Harness Identities plucked from sea

Harness Racing Trainer Robbie Williams and Driver Michael Young were thrown from their boat when it hit a reef near Fremantle yesterday and were rescued by helicopter after they climbed to relative safety on Seal rock about 10km from shore.

One of the men was able to reach triple-0 from his mobile phone, which was still working despite having been drenched in the ocean.

The 4.5m boat along with safety equipment was caught in the rough seas and drifted out of reach.

Fremantle Sea Rescue, ironically sponsored by CommunityTAB, was unable to get close enough to the men as they clung onto the rocky island as the police helicopter was called in to winch them to safety.

It was not all smooth sailing from there…it is understood the police helicopter had too much fuel aboard to safely winch them from the ocean and the RAC rescue helicopter leaped into action.

The men were winched on to the helicopter at about 5.15pm.

Authorities said the men were lucky they had a mobile phone, otherwise it would likely have been dark before anyone realised they were in trouble.

The harness racing identities, along with another friend who was on-board, were flown to Jandakot where an ambulance was waiting to take them to Hospital for medical checks.

The men were not badly injured and their boat is also believed to have been recovered.

Robbie Williams has two horses engaged in Friday's meeting, Dame Puissant and Ohoka Kentucky.

Scott Hamilton