Miracle at Mana?

[Lou Girardin]

Is Bob Hewitt the luckiest man around (next to the Big Wednesday winner that is).
3 Days floating in a wet suit and buoyancy vest and he survived more or less unharmed.
It wasn't made clear if he was injured in some way though. Reports said he was found 300 metres off Mana Island, I wonder why he couldn't make it to shore?

[marty]

obviously a very hard man. i'm still waiting though for the 'why didn't you just swim to shore?' question to be asked - mana island is not that far from the mainland.

[Fishy]

Very lucky man alright!. Heard on the radio this morning that he was just bobbing around in the sea drifting around with the current until he found land.

[Cookie]

Blooooody nice to have some good leading news stories at the moment!!!

I have had enough of the focus on all the worst things in the world.

I don't care whose brother it its, it's just great. If I were a spud, I'd dance like this :spudbooge

[MisterD]

I don't care whose brother it its, it's just great.

Great news for Norm, eh. Still being descibed as "Ex-All Black" rather than "Celebrity Dance Comp Winner". He seemed to be quite happy about his bro being found too.

[Hitcher]

I don't like kina. I would have died.

[sAsLEX]

I don't like kina. I would have died.

oh he had cray fish as well

[Swoop]

Being a Navy bubblehead, he was obviously not smart enough to simply die, and was waiting for the appropriate order to be given. SAH-YES-SAH!!!
PT people, PT.

[ManDownUnder]

Good news story for a change... and it's REALLY good news at that.

I don't care if the guy is famous, related to someone famous or just a "no-one". That's awesome!

And yeah, Kina would have been a challenge for me, but the crays'd be alright. I'll be interested to hear why he didn't/counldn't swim ashore to Mana Island.

I'd have thought swimming ashore and lighting a fire of making some message in the sand would be the go...? That being said - he was survival trained in the forces (if memory serves) so I expect there is a good reason

[Dadpole]

After that much time in the water (and having to eat poxy kina) I doubt if he had the strength to do anything but float.
Great to get one back alive though.

[Lou Girardin]

If I was starving, I'd eat the arse out of a flying duck.

[Dadpole]

If I was starving, I'd eat the arse out of a flying duck.

Down south, they do that for fun

[Motu]

If he was as well trained as we think he is,he may have been waiting for a tide shift so he could get to the island expending the least energy as possible.

I'd be worried about looking like a big fat juicy black seal....

[Finn]

Reports said he was found 300 metres off Mana Island, I wonder why he couldn't make it to shore?

He was having a feed man!

[Finn]

I'd be worried about looking like a big fat juicy black seal....

How could you say that! Racist!

[Groins_NZ]

News Article (http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3566948a10,00.html)

"
Mr Hewitt said from his hospital bed that he had drifted as far as Waikanae 27km to the north, then back to the vicinity of Mana Island, where his ordeal had begun.
"

[madboy]

Yeah, I think from reading that the chances of him having the energy to swim back would be pretty slim. And if it was against the tide, no hope at all.

Bloody good news.

[dawnrazor]

heard some fool on talk radio, COMPLAINING that he had eaten all that Kina!!!!!!!! "cus its protected!!!!!!!!! Honestly.

[Lou Girardin]

heard some fool on talk radio, COMPLAINING that he had eaten all that Kina!!!!!!!! "cus its protected!!!!!!!!! Honestly.

He had customary rights.
When you're starving it's customary to eat anything you can get.

[Colapop]

Damn fine example of some the 'everyday' people we have in NZ. I doubt he'd describe himself as anything other than "just normal".
Awesome for the family and the bloke. Just goes to show that even if the gumbermint doesn't support the military, they still tuen of some pretyy good people.

[Indiana_Jones]

In the famous words of Mr. Pink,


<img src="http://webpages.charter.net/jamesandjenny/images/mrpink.jpg" align="centre" vspace="10" hspace="10">

"And I'm very sad about that. But some fellas are lucky, and
some ain't"

-Indy

[Krayy]

He had customary rights.
When you're starving it's customary to eat anything you can get.
Remind me never to get stranded on a desert island with ya, Lou :wacko: Even a traffic island... :whistle:

[Lou Girardin]

Remind me never to get stranded on a desert island with ya, Lou :wacko: Even a traffic island... :whistle:

You're safe, I don't play soccer.

