Turtle rescue with Chris and Ash.

Chris on the job "TURTLE RESCUER"

January the 28th saw a sailing charter with a difference. Chris and Ash chartered Eau De Vie and myself for a two hour sailing cruise. The wind was 15 - 20 kn SE so we decided to motor to the Seaway and then sail north doing a lap of Crab island and return to Runaway Bay Marina. We set sail with a double reef in the mail and were cruising the Broadwater when we spotted a sea turtle swimming with difficulty. The turtle had buoyancy issues with its rear end floating high and being exposed out of the water. The turtle would float level and grab a breath then hang with it's head low and under water. We watched for a short time  and with there being no change in it's behavior we decided to try Sea World for a rescue attempt. While waiting for the Sea World vessel to arrive we were passed by the Water Police who volunteered to take over the rescue. Within 5 minutes the local officers had the injured animal aboard and then drove to the vet at Sea World. All in all this was a charter with a special memory, all on board Eau De Vie wish the sea turtle a speedy recovery and thank the Southport water police and Sea World for their efforts.