Rock Fisherman Saved By Life Jacket

[mrmoshe]

Rock fisherman saved by life jacket

A SYDNEY rock fisherman's decision to wear a life jacket saved him after a large wave washed him into the sea at Botany Bay.

The 26-year-old man from Pyrmont, in inner Sydney, was fishing with friends at Cape Banks, on the northern entrance to Botany Bay, late this afternoon when a large swell swept him across the rock shelf and into the water.

NRMA CareFlight said the man was a virtual non-swimmer, but his life jacket kept him afloat.

"The man ... survived the ordeal because he was wearing a life jacket,'' a CareFlight spokesman said.

The man was able to swim away from the rocks and wait for his friends to alert rescue services.

A paramedic lowered from the rescue helicopter plucked the man from the sea 150 metres off the rocks just before 5pm (AEST).

The man was shaken and suffering from mild hypothermia but was otherwise unhurt.