By Vanessa Chircop
A MAN swam to shore after his boat overturned on Port Phillip Bay during a fishing trip that could have ended in a Melbourne Cup Day tragedy.
The Sunshine resident, who did not wish to be named, said he was packing up to head back to shore when the weather changed suddenly.
“I had just had a heart attack and was in hospital for a month – I thought I’d get out and relax a little bit,” he said.
“I went to the back of my boat to start packing up to come back in and the weather changed and the waves lifted the front of the boat.
“I was at the back of the boat pulling in my lines… it just capsized.”
The man said he was scared for his life but immediately made the decision to start swimming.
“All of a sudden I had to think about how I was going to get back to shore.”
“It crossed my mind (that I wouldn’t make it) – I thought it would be a bad time to have another heart attack.”
The man said he credits wearing his life jacket to his survival. Upon reaching the shore the man found himself out the front of Hobsons Bay’s Fishing Club where the ambulance and police were called and he was given dry clothes.
Advanced life support paramedic Gemma McEgan said it took the man about 45 minutes to swim the 300 metres to shore.