[Indiana_Jones]

You're safe, I don't play soccer.

Please, It's Football

-Indy

[Lou Girardin]

Please, It's Football

-Indy

Whatever. Rugby players don't eat their team mates. Or if they do, they don't swallow.

[Colapop]

Apparently the "Knights" team in Wellington do... I retired soon after I heard that!

[Pixie]

Great news for Norm, eh. Still being descibed as "Ex-All Black" rather than "Celebrity Dance Comp Winner"..
Or "Town Cryer"

[Dadpole]

You're safe, I don't play soccer.

Bad news lou. It was a rugby team.

[2much]

Is Bob Hewitt the luckiest man around?

It's Rob Hewitt.


obviously a very hard man.


I know him and you're not wrong there. Navy (military for that matter) doesn't really breed them like thay used to, however, having been around for 19-20 yrs Rob is old school. Shame they focus so much on the fact he's Norm Hewitts brother and not the important shit.

Thoughts go out to him and his family, best news in a long time

[sAsLEX]

I know him and you're not wrong there. Navy (military for that matter) doesn't really breed them like thay used to, however, having been around for 19-20 yrs Rob is old school.


I invite you to try out to become a Diver in the Navy, some other positions have been dampened down by lefty PC type people who dont like the hard honest truth, but divers aint one of them.

How many army people that have taken the course have passed? ummm none, you have to be a special type of hard to pass muster as a diver.

[Lou Girardin]

Bad news lou. It was a rugby team.

Was it?
Bloody alzheimers.

[2much]

I invite you to try out to become a Diver in the Navy, some other positions have been dampened down by lefty PC type people who dont like the hard honest truth, but divers aint one of them.

How many army people that have taken the course have passed? ummm none, you have to be a special type of hard to pass muster as a diver.

No shit shirlock.... but Divers are a very small subsidiary of the Navy. I'm talking about the Navy overall. Infact I've seen alot of these changes in just 8 yrs.

BTW, he's actually a CPOSCS, as well as a ships diver. Not a full Navy Diver.

[sAsLEX]

I'm talking about the Navy overall. Infact I've seen alot of these changes in just 8 yrs.


opps sorry bout that, seen it a bit in my 4 and a bit odd years as well, but alas not enough stripe on my shoulder to do anything about it just yet....

[2much]

Ahahaha, that'll be the way to be remembered:

"The man who brought back the crack"

Goodluck with that, unfortunately as society changes (read: becomes a bunch of soft cock, tree hugging, lovey dovey hippies) so too must the Pus. Shit sucks arse tho.

[MidnightMike]

How could you say that! Racist!

He does kinda look like one tho. :nya:
Still great/unbelievable news :eek:
Its puts a smile on my dial :)

[Shadows]

And yeah, Kina would have been a challenge for me, but the crays'd be alright. I'll be interested to hear why he didn't/counldn't swim ashore to Mana Island.

I'd have thought swimming ashore and lighting a fire of making some message in the sand would be the go...? That being said - he was survival trained in the forces (if memory serves) so I expect there is a good reason

I've done a whole heap of diving in my time and 90% of it on this coast. On one of the first dives I entered the water on an outgoing tide and surfaced 45 minutes later over a km south and half a km out from where I started out.
The only saving grace was that we were close to the mainland so we had a far bigger island to drift past and miss landing on than Mana Island. Otherwise I probably wouldn't be typing this. Very very very long swim back with full gear on, going with the tide obviously, so it was quite a long walk back too!!

Was very careful not to let that happen again.

When that tide is moving you're buggered trying to swim anywhere it isn't taking you. It really rips past, something to do with the Cook Strait and the contours of the seabed through there. The back of Mana Island is far enough from the mainland that when you get caught in the tide you're either headed North for the back of Kapiti Island or South for the Kaikoura's and there is piss all you can do about it except paddle on some sort of diagonal with the current. The problem is that 6 hours later the tide just sends you back again.

Swimming to shore, even though it didn't look that far on TV, wouldn't really have been an option but I'd say he would have tried.

[bladez]

hmmmmm i think something is fishy there what happend to his safty gear eg his whistle and saugage and why didnt the boaty look around the island as he should know the currents etc so thats just my view on this but bloody good to see him alive :drinknsin