surface.Sea Rescue Durban launched their rescue craft Spirit of Svitzer to search and to ferry police divers who conducted a scuba dive search but by last light no sign of the man had been found and police are continuing with the search today (Saturday 25th September).Andre said that according to friends of the missing man he had apparently kicked a ball into the water and had then swum into the water to retrieve the ball when he appeared to get into difficulty before disappearing.HERMANUS:At 13h45 Sea Rescue Hermanus launched the rescue craft Hunters Gold Rescuer to search in Walker Bay, in front of the Misty Waves hotel, for an unidentified male who had reportedly been swept off rocks and had disappeared in the surf.Ian Alton, Sea Rescue Hermanus deputy station commander, said that according to reports the man was evading capture by security guards when, according to the security guards, the man hid amongst rocks near to the shores edge when he was swept off the rocks into the sea and disappeared.An extensive search has revealed no sign of the man and local police have been informed.CAPE TOWN:At 16h10 Sea Rescue were alerted to a 25 year old male reported missing from rocks at Logi Bay, Llandudno.Local Llandudno Surf Lifeguards, Sea Rescue Hout Bay and Sea Rescue Bakoven, the SAPS, the Metro Red Cross AMS helicopter and the Metro Ambulance and Rescue Services searched extensively for the missing man but by last light no sign of the man had been found.Two sea rescue Hout Bay rescue craft, MTU Nadine Gordimer and Albie Matthews searched from the sea side and a Police helicopter joined in the search at last light.The missing man, from Mowbray, Cape Town, and his two friends had been sitting on rocks overlooking Logi Bay observing the rough seas at Spring high tide at around 14h30 when the missing man went for a walk amongst the rocks. After some time had passed his two friends became suspicious when their friend failed to returned and they began to search amongst the rocks and at the car park and on the beach but after failing to find their friend they raised the alarm.While it is suspected that the missing man may have been swept off rocks into the sea during the Spring high tide other possibilities have been investigated but at this stage the man remains missing and rescue authorities are treating this as most likely that the man had been swept off the rocks into the sea and an ongoing search is in progress.Sea conditions were extremely rough with up to 6 metre breaking surf and 4 to 5 metre swells in the Bay where the extensive air, sea and shore search was conducted.