AN angler had a lucky escape on Sydney Harbour yesterday morning after being thrown from a small tinny while fishing near Balmain.
The incident was witnessed around 7am by Fisho staffer Scott Thomas who was fishing nearby on board his brother Mark’s boat. The angler was spotted by the pair as he was speared out of the boat, which then dangerously motored around in circles unmanned.
The shaken angler had been wearing a lifejacket and wrist safety lanyard which unfortunately didn’t cut out the outboard as designed. When the boys approached to assist, the angler opted to swim to nearby Goat Island.
Scott had reported the incident to the Water Police who eventually deployed a large barge which was used to ram the runaway tinny before the boat’s owner managed to jump aboard and cut its engine.
