Page 22 - Riding On Autumn 2022

HOW I GOT TO KNOW THE REAL BERNIE

My name is Hank Steuten (#66189) and this is a story about on him as if his life depended on it, as John ducked under and
how I got to know the real Bernie Holmes (RO #153 Ridden between the raging waves. Bernie realised he couldn’t launch
On...Ed). Firstly, I need to set the scene. his own 13 metre lifeboat as the swells were too large for
recovery. They kept up this watch till a smaller boat could get to
On one Saturday many months ago, I overheard a snippet of him to rescue him. While Bernie sheltered him from the waves
conversation in the carpark at Brunch, with the usual Ulysses with the Ampol Sarel, John was saved after 5 and a half hours
Club regulars. It made me think, “what a small world”. in the water, by the crew of the dismasted yacht Atari. They had
turned back from Eden to assist, even though their own hull
This is a story that starts during the disastrous 1993 Sydney to had been damaged from their broken mast. They eventually
+REDUW \DFKW UDFH \DFKWV RXW RI VWDUWHUV GLGQ¶W ¿QLVK WKH delivered him to the wharf in Eden to emotional scenes in front
race. They had either retired due to the weather, were sunk or of the waiting TV cameras.
GHVWUR\HG :LQGV RI NP KU ZHUH UHFRUGHG R໤ *DER ,VODQG Ampol showed their appreciation of the good publicity
with seas up to 12 metres. JDLQHG IRU WKHLU LQGXVWU\ E\ RUJDQLVLQJ VW FODVV ÀLJKWV DQG
7KDW \HDU , ZDV D GLUHFWRU ZLWK WKH 8. EDVHG 7KRUQ /LJKWLQJ accommodation in Sydney for Bernie and Ann, to enable a
along with John Quinn from Sydney. Being the only two Aussies presentation dinner and the opportunity to meet John Quinn. A
FKHTXH IRU ZDV SUHVHQWHG ZKLFK %HUQLH VXEVHTXHQWO\
out of all the English and Europeans at the monthly executive
meetings in London, we became friends. donated to the Salvation Army. At the dinner he caught up
with John Quinn who mentioned that he was sponsored by a
John was also the owner/skipper of the yacht MEM, who had whiskey company and promised him two cases as a token of
managed 5 class wins in the Sydney to Hobart race. But about thanks. I heard from Bernie later that due to incompatible travel
11:30 pm on this night in 1993, as he was piloting his boat in arrangements, the Captain and the whisky never connected.
one of the worst storms to ever hit the race, he was washed Something he recounted to me with what I detected as a
RYHUERDUG ZLWKRXW D OLIHMDFNHW ZKHQ D ZDYH ÀDWWHQHG WKH disappointed smile.
yacht. His harness, which he was wearing, snapped from the %HUQLH ZDV VXEVHTXHQWO\ R໤HUHG D EUDYHU\ PHGDO WR EH
IRUFH RI WKH ZDYH %\ WKH WLPH WKH FUHZ ¿UHG XS WKH HQJLQH
LW ZDV WRR ODWH -RKQ ZDV NOPV R໤VKRUH KLV RZQ \DFKW presented by the Governor General, but turned it down, saying
ZLWK KXPLOLW\ WKDW KH GLUHFWHG D WHDP H໤RUW
lights disappearing into the distance, and it was pitch black.
As he was being tossed over and under the 12mtr waves John later said “I’m very lucky to be alive, there’s no doubt
and glimpsed his boat through the spray as it motored away about that. And a lot of that luck was created by Captain Bernie
searching for him, he knew he was in big, big trouble.
Holmes and the Ampol Sarel.”
At about the same time, the 250M long 100,000 tonne oil The funny thing is, I had known Bernie for some time, and
tanker the Ampol Sarel, commanded by Captain Bernie Holmes he had never raised this story with me. Yet unbeknown to me
KDG EHHQ KHDGLQJ QRUWK WR %ULVEDQH DQG ZDV R໤ he had famously saved my old mates life. The story had been
Eden, when shortly before midnight several MAYDAYS were written up in papers and on TV across Australia and from the
received from yachts in trouble. One was received advising 8. WR WKH 86$ DQG , KDG QHYHU H[SHFWHG WR PHHW WKLV PDQ 8QWLO
that the Skipper of the yacht MEM was overboard, and his last that day that I overheard a part of a discussion by Ann in the
known position was given as well east of Gabo Is, being 5 hours car park at Brunch, and I just had to join in.
steaming to the south.
Bernie was a very humble man indeed, who never thought of
While other ships motored down wind, where they estimated himself as brave. Yet he most certainly was a quiet achiever.
John would drift to, Bernie started his search close to the last It was a privilege to be called Laddie by him, even if in your
recorded position. On arrival, with all hands on deck, he ordered 60s and 70s. Because then you knew you had a friend. And
the engines stopped to enable an audio-visual search. One of throughout his life, he made plenty of those.
e,
ug
p
y
the many lookouts astonishingly heard a cry from the crest of
a wave on the port beam and turned the search light onto a
weary John Quinn. Bernie told his crewman to keep the light

RIDING ON 22