Emergency services personnel involved in the rescue of John ‘Stinker’ Clarke last week have reunited with the 77-year-old fisherman following his remarkable survival at sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About 6pm on Wednesday 24 June 2026, emergency services were alerted after Mr Clarke failed to return home from a fishing trip. A coordinated marine search and rescue operation was launched involving Marine Rescue NSW volunteers, Port Stephens Water Police and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About 8.30pm, the helicopter crew located Mr Clarke\u2019s overturned vessel smashed against rocks approximately 400 metres southwest of Fingal Lighthouse. A short time later, Mr Clarke \u2013 wearing a lifejacket \u2013 was found in the water nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officers attached to Port Stephens Water Police, Sergeant Brown and Senior Constable Grice, were directed to the location where they pulled Mr Clarke from the water and began first aid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Responders faced challenging conditions, including 15-knot southerly winds and a 2.5-metre swell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Clarke was taken to Nelson Bay Public Wharf, escorted by Marine Rescue NSW volunteers who helped shield the vessel from heavy seas. At the wharf, he was treated by a Westpac Rescue Helicopter doctor and NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to Tomaree Hospital and later transferred to John Hunter Hospital for the treatment of severe hypothermia and abrasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This morning (Tuesday 30 June 2026), crews from NSW Police Marine Area Command, NSW Ambulance, Marine Rescue NSW, and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter reunited with Mr Clarke to share stories of his rescue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking after the reunion, Sergeant Brown said Mr Clarke\u2019s survival was a powerful reminder of the importance of preparation on the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLifejackets save lives \u2013 and this rescue is a perfect example of why you should always wear the appropriate lifejacket for the activity you\u2019re undertaking,\u201d Sgt Brown said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLifejackets fitted with reflectors can make all the difference when crews are searching at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEvery time you head out on the water, you should wear a lifejacket, log on and off with Marine Rescue NSW using the free app or VHF Channel 16, and make sure someone knows where you\u2019re going and when you\u2019ll be back,\u201d Sgt Brown said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also critical to carry the required safety equipment for your vessel and the conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Clarke recounted his ordeal, describing how a routine fishing trip quickly turned into a fight for survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI went to my normal fishing spot and there was so much activity. I caught two really nice snapper,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe sea got a bit too big, so I decided to leave. As I was pulling the anchor up, a wave came straight over the top and filled the boat with water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe boat overturned, and I clung to it for a while before pushing away from the rocks into deeper water. I always have a plan B, but this time I didn\u2019t. I was at the mercy of the sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs it got dark, I thought I was coming to the end of the line,\u201d Mr Clarke said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t panic. I just thought, if I\u2019m going to survive, a helicopter will have to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd if a helicopter comes, they\u2019ll contact Water Police, and Sergeant Clint Brown \u2013 who I\u2019ve known since he was 12 \u2013 will come and pick me up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s exactly what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Emergency services personnel involved in the rescue of John ‘Stinker’ Clarke last week have reunited with the 77-year-old fisherman following his remarkable survival at sea. About 6pm on Wednesday 24 June 2026, emergency services were alerted after Mr Clarke failed to return home from a fishing trip. A coordinated marine search and rescue operation was … Continue reading “Multi-agency crews reunite with fisherman rescued off Port Stephens”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39726"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39727,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39726\/revisions\/39727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}