The wearing of life jackets ensured a happy ending for an Alexandra couple after a boating accident on the Clutha River at the weekend.
The incident resulted in the man being knocked overboard into the swift-flowing river, leaving the woman in the boat clinging to overhanging willow branches.
About 1pm on Saturday, a middle-aged couple from Alexandra were heading north towards the town, returning from a fishing trip in their boat.
Alexandra Volunteer Fire Brigade station officer Brendon Walker said the man accidentally let go of the motorised dinghy's tiller handle, causing it to swing and knock him overboard.
The boat then drifted into the branches of a willow tree, which were hanging into the water about 5m from the shore, just south of the Alexandra Bridge.
The man swam to shore.
The Alexandra brigade sent one appliance to the scene just after 1pm.
When it arrived the woman was in the boat, hanging on to the tree.
One of the firefighters was able to "shimmy'' on to the tree and attach the rope to the boat, Mr Walker said.
The woman was then safely pulled to shore.
Things could have gone badly for the man if he had not been wearing a life jacket, Mr Walker said.
"Definitely, with the Clutha being as swift as it is, you should always wear a life jacket out there.''
The couple were "a bit shaken'', he said.
Police and St John also attended the incident.
Medical attention was not required.
- Jono Edwards & John Gibb
